POV: Aurora
Waking up this time is different.
I don't feel like I'm burning alive. Everything hurts, yes, but it's a deep tiredness, not that desperate urgency from last night. The heat is still there, under my skin, like embers instead of fire.
I look at the white ceiling, the warm light, the same room as Noir's. I'm still here.
There's a soft knock.
"May I come in?" asks Dr. Herrera.
"Yes."
She enters with her tablet and blood pressure cuff. She looks at me like someone who has seen many like me before.
"How are you feeling?" she asks.
"Like I've been hit by a bus, but at least I'm not under it anymore," I say.
She smiles a little.
She takes my blood pressure, my pulse, touches my forehead.
"The medication helped," she says. "The worst is over. But you're still in heat. Now comes the long wave: ups and downs, heat, strange sensitivity, intense dreams. Not like last night, but not 'normal' either."
"How long will it last?" I ask.
