Damon woke many hours later in an improvised room near the entrance to the mines, lying on a narrow bed that had probably belonged to the workers' old medical station. The first thing he noticed was the pain in his left arm. The dark blue lines remained beneath the skin, but they had receded from his neck and now ended just above the elbow. The second thing was Ester sleeping while seated in a chair beside him, arms crossed and head tilted against the wall.
He remained still for several seconds, evaluating his own body before trying to rise. The root was silent, the Heart maintained a distant and spaced rhythm, and no memory of Xue Lian tried to cross his consciousness. The Heavenly Ice Body remained cold, but the circulation of Qi was stable. Damon moved his fingers, slowly bent the arm, and confirmed that he could still feel every part of his hand.
"If you try to leave without waking me, I will break your other leg," Ester said without opening her eyes.
