Unfamiliar (Unfamiliar Series #1)

Chapter 50

There is a faint beeping noise in the back of my skull when I open my eyes to see that a white expanse is stretched out in front of me. It doesn't take long for me to realize that it's actually a ceiling as I start to sit up.

"Kara? Don't move too much-," a voice begins to say and I gasp in a sharp breath when pain prickles up my spine.

I fall back against a pillow as my mother's face flickers into view, "Mom?"

"You're safe, sweetheart, but you need to sleep for just a little longer," she explains as she puts a gentle palm on my forehead and everything winks out of existence.

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When I come to the next time, I'm lying on a bed in a room that is painted white. Sigils are drawn on the walls in shades of blue, ones that I recognize for healing and protection. I turn my head to see that my mother is sitting next to my bed in a chair.

She looks pale and small and overall too worried for me to handle as she stares at me for a long moment, tears gathering in her eyes before she lurches forward and wraps me in a tight hug.

"My baby, oh I was so worried," she whispers as she strokes the top of my head.

"I'm okay mom," I reassure her as I hug her back.

"They told me that you would wake up soon, but," she leans back and shakes her head as she pushes her glasses out of the way and wipes at her tears, "I couldn't See, I felt so...useless."

"Mom, I'm okay now," I tell her as I sit up, only to stop and wince.

"The doctor said that you may be in pain for a while, a few days at the most due to the spell that was cast on you by Eleanora," she explains when she sees the agony in my expression.

"How long have I been unconscious?" I wonder aloud and she frowns.

"Since early this morning, it's almost evening now, are you hungry? I'm going to go get you something to eat," she says as she quickly gets to her feet.

She reaches over and squeezes my hand before she leaves the room, her footsteps rapidly fading down the hallway. I glance around and realize then that there's a window, one that gives me a view of a parking lot below. I don't recognize this part of Boston, but I can almost think that there are special hospitals for witches that are invisible to the mortal eye, especially since there are sigils on the walls.

There's a sudden knock at the door frame and I turn my head to see that Diana is standing at the threshold. There is a line of black stitches crossing her temple along her hairline and the bruise on her cheek is swollen and painful looking but her eyes are bright with what I can guess is relief.

"Hey," she greets me in a low voice.

"Hi," I rasp.

"Mind if I come in?" she inquires as she pauses in the doorway.

I nod and she smiles as she enters the room.

"How are you feeling?" she asks as she sits down in the chair next to my bed.

"Everything still hurts," I mutter as I shift so I'm sitting up, my muscles aching in the process.

"You're lucky that Eleanora's spell was messy and slow, it could have done some serious damage," she murmurs.