I woke up buried under what felt like a dozen snow-fox pelts.
For a wild, panicked second, I thought I was back in the freezing border inn. But as I blinked my eyes open, the sheer size of the room finally registered.
I was in the Lady's Chambers of the Kurogane Fortress.
The room was massive. The wooden floors were polished to a mirror shine, covered in thick, woven mats that radiated a gentle, magical heat from the floorboards. Sunlight poured through the wide, paper-screened windows, illuminating the intricate silver and indigo tapestries hanging on the dark stone walls.
It was luxurious, but not in the suffocating, gilded way of the capital. It was sturdy. Safe.
"You're finally awake!"
I rolled over. Rin was sitting at a low wooden table near the glowing charcoal brazier, swinging her legs. She was already dressed in a thick, warm tunic and holding a half-eaten steamed bun that was roughly the size of her head.
