Karl jolted awake as a loud knock rattled his door, the sound sharp and jarring in the early morning quiet.
"Get up!" a guard barked from the hallway. "Freshen up and get downstairs. Now!"
His heart pounded as he pushed himself upright, the silk sheets falling away from his sweat-slicked skin. The bed beneath him, too soft and unfamiliar, offered no comfort. He had dozed off after a long time of thinking about how crazy his life was going.
He dragged himself to the washroom, splashing cold water on his face as he tried to calm his nerves. The mirror reflected a pale, drawn face.
It was his face, but thinner now, edged with exhaustion. Before that night with Iora, he used to be a normal guy running to work in the morning, running back home in the evening, and enjoying himself during weekends. And now… this…
The tunic laid out for him was a soft gray thing stitched with silver trim, and it felt like a costume. How was everything around him suddenly so flashy?
