Ren's eyes flew open like a switch had been flipped, and the moment he sucked in a breath, it felt like inhaling lightning.
His vision spun wildly before stabilizing, and for a few seconds, he had no clue where he was. The white ceiling, the scent of fabric softener, the gorgeous damsel in front of him—it hit him all at once.
"Dorm room?" he whispered, blinking a few times in disbelief. The last thing he remembered was the forge, the crystal, the loom doing ballet, and then, darkness.
He tilted his head slowly, trying to shake off the dizziness, but the moment he moved, his skull felt like someone had swapped his brain with a nuclear reactor on the verge of meltdown.
And then came the heat. Not the kind that made you sweat, but the kind that made your bones itch.
It crawled along his spine, up through his skull, and settled right behind his eyes. Every part of his mind felt like it had been dipped in liquid fire.
