#Chapter 190 – Sand in the Hourglass

When Victor opens his eyes, there are spots in his vision. He blinks, trying to get them to clear, but then groans with the effort. God, does it seriously hurt to blink? But then he realizes that it’s not the blinking that’s causing the pain – that the pain was there already. It comes, sharply, with every breath, with every beat of his heart, which he can feel pounding in his head and his chest and his veins. Victor groans again, turning his head to the side, pressing his eyes closed – doing anything he can to fight against the pain – anything he can to lessen it, ignore it, move on from it – But he can’t – it’s there, in every piece of him. Taking over his body, his mind. Victor tries to breathe more slowly, to pull the breath in through his nose and out of his mouth, to form thoughts around the pain, or through it – But god damnit, it’s everywhere. All encompassing. He grits his teeth, but can’t help the whimper that escapes through the tiny spaces left between them. God, i