"How could I think about the future when the present was slipping through my fingers?"

I woke to an odd, familiar sound—soft at first, like a memory brushing against the edge of sleep. Then it grew, echoing through the dim space in uneven waves. Kairn’s voice. Low, strained, and unmistakably his, even though the words were slurred beyond recognition.

For a heartbeat, I didn’t move. M...