Seraphine's POV
The stone was no longer just cold, but alien as well. For days, I had been looking at the same wall, counting the cracks, watching the strip of light slowly slide across the bars, and then disappear. The healer came down at night, silently re-bandaged my stomach, and left. During the day, there was water, but hardly any food.
My body was tired of fighting. The bandage was clean, but everything underneath ached. The wolf inside me lay flat, its head on its paws. It wasn't sleeping, it was watching, but it no longer growled at every noise. It was just present.
Around noon, the sound of the corridor changed again. The same tight order returned: synchronized bootsteps, a key that didn't jingle, but just turned in the lock. At the bars stood the scarred guard, the young one,
