Elara's POV
I sat in the corner of my cell, watching the cold stone walls in silence. Days blurred together; there were no windows, no clocks, no way to tell the time, and Sergio made sure it stayed that way. The only rhythm here was the subtle hum of my own heartbeat, which I could feel rattling in my ears in the dead silence. My hands rested over my knees, a habit I’d started to ground myself, to keep from slipping away completely. But the longer I stayed here, the more I felt pieces of myself slipping, vanishing like smoke.
I wasn’t helpless. At least, I didn’t want to be. Beneath the surface, I knew that the magic simmered, unspent and aching to be released. This power had always been a part of me—a force as natural as breathing. In the beginning, I tried to keep it hidden, practice
