Tessa's POV:
The night before the day I was meant to die, I didn’t sleep.
How could I?
My body was caged, but it was my mind that screamed the loudest. I lay awake in the stillness of the dim, soulless room—no windows, no hope, only the cold whisper of death brushing the back of my neck.
Tomorrow, I'll be gone.
I sat up, heart hammering in my chest. My wrists ached from the ropes, coarse and biting into my skin. The air was thick, heavy, like it already knew what was coming.
The door loomed ahead, solid, steel, and silent.
I watched it like a hawk watching a snake. Waiting.
Praying.
Then, I heard it.
Footsteps.
Soft. Careful. Like the sound of someone sneaking through nightmares. My heart paused, suspended in the tension of that moment. My breath caught in my throat.
Bolts unl
