Natalie POV
The subterranean isolation cells were stripped of all comfort, carved out of the raw bedrock beneath the mansion where the light of the sun never penetrated. The air was heavy with the choking stench of rust, stale copper, and the damp chill of mountain water seeping through the cracked stone walls.
I was violently shoved through the iron-reinforced door, my hands bound before me in heavy silver cuffs that hissed against my skin, sending a constant, dull wave of burning heat through my veins. I collapsed onto the freezing stone floor, the wet velvet of my gown tearing further as I rolled onto my side, gasping for breath.
The iron door slammed shut behind me with a deafening, metallic echo that reverberated through the narrow corridor. The heavy deadbolts clicked into place,
