The heavy iron cuffs felt freezing against Hazel’s wrists, the metal chains clinking loudly in the tense silence of the private study. Beta Silas stood over her, a cruel, victorious smile stretching across his lean face as he held the end of the chain. Behind him, the ten elite palace warriors shifted their weight, their iron spears lowered and ready, while the six Council elders nodded in grim approval.
"Take her away," Silas ordered, his voice echoing with false authority. "Throw her into the deepest subterranean cells. Let her rot until she gives up her rogue contacts."
Two burly guards stepped forward, their massive, calloused hands reaching out rudely to grab Hazel by her shoulders and drag her toward the open doorway.
Hazel kept her head low, her shoulders slouched into the fragil
