Elara’s POV
The heavy iron door creaked shut behind me, sealing the outside world away.
The room was dark and windowless, lit only by a thin sliver of moonlight slipping through a small barred opening high on the far wall. The air felt thick and cold, heavy with the scent of old stone and something sharper, like ozone after a storm. My footsteps echoed softly on the bare floor as I stepped further inside.
Thick black chains lay scattered across the center of the room. They were massive, the links thick and heavy, some still attached to bolts set deep into the stone walls and floor. Broken ends glinted faintly in the dim light. I recognized them immediately. These were the same chains Lucian had worn the night he saved me from the rogues. The night the beast had emerged and claimed me as
