THE FADING LIGHT
Vivienne’s POV
The guards threw me back into the dungeon, the heavy gate slamming shut behind me. My arms ached from their grip, but I ignored the pain.
While Balthazar lost himself in another lucid daydream, I’d managed to sneak a few pieces of fruit and chunks of bread into the folds of my new dress. My stomach growled, but I wasn’t the only one starving down here.
The old woman in the next cell stirred as I crouched. Her wrinkled hands wrapped around the iron bars, eyes watching me closely.
“Here,” I whispered, sliding a small apple through the gap.
She shook her head. “You and the girl need it more.”
I glanced at the frail girl, still curled in the corner where I’d left her. She hadn’t moved much. Her skin was cold now, breaths too shallow. I didn’t know how lo
