THREE DAYS LATER…
The dungeon reeked of damp stone and old blood. Shadows clung to the walls, broken only by the occasional flicker of a torch.
Elia sat chained against the cold stone wall, her wrists were raw and blistered, angry red marking where the iron cuffs had dug into her skin. Her eyes were swollen from endless tears, her body trembled in silence. Her once cream dress was now a disturbing mixture of blood, sweat, and dirt. Strands of her hair clung to her damp face, matted with dust and dried blood.
Every inch of her skin ached from the punishments she endured, cuts from the dragging, bruises from the harsh treatment, the burning pain from the iron branding. Yet now… she couldn’t even cry. She sat lifelessly, her vacant eyes fixed on a void in front of her. Her body breathed, b
