Bella’s POV
The room was warm and safe, I couldn’t get some shut eye, not truly.
The walls were too quiet, the bed too soft and it’s warmth was so unfamiliar.
It wasn’t comfort, it didn’t feel like it , it was more of distraction and I refused to be lulled into forgetting.
I’d been trying to map a way out for hours, lying on my side with my mind racing. I thought about the guards, the patrols. The cameras Mira had whispered about. But nothing made sense. Lucian had tightened the leash, even if the collar was velvet now.
I wasn’t free, I was just in a prettier cage.
My fingers traced the edge of the blanket absently. My back still throbbed under the gauze, but the ache had dulled. What hadn’t dulled was the fire inside me. The one that refused to let go of what I’d seen. What I’d felt
