Lisa's pov
I didn’t know how long I’d been lying there. Time didn’t exist in the cell. There was no light, no sound. Just me, the stone-cold floor, and the throb of pain that pulsed through every bone in my body.
Alivia stirred weakly inside me, her voice barely audible in the hollow darkness of my mind.
“I’m trying, Lisa… I just need more time.”
My lips cracked as I tried to mumble a reply, but my throat was dry—so dry it felt like sandpaper scraped every word back into silence.
My body was broken.
My soul wasn’t too far behind.
Then I heard it.
The metallic clank of the cell door unlocking.
I blinked sluggishly, but didn’t move. Couldn’t move.
Two guards stepped inside, their scent hitting me like a slap—sweat, aggression, and apathy.
“Up,” one barked.
I didn’t ask why. I did
