Ella's POV
The first thing I felt was cold.
Not the kind that came from wind or frost, but something older—something that slithered beneath my skin, curling around my bones like a whisper made of ice. My breath fogged the air, and for a moment, I couldn’t tell if I was breathing or if the darkness was breathing me in.
When my eyes finally adjusted, I realized I wasn’t in the forest anymore. The smell of pine and earth was gone—replaced by damp stone and the faint metallic scent of blood. Runes burned faintly on the walls, pulsing in rhythm with my heartbeat, as though the witches had built this place out of spells and shadows.
I tried to move, but the chains around my wrists tightened, biting into skin. They weren’t made of iron—these were etched with sigils that glowed whenever I pul
