RAVENNA
I kept shaking my hands, the cold metal biting into my wrist with every jerk. My skin felt raw where the cuffs dug in, the edges unforgiving. I dragged at them until my shoulders ached, twisting and pulling, desperate for some give.
“Let go of me, please,” I begged, my voice cracking. “Why are you keeping me here? Please… let go of me?”
My words hung in the air, unanswered, like they didn’t even hear me. The room smelled faintly of herbs and smoke, the dim light swaying from a lantern overhead, making shadows dance on the walls. My words trembled, but no one moved. The two healers, stood like statues at the door, their eyes fixed on the wall instead of me.
“This has to be a dream,” I whispered to myself. “This… this cannot be real.”
The walls around me, seemed to close in —
