CATHERINE’S POV
The cold stone wall bit into my back. My arms ached from being bound above my head for what felt like hours. My wrists throbbed where the ropes dug into my skin, and every small movement sent waves of pain through my shoulders. I tried to shift, to ease the numbness, but the restraints only clanked harder against the metal hooks.
My eyes scanned the dark chamber. Shadows crawled along the walls. My heart pounded as I searched desperately for anything, anything at all, that I could use to escape. But there was nothing. No tools, no weak links in the chains.
Everything had happened too fast. One moment we were free… and the next, we were prisoners in our own kingdom. She was right next to me. Her eyes were empty as she stared into space. She looked smaller than I’d ever s
