*Audra's POV*
It took a moment for my mind to stitch itself together.
The dark was heavy, pressing against my eyes, the kind that made time blur and bend. For a second, I couldn't tell if it was night or just the absence of light. The air was still, except for the quiet creak of the walls, the soft, distant thump of something settling outside.
I didn't remember falling asleep.
The wood beneath me was hard and unforgiving, the edges of the chair digging into my skin. My wrists brushed against the rough surface where I'd scraped faint marks earlier—small, almost invisible, but mine. The ropes had loosened just enough to let me shift slightly, not enough to matter.
The blanket tangled at my ankles was damp with the warmth of my own body, my knees stiff from being held in the same position for too long. I pressed my chin against my chest, half-expecting to feel the frantic thud of my pulse leaping against my ribs.
It was there. Loud. Sharp. Too fast.
