**A FEW HOURS AGO**
The cell door creaked open slowly.
Danika looked up, her eyes alert as she did, ignoring the ache in her back as she pushed herself off the cold floor.
Her gaze locked onto the guard who entered, balancing a metal tray stacked with pieces of dry bread and small water bottles.
Her stomach growled at the sight, but her face remained still and stoic.
She wasn't watching the tray. She was watching him.
But it wasn't him.
This wasn't the same guard who had slipped roasted meat into her hand that morning. The one who had whispered, "Eat it quietly. I'll bring you more tonight," before walking away without waiting for thanks.
The same guard who'd been bringing her meals right when she was still in the other cell Damien had taken her to before. Before Lyra had demanded her be returned to the normal cells.
She had held on to that hope all day. That someone, anyone, still saw her as a person worth feeding, since visitors were being prevented from seeing her.
