Daniel.
The heavy iron chains pulled mercilessly against my blood-slicked wrists, the cold metal digging deep into my skin every time I tried to shift on the mattress.
I slouched back against the wooden headboard, my split lip throbbing violently with every ragged breath I dragged into my bruised lungs. Blood dripped slowly onto my ruined velvet collar, but the physical pain was nothing compared to the icy, suffocating dread settling deep in my stomach.
Across the room, Aidan and Davian stood together by the tall glass window, bathed in the dim amber glow of the fireplace. They weren't panicking, and they weren't arguing. They looked like two apex predators calmly waiting for the trap to spring.
I stared at them, my mind spinning out of control. 'This wasn't supposed to happen.'
