---
Meanwhile, the guest house outside the main Dawn building had become a prison in everything except name.
Kess knew that now.
He had known it in parts yesterday. He had suspected it by evening. He understood it fully by night. And by the time the next meeting hour began creeping near, the truth had settled into his bones with enough weight to make every passing minute feel like a quiet execution.
He was not chained.
That was the insulting part.
