KAYLA POINT OF VIEW

I wake up to voices.

Low and hushed voice. Like they don’t want me to hear, but I do anyway.

I don’t open my eyes.

The pain in my body is dull now, replaced by something heavier in my chest. I already know who is in the room. I can feel them the same way I feel the bonds, quiet, pulling, restless.

Two heartbeats.

Two anchors.

The witch speaks first.

“This is not a punishment,” she says calmly. “It is a correction.”

Silence follows.

I imagine Dante ...