The iron gates clanged shut behind me, their echo rolling through the hollow air like a death sentence. My stomach lurched as if the sound had sealed me into a coffin rather than a courtyard.

The guards didn’t speak, only shadows with steel eyes and heavier hands, ushering me forward with spears angled at my back.

The ground beneath my boots shifted from dirt to stone, darker with every step.

I kept my chin high, though my body trembled beneath the weight of their stares. The air ...