~Alora~

The dungeons smelled like piss, blood, and despair.

I'd spent time down here myself, waiting for dawn and my execution. The memory made my skin crawl.

Selene was in the same cell they'd kept me in—a small, dank room with stone walls and a dirt floor. No windows. No light except the torch Lucian carried.

She was curled in the corner, her elegant clothes filthy, her perfect hair matted. When she looked up at our approach, her eyes were empty.

"Come to gloat?" Her voice was hoarse. ...