~Alora~

The darkness was suffocating.

I'd lost track of how long I'd been down here in this gods-forsaken dungeon. Hours? Days? Time had become meaningless in this silver-lined hell.

Every breath I took felt like fire in my lungs. The silver burned against my skin wherever I touched the walls or the floor, leaving angry red welts that refused to heal. My wolf—my precious Anya who had just returned to me—had gone silent hours ago, too weak to even whisper in my mind anymore.

"Anya?" I ...