Ally's POV

　　I stand before Nathan, my pulse thrumming in my ears like the distant thunder of a coming storm. Dawn's anxiety coils within me, her presence a constant reminder of the precarious edge upon which we balance. The dungeon looms in my mind, its cold stone walls and iron bars an inevitable conclusion to this confrontation. Nathan's reputation for suspicion and swift punishment is well-known, and I brace myself for his decree, ready for the failure of my carefully ...