Just as the prison walls grew colder and quieter, a force struck me.

I heard her scream… not so much a sound as a feeling, and then a warm breath of air blew into my cell.

Then I felt it…

Not a pain… not entirely. It was more like something brushed against my curse and pulled back, cautious, curious… familiar. I felt my bones heating, my veins trembling under my skin, but it stopped before it could dig in. I thought it was just another shift in the cycle, another wave to ride out. But I knew it hadn’t left that night; it stayed close, biding its time, and I braced myself for the curse’s inevitable assault.

The next day, as the sun’s warmth began to touch my cell walls, comforting me slightly, an incredibly hot air brushed past my skin. A large part of it stuck to me, pressing against me like a predator.

Not a wave… but an ambush.

I thought I could handle it. I thought it would be the usual cracking of bones and minor heating in my flesh. But no. This time, it came to take my life.

Heat burst through my spine first, blistering, molten-hot, like iron poured into my bones. My back felt like it was cracking open from the inside. My jaw clenched so hard I tasted blood. Then came the ripping.

It wasn’t a shift. No transformation, no mercy. My flesh tore beneath my skin, claws trying to crawl their way out of muscle but unable to escape, shredding everything in their path.

My eyes nearly burst from the pressure… swollen, bulging, veins crawling across my vision in red lines. The world pulsed with every throb of agony.

And the needles…

Thousands of them, stabbing through my nerves at once. Slow, deliberate, twisting as if they enjoyed digging deeper. Every inch of me felt flayed open, shredded, and bound together with fire.

My heart tried to slam its way out of my ribs. My breath came raw, torn, like my lungs were being peeled apart with every inhale.

I couldn’t help but let out a scream. “Arrrhhhh…!” The pain was suffocating, and I had no idea how long I could last.

I’ve endured this curse for years..broken under it, roared through it, refused it even when it begged to end me. But this… this wasn’t the curse alone.

It was something in the scream I heard the night before, something in that shrill cry of anger and pain.

This time, though, it didn’t last as long. The force eased slightly, giving me just enough space to breathe.

Then I heard cautious footsteps and the crack of iron gates swinging open.

I tried to pull myself up, but my limbs were gone, overtaken by the pain. All I could do was lie helpless.

And then Killian’s voice…the most infuriating sound I’ve ever known, cut through the haze. I lifted my head slightly, refusing to bow, and saw a small, irritating audience outside the cell.

I didn’t catch all of his words, but I knew the intent. He wanted me to kneel.

“I… would rather turn to dust… than obey you,” I spat, gutted by the sight of the crowd.

“Then I’ll enjoy watching,” his angry tone somehow brought a twisted sort of relief.

If this pain thought it could force me to bow, it was gravely mistaken. I’d be damned before it broke me.

I scoffed under my breath and rolled my eyes at the crowd, only to freeze.

Among them stood a small, familiar female figure. Her presence shouldn’t have been possible. Not even Killian’s mate would be allowed here, not until she became Luna.

And… shouldn’t she be dead? No one that fragile could have survived my attack.

My brows furrowed instinctively. The pain still burned, but it seemed almost… distracted.

Stirred by her presence, it came again…..

And this time, it intensified. My skin felt like molten wax. My bones groaned and cracked under the pressure.

I screamed again, though my strength was nearly gone. I couldn’t even bear to open my eyes. Then I heard a name, and a voice of a feeling I never remember experiencing, the feeling of happiness, the soft sound of concern all in my head like a memory.

I forced my eyes open and locked with hers.

“Nyra…” I whispered weakly before my consciousness finally gave out.

Darkness swallowed me. The sunlight vanished, leaving me gasping as if the air itself had betrayed me. My body slammed against iron bars, the cell trembling with every echo of my agony.

I was at my final straw when a cold splash of water hit my back. The sizzle on my skin made me flinch, but then, a gentle palm pressed against my burning arm, calming the fire.

“He’s still hot,” the faint, trembling voice murmured.

“More water…” she called, and the stream continued, ice-cold liquid splashing against my molten hot flesh.

I opened my eyes slightly. Her gaze met mine, eyes full of compassion, fear, and something else I didn’t understand.

When had anyone ever looked at me like that? Not with disgust, not with hatred… but with care.

And the one I had hated so badly… was staring at me like I mattered, her eyes carrying the feelings I despised the most: empathy.

My blood boiled. My muscles throbbed from the pain, my curse still clawing through every nerve, but it wasn’t just the fire in my body that unsettled me. It was her, her calmness, her fearlessness. She didn’t recoil, didn’t flinch, didn’t tremble at the raw heat I exuded, as if she belonged here, untouched by the torment that had left even the strongest men gasping.m, she didn’t feel the burn.

Something inside me tightened, twisted. She shouldn’t be here. She shouldn’t have survived. She shouldn’t… be staring at me with those eyes.

And yet… she was.

My jaw clenched, rage spiking higher than the pain in my bones.

I suspected something. If she feels this much, then she might be the owner of the voice u heard the night before.

Is she the cause of this torment or is this just another trap?

I didn’t know. But one thing was certain…. She’s up to no good.