Pain stabbed my chest. I sucked in a breath...

... bound by heavy chains to a chair. My ribs were cracked, blood caked my lashes, and my left arm hung at an awkward angle from the latest round of tortures. None of that compared to the stain on my soul. I, Gavriella Behar, had taken magic from innocents, used by Chariot to sow chaos, fear, and evil, and too cowardly to end my life and deny them this abhorrent act.

The chains loosened and I fell forward into someone's arms. ...