The Next Morning
Sera growled in darkness, her throat raw, her body trembling. Her eyes were still shut, but she could feel it. They were cold and heavy, wrapped around her.
Chains.
Not ropes. Not restraints.
Chains.
They weren’t ropes. Not leather. Not restraints for a prisoner. These were meant for beasts. For monsters.
For things like her.
They bit into her skin, metal pressed tight against her wrists, her ankles, her waist. She could feel how thick they were.
Heavy and weighed a ton. Whoever had chained her hadn’t wanted her to move. Not an inch. Not a breath of freedom.
The chill from the steel had seeped into her bones overnight. Her back throbbed, spine aching from the weight of the charms.
And she felt something on her mouth, maybe dirt. Blood crusted the corner of her
