Aras pov
My palm slid against the damp stone wall as the shadow loomed closer. The torchlight guttered, stretching the figure's silhouette into something monstrous across the dripping corridor. My pulse hammered—not with hope anymore, but with the cold certainty of a predator's approach.
Then the voice hit me like a physical blow:
"Look what we have here!"
That booming, arrogant tone. The way it bounced off the prison walls like a king surveying his spoils. My vision swam, the wolfsbane's poison and exhaustion dragging me under. A metallic tang flooded my mouth as another cough wracked my body, blood spattering the filthy floor between my trembling knees.
Not Damon.
The realization cut deeper than any blade. This wasn't a rescue.
This was the beginning of the end.
My legs gave ou
