Chapter 96 Finally Free

• *Xelina*
• The stone beneath me is damp and bitterly cold. I’ve lost track of how long I’ve been down here, but the thin shaft of sunlight that used to slice through the cracks in the door has faded to a dim haze. It must be evening now. The light is weaker, as though it’s slipping away from me just as fast as everything else.
• My stomach twists, part hunger, part dread. I haven't eaten since before the ball… no water, either. My throat is raw from crying, but I don't dare make another sound. Not after the last time, when Mireth hissed through the crack in the door that if I begged again, she’d bind my mouth shut with a wolf’s bane drenched rag.