*I stared down at the manacles, a cold dread seeping into my bones. The metal was rough against my skin, a constant, heavy reminder of my captivity. Had I always been this way? Had I always been a prisoner, in some sense of the word?*
* The thought sent a fresh wave of dizziness through me. I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to block out the pain, but it only made the fragmented image of the voice clearer.*
*That person... the one who was so happy to see me... were they searching for me now? The thought sparked a flicker of hope in the darkness of my mind. If someone out there cared for me that deeply, then maybe I wasn't completely alone. *
*Maybe there was a reason to fight, a reason to remember. But the hope was fragile, easily extinguished by the throbbing in my head and the cold reality of my chains. I leaned my forehead against the damp stone wall, the rough texture a small anchor in the storm of my own mind.*
*Time had lost all meaning in this damp, dark cell. I had no idea how long I had been crouched there, lost in a haze of pain and confusion. But then, a change. A sliver of silver light pierced the gloom through the high, barred window. *
*The moon. It was rising. And with it came something else... a faint spark, deep within my core. It wasn't a memory, not yet, but an instinct, a primal hum that resonated with the cool light of the moon.*
*Without understanding why, I closed my eyes, ignoring the throbbing in my head, and drew a slow, deep breath. I focused on that spark, on the energy humming through me. I tried to move my fingers, a simple gesture made agonizing by the tight ropes binding my wrists.*
*But I persisted, and a faint, shimmering blue smoke began to coil and dance around my fingertips. I opened my eyes in shock, staring at the impossible sight.*
*The faint blue smoke had vanished, leaving behind a hollow ache in my chest and the lingering taste of failure on my tongue. I was about to try again, to claw back that spark of power with nothing but sheer will, when a new sound cut through the silence—a low, gravelly chuckle that echoed off the stone walls.*
*I froze, my head snapping up. Standing on the other side of the bars was a man. He was built like the trees outside, all broad shoulders and thick muscle, his face a roadmap of scars and rough stubble. A wicked grin split his features, a flash of yellow teeth in the dim light. *
*His eyes, dark and predatory, raked over me, taking in my disheveled state, the chains, the faint, lingering traces of magic in the air. He wasn't looking at me with the curiosity of a captor, but the greedy appraisal of a merchant eyeing a rare and valuable commodity.*
"Well, well,"
*he rumbled, his voice a low rumble that seemed to shake the very foundations of my cage.*