Seren's head throbbed with a dull, insistent ache, the kind that came from whatever sedative had been forced down her throat. She woke slowly, eyelids heavy, the world tilting in nauseating waves. Cold stone pressed against her cheek. Damp air clung to her skin, carrying the musty scent of earth and decay. Chains rattled faintly as she shifted; iron cuffs around her wrists, bolted to the wall behind her.
A cell. Deep beneath the palace, if the distant drip of water and the oppressive weight of stone above were any indication.
She sat up with a gasp, heart slamming against her ribs. The bond: Aeron, Kael, Theron. She reached for it instinctively, and there it was: a fierce, burning tug in her chest. They were coming. Their rage and desperation flooded through the link like wildfire, so intense it stole her breath. *Alive*, she sent back as strongly as she could, hoping the faint thread would reach them. *I'm here. Find me.*
