Lyra's POV
Twenty-three hours and forty-seven minutes. That was exactly how long I had been trapped in this freezing stone cell. Every second felt like an eternity as I pressed my back against the damp wall, counting each breath that sent sharp pains through my bruised ribs.
The mate bond pulsed relentlessly in my chest like an infected wound. I kept trying to build walls around my emotions, desperate to prevent him from sensing my vulnerability through our connection. But exhaustion was winning. My mental barriers were crumbling bit by bit.
Through the tattered remnants of my shield, I could feel his presence. Waves of disgust and fury crashed over me from his side of the bond, each one more brutal than the last. The intensity made me want to collapse onto the pathetic excuse for a bed and surrender completely. But I refused to give him that victory.
