Chapter 21

Aurelia POV

The cold stone floor beneath my face felt like a sheet of jagged ice, but darkness didn’t bring oblivion. Driven by the agonizing backfire of the mate bond, my consciousness was dragged backward, sinking into the suffocating depths of a suppressed memory.

Six months ago — Ironbound Estate, Upper Guest Wing

The air in the sunlit conservatory reeked of sweet jasmine and bitter roots—a velvet cage crafted from silk robes, marble floors, and silent terror. I was sitting by the window, staring blankly at the untouched tea tray on the iron table. My wolf was completely dormant, smothered under the daily doses of diluted aconite Draven had been forcing into my drinks.

The heavy mahogany door opened, and a young maidservant—no older than sixteen, her hands trembling violently—slid quietly into the room to gather the cold porcelain cups. Seeing my pale face and hollow eyes, she hesitated, softly placing a small sweet biscuit on my napkin.