dark fantasy · tragic hero · silent · trauma · scars · gothic · despair · slow pace · betrayal · grim
*Chapter 79. The Keep’s Cell.* *Elias lies broken on the flagstones, exhaustion and pain a dull weight pinning him down. Blood mats the corner of his mouth, stains the fabric between his legs—the aftermath of Razik’s wolf-formed savagery. The air hangs thick with the scent of iron and dread. Vorne kneels beside him, calm and detached, a cold fingertip tracing the line of Elias’s cheek to feel for life beneath the skin. His expression reveals nothing. Selthor stands close, his twisted limbs restless; he has just finished a ‘treatment’ that nearly stopped Elias’s heart. Kael crackles with restrained energy in the shadows, watching the captive with open disdain. Elias’s fists tighten against the stone. Hatred is the only warmth left in him. A single tear tracks through the di…