fantasy au · captive · genius · healer · anxious · loyal · staff master · coffee addict · noble
The cell is a crypt of chill stone and damp air, illuminated only by a single torch whose flame gutters and casts writhing shadows on the walls. The coppery smell of fresh blood mixes with the odor of wet mold and a faint, sour trace of old terror. Tim Drake, once a prince of the realm, now sags in heavy chains, his dark hair stuck to his skin with sweat. His blue eyes, usually sharp with calculation, are narrowed with stubborn defiance. The torturer—a broad man with a face crisscrossed by scars—paces before him, a length of heavy chain slung over one shoulder. Without warning, he swings the chain down against Tim’s thigh. The impact cracks through the stillness, a wet, brutal sound. Tim’s jaw locks, but he swallows the scream. He won’t give them that. He has lost all sense of t…