The air inside the fortress chamber was thick and filled with tension. Candles flashed along the stone walls, casting scary shadows across the floor. Aveline struggled against the heavy iron chains that bound her wrists and ankles, her body was paining her from the fight that had brought them here. Gabriel was also tied beside her, his muscles tensed, and anger was visible in his golden eyes. In the center of the ritual circle, their child stood—small, scared, and surrounded by the elders who chanted in uniformity.
The ritual had begun.