Evelyn found herself sprawled on the cold stone floor of a dimly lit cell deep inside CROSS HQ.
The sharp scent of burning wax filled her nose, mixing with something more acrid—old blood, perhaps. Encircling her was a meticulously drawn pentagram, its edges traced in glistening ink, pulsing faintly as if breathing in time with the flickering candlelight.
She was shackled. Iron restraints clamped around her wrists and ankles, but it was the chain around her neck that truly sealed her fate. A spellcasting block chain—an insidious little invention that snuffed out a witch's magic like a candle in a storm.
Ugh. How unimaginative.
Without magic, she was just another human. A particularly good-looking one, sure, but that wouldn't get her out of this mess.