Time lost all meaning.
It was just the quiet and the dark. The dampness from the water they'd thrown on me earlier had seeped into my bones—a deep, relentless chill that the still air couldn't warm. My skin was cold to the touch. My lips were dry. My bruises pulsed in slow, steady rhythms.
I couldn't tell if it was a new day or the same endless night.
The light never changed. That single bare bulb, always burning. Always watching.
Then—another click.
The sound was a trigger. My body tensed before my mind could catch up. Muscles coiling. Breath catching.
The door opened.
"Your list is still being prepared."
A woman's voice. Calm. Clipped. No room for questions.
The head maid. Posture rigid. Uniform pressed. Eyes fixed somewhere just above my head—anywhere but my face.
"Now it's time for your bath."
I blinked. My mind was slow. Foggy. The words took too long to land.
"What? No—get me out of here!"
