SERAPHINE'S POV
Day seven in the Northern Dungeons
I never thought I'd end up here.
My hand shakes as I write these words by the dim light of a single candle. The cell is cold—everything in the North is cold. Stone walls, iron bars, and air that bites at my skin even through the blanket they gave me.
They could have killed me. Maybe they should have. After what I did, after what I tried to do, death would have been merciful.
But Kael isn't cruel like I thought he'd be. He's just... tired. I saw it in his eyes when they dragged me down here. Not anger. Just exhaustion and disappointment.
Somehow that's worse.
I need to write this down. All of it. Before I forget who I really am underneath all the lies they fed me. Before I start believing my own excuses.
My name is Seraphine Ashford, and I am a fool.
I wasn't always like this. That's what I keep telling myself, anyway. I wasn't born wanting to hurt people or burn kingdoms.
I was twelve when it started.
