SERA'S POV
The air was thick with decay and blood. A foul stench clung to my throat, and I gagged, pulling my scarf over my nose. The dim torches along the walls flickered, casting long, twisted shadows across the room.
And there she was.
Aurora hung from the ceiling, her wrists bound by chains laced with glowing runes that pulsed like veins of fire. Her bare feet barely touched the ground, and her skin glistened with sweat and blood. Surrounding her were four creatures—my creatures.
The skin walkers were grotesque, their bodies hunched and skeletal, with gray, leathery skin stretched too tight over their bones. Their limbs were long and twisted, their clawed hands scraping against the stone floor. Their faces were nightmares given form—eyes sunken deep, mouths filled with jagged teet
