It took a while for her to regain herself. She didn’t know when she had passed out, but when she awoke, she found herself shivering in the cell, alone. Blinking in the dim light, she saw a cheap linen dress crumpled in the dirt beside her, the shreds of her former dress mixed in deeply in the mud around it. The only thing she could do was pick up the dirty, poorly made dress. It was better than being naked. Despite everything, Rupert had been true to his word—there wasn’t a scratch on her, though the memory of the assault lingered painfully.

She leaned back against the cold wall, looking up at the dull light seeping through the cracks above. It must have been sometime at night. Drawing her knees up to her chest, she hugged herself, her body shivering from both the cold and the lingering shock.

Her gaze wandered around the cage, and she saw others like her—bruised, broken, left to rot. How had this happened? she wondered. She wasn’t such a fool, was she? Just what had all her training been for? Nothing... it had all been a game to her, hadn’t it? And then, some man had batted his eyes, and she’d become nothing more than a doll, broken in his hands.

How long would it take for someone to rescue her this time? She wasn’t even sure if it would happen at all.

Hugging herself tighter, Ravina couldn’t stop the flood of thoughts, replaying Rupert’s words in her mind. He was going to sell her outside the kingdom—to the enemies of the Ravenshield family. She wouldn’t last long.

She spent some time wallowing in misery, letting the weight of everything press down on her. But then, slowly, another emotion began to burn inside her—hate, plain, simple, and pure. It started as embers, barely warming her freezing body, but it grew, fed by the fire of her fury. Who the hell did Rupert think he was?

She may not have been the true daughter of the Raven, but she wasn’t some helpless little girl. She had been tortured before, broken by a mad mage who had tried to spend her soul for his twisted cause. Did Rupert seriously think his petty words and threats could break her? No—Rupert hadn’t broken her. She had already been broken long before he came into her life.

No, this was something else. She had become too comfortable, too complacent. He was a wake-up call. She had grown lax when she should have been preparing for what was coming. Any day now, the world would be thrown into chaos, and she needed to be ready if she wanted to survive.

She raised her arms, staring at the heavy bracelets still locked around her wrists. This, she thought, is nothing more than a reminder that I’m not ready—not yet.

But she would be.

Ravina stared down at the heavy bracelets, her mind racing. Rupert had made a grave mistake, revealing that a royal family member was backing him and underestimating her. He thinks I’m just a girl with silly ideas? Fine. Let him think that. But she wasn’t going to be his captive, and if she couldn’t unlock these cuffs, she’d remove them herself.

She glanced around the dingy cell, spotting a jagged stone protruding from the wall. The solution was painful but clear. She’d have to break her thumbs—dislocating them would give her enough space to slip the cuffs off.

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Her breath caught in her throat as she positioned her hand against the stone. She pressed her left thumb against the edge, gritting her teeth as the jagged rock bit into her skin. She hesitated, fear gnawing at her, but then the fire inside her flared again. No more weakness.

With a sharp intake of breath, she drove her body weight forward, feeling the snap as the bone broke under the pressure. Pain shot up her arm, but she had already suffered from far worse. She didn’t stop. She couldn’t. She turned to her right thumb, repeating the same brutal process, bitting down on her lip until she tasted blood.

Her thumbs were broken, limp, and useless, but now she had a chance. Gritting her teeth, Ravina pulled at the cuffs, using the metal bars for leverage. Each movement was excruciating, the cuffs biting into her raw skin. In hindsight, she should have done one hand at a time, but just because she was used to pain didn’t mean she could ignore it.

It was slow, agonizing work. Every inch she gained left behind a trail of blood and torn skin, the cuffs scraping against her wrists like teeth. But she was almost there. Almost... almost. How easy would it be to give up now, to let fate take her? But no—she wouldn’t be satisfied until Rupert’s severed head was mounted on her wall.

Time lost all meaning as she fought through the agony. It felt like an eternity, but finally, the cuffs slipped free, clattering to the floor, mixing with her blood and tears in the dirt. Her hands were ruined, her body trembling with exhaustion, but she had done it. She was free of her constraints.

But this was just the beginning. She still needed to escape.

Her hands throbbed, and a lingering fear gripped her as she thought of using magic again, the memory of the cuffs’ backlash fresh in her mind. Still, she had no choice. Summoning her mana, she pushed through her fears, manipulating it to stem the bleeding. It wasn’t perfect, but it would keep her from bleeding out—for now.

“Hey! Stop right there!” a man’s voice cut through the night, startling Ravina. The slaves weren’t alone. A guard, making his rounds, had spotted her. He ran toward her cell, a whistle already pressed to his lips, and blew it hard before she could stop him. The piercing note cut through the night, causing her to wince, covering her ears with her bloody hands.

For a moment, there was silence as the whistle’s echo faded. The guard fumbled for his keys, but Ravina already knew—trouble was coming. She didn't know what to do. Killing a monster was one thing but a person…if she had to live perhaps. Her eyes twisted to the small grate above her cell as she thought about what to do. They lingered for a moment. Risky yes… but how perfect would it be…she decided to take the chance, to see if god was on her side.

She laughed at the very idea of such a creature watching her. How cruel must he be to torture her over and over again, but if it was a test? Well then, fine. She was ready.

After all she had a rival who was a smart ass and insisted on bragging about his studies. He asked her once if she might be able to perform the spell that won him first place and delivered to her everything she would need to accomplish it.

Taking a breath she focused solely on what she needed. She felt it out as best she could, the pull of her mana, the twisting of the spell, even the space she was in itself. Every spell she used was crafted on instinct and this was unfortunately no different.

Yet this time she had a proper guide and more than enough motivation. She closed her eyes before she let loose her arcane energies just as she heard the cell door scrape open.

Then, a twist in her stomach.

A chill in the air…

When she opened her eyes, she was standing outside on the street. She looked down and saw the small window she had gazed up at moments before. From inside the building, she heard the guard’s shout of surprise as he realized she had disappeared.

She smiled at her success before turning on her heel and running.