Chapter 196

NATASHA’S POV The light was blinding. After so long in the dark, even the flickering beam from a flashlight was enough to send daggers through my skull. I flinched instinctively, vision swimming, and tried to lift my arms to shield my face—only to remember, too late, that my limbs barely obeyed me anymore. “Natasha?!” That voice—Andrea’s—splintered something in me. Not because it was familiar. Because it wasn’t supposed to be here. None of this was supposed to be real. I opened my mouth, but only a rasp came out. The last time I’d spoken, it was to beg for my life. Or maybe I’d been screaming. I couldn’t remember anymore. I tried to focus, but everything hurt. My skin felt stretched too thin. My throat was cracked and raw. My joints creaked like old wood, and my muscles trembled just from the act of pushing myself up. The floor beneath me felt colder than anything I’d ever known. The chill seeped through my skin, gripped my bones. “Help her up,” Kade barked. The voice was sharper than