Sienna woke in a soft bed.
For a moment, she thought she was dreaming.
No cold floor. No chains. No guards.
Then the pain hit her. Her arms, bandaged. Her throat, raw. Her lungs burned with every breath. But she was alive.
And someone had moved her.
The door creaked open. Daemon stepped in, quiet, unreadable. She flinched, expecting coldness — anger, maybe. She had broken out of her cell, after all.
But he only looked at her.
Looked for a long time.
"You saved a pup," he said quietly. "You could've escaped… but you didn't."
Sienna tried to sit up. "I heard him cry," she whispered. "I didn't think… I just… I couldn't leave him."
Daemon's jaw tightened. "You risked your life for someone who thinks you're a curse."
She didn't answer.
"I don't understand you," he muttered. "You confuse me."
Sienna gave a small, tired laugh. "I confuse myself."
Daemon turned to leave, then paused. "From now on… you'll stay here. You're not a prisoner anymore."
She blinked.
"What changed?" she asked, voice shaking.
He hesitated. His back still to her.
"You did."
That night, a tray of real food came. Warm soup. Soft bread. Fruit.
Sage brought it with a soft smile and whispered, "You've stirred something in him. No one ever has."
Sienna didn't know what to feel.
She hadn't meant to change anything.
But somehow… the bond between her and Daemon had started to shift. No longer just pain. No longer just fear.
Something warmer.
Something real.
She wrapped the blanket tighter around herself and whispered into the dark:
"Don't fall for him, Sienna. He still thinks you're cursed."
But her heart didn't listen.