Adele woke to the cold.
She didn't open her eyes immediately. She simply lay there, breathing slowly. Her body hurt im ways she have never experienced before.
Every part of it.
Her wrists burned beneath the chains. Her ankles felt numb. Her back ached from the hard ground beneath her.
For a few seconds, she didn't remember where she was. Then she heard the wind. It moved through the snow outside with a low, endless sound.
Adele opened her eyes.
White. Everything around her was white. Snow covered the ground beyond the cage. It was still falling.
Heavy snow.
Thick enough that she could barely see the trees beyond it.
Adele blinked. She tried to move, but her wrists were still chained. She pulled, and nothing happened. She pulled again. The chains didn't move.
A small sound escaped her throat.
She looked around.
She was inside a cage.
Not a proper metal cage.
