Secret of the Snow Queen (Fire and Ice Book #1) *GOING THROUGH EDITS*

CH. 27 Temptation's Lure

                                                                                    Kelvin

After the interrogation, Dimitri's men forcibly escorted me through the dimly lit corridors of the prison, bypassing the cell where Luca and I had once shared our confinement. Its emptiness ignited a flurry of questions about Luca's fate. Where had they taken him? My mind raced as I struggled to make sense of the situation. Where were they leading me? As we descended down a flight of stairs, a foreboding realization struck me.

The psycho cells. Memories flooded back from my childhood spent within the confines of this fortress. With my father as the king's right-hand man and commander of the army, these dreaded cells were crafted to contain the most dangerous and unstable of criminals, shielding them from the outside world while preventing self-harm. A mere week in their solitary depths was said to drive a person to the brink of madness.

If Dimitri intended to confine me here, it meant he had plans for my prolonged isolation. With a heavy heart, I watched as one of the guards swung open the metal door, allowing his comrades to usher me inside the cramped cell. They swiftly untied me, their haste betraying a fear of my potential retaliation, before retreating hastily and sealing the door with a resounding clang.

I was all alone in here... With nothing but my own thoughts for company, I resigned myself to the solitary vigil ahead, steeling my resolve for the trials that awaited me in the depths of this prison.

***

The dim light filtering through the small slit window offered little solace in the suffocating confines of the psycho cell. Days had blurred into an indiscernible haze, leaving me disoriented and adrift in a sea of uncertainty. Time seemed to stretch endlessly, each moment marked by the relentless drip of water echoing in the silence.

The sound of heavy footsteps reverberated through the corridor, signaling Dimitri's approach long before he appeared at the threshold of my cell. As the door groaned open, revealing his imposing figure silhouetted against the faint light, a surge of apprehension tightened my chest.

"Dimitri," I greeted, my voice barely above a whisper, though the contempt simmering beneath the surface was unmistakable. He stepped into the cell with a swagger, his demeanor oozing with arrogance as he surveyed his surroundings with a disdainful sneer.

"Kelvin," he responded, his voice dripping with mockery. "I trust you've been enjoying your accommodations?" I clenched my fists, struggling to contain the anger that threatened to consume me. Dimitri's presence was like a festering wound, a constant reminder of the betrayal that had landed me in this hellish prison.

"What do you want?" I spat, unable to mask the bitterness that laced my words. Dimitri's lips twisted into a cruel smile; his eyes gleaming with malice.

"I wanted to congratulate you," he said, his tone dripping with sarcasm. "It seems you've been quite the talk of the town lately—outing the princess and all." My blood ran cold at his words, the gravity of his accusation hitting me like a punch to the gut. Dimitri's smirk widened, reveling in my discomfort as he continued to gloat. "You really thought you could keep your own skin intact, didn't you?" Dimitri taunted, his voice dripping with derision. "But it seems I was one step ahead of you this time." My blood ran cold at his words, the accusation hanging heavy in the air like a poisonous cloud.

"You were so quick to betray the princess, all to save your own sorry hide," he continued, his tone laced with contempt. "But it seems your little plan has backfired spectacularly, hasn't it?" I clenched my fists, struggling to contain the surge of anger that threatened to consume me. Dimitri's words cut deep, slicing through the facade of bravado I had carefully constructed in the face of his relentless onslaught.