Celeste pov
…
I felt the chains wrap around my neck. Like a collar that prevented breath from working its sweet magic against my lungs. I choked. If only for a moment. My eyes darted this way and that… trying… trying desperately to compose myself. Nothing. Nothing worked.
Nothing at all.
"Are you all right?"
I shook my head. I felt a bump on my hand and grasped it like the lifeline it was. The edge of the table dug into my palm and even drew a tiny droplet of blood.
My breath hitched. It was just the right amount of pain to keep myself cognizant. Enough to bring my consciousness back to the conversation I held.
"Oh! I am terribly sorry." The professor spoke. He darted his eyes this way and that. "I had thought you were experienced in contracts… this… this shouldn't have happened if you were."
Maybe I was vindictive, maybe I wasn't. But the words came unbidden from my mouth.
