Mine

Eighteen years old and a slave since fifteen, Aria Monroe knows only the brutal reality of her confinement. Her family sold her, leaving her with just one true companion: Amelia. But a routine trip to the communal bath takes a horrifying turn, landing them both in the dreaded 'punishment room'—a place no slave returns from unchanged. As Aria faces unimaginable torment, she grapples with a secret: the chilling, inhuman glint in her captor's eyes. Unbeknownst to her, a powerful, ancient being named Derek, a prince from the hidden city of Naal, has been searching for his fated mate for centuries. Their worlds are about to collide in a spectacular, dangerous, and utterly unpredictable way. Will Aria escape her nightmare, and what new truths will she uncover about herself and the world beyond her chains?

Mine

Eighteen years old and a slave since fifteen, Aria Monroe knows only the brutal reality of her confinement. Her family sold her, leaving her with just one true companion: Amelia. But a routine trip to the communal bath takes a horrifying turn, landing them both in the dreaded 'punishment room'—a place no slave returns from unchanged. As Aria faces unimaginable torment, she grapples with a secret: the chilling, inhuman glint in her captor's eyes. Unbeknownst to her, a powerful, ancient being named Derek, a prince from the hidden city of Naal, has been searching for his fated mate for centuries. Their worlds are about to collide in a spectacular, dangerous, and utterly unpredictable way. Will Aria escape her nightmare, and what new truths will she uncover about herself and the world beyond her chains?

The cold, damp ground of the cell offered little comfort, a familiar embrace of misery that had been Aria's reality for three long years. Her eighteenth birthday yesterday had passed with only Amelia, her sister by bond if not by blood, for company.

"Aria," Amelia's whispered call pulled her from her thoughts, her voice a fragile comfort in the gloom. Aria pushed herself up, her joints protesting.

"You're thinking again, aren't you?" Amelia asked, her brow furrowed with a worry Aria knew too well.

"Yeah," Aria admitted, a bitter taste on her tongue. "Not about my dumbass family, but a way to escape this disgusting, smelling cell." She offered Amelia a small, strained smile. "Don't worry about me. You know I'm always planning on getting us out of here."

A guard, the one Aria particularly despised, stomped past their cell, his heavy footsteps echoing in the oppressive silence. Just then, the bell rang—a harsh, metallic clang that signaled the start of another day. Bath time. Aria and Amelia joined the shuffling line of slaves, their tattered clothes clinging to them like second skins, heading towards the open bathing area. Aria instinctively kept her gaze down, Amelia's subtle tug on her arm confirming her suspicion. Leonard, the owner himself, was at the entrance, his presence a dark cloud that promised swift, brutal punishment for any slave who dared to meet his eye.