My Four Miraculous Treasures novel Chapter 372

Apparently so. There was no escape.

Willow pulled two chairs together to form an improvised cot. The handsome mahogany wood was unobstructed by any sort of cushioning or upholstery. The bare wood was cold and hard… but it was still better than sleeping on the floor.

It was spring now, but the nights were chilly all the same.

Willow laid herself down upon the cold, hard wood, with no blanket to cover herself with.

Her skin prickled with gooseflesh as the chill seeped into her, icy tendrils reaching all the way down to her bones. Unable to fall asleep, she got up and walked around, rubbing her arms to restore some warmth in them.

This sort of worked, at first… but then she just kept getting colder, and she was also starving and weary. Dizzy with hunger, she struggled even to draw breath.

She sat down on the chair, leaned back, and remained perfectly still, in order to conserve energy.

In this way, she managed to last through the night, until the faint rays of dawn’s light arrived.

By that point, Willow was near death from cold. Ravaged by hunger, she no longer had the strength to even rise from the chair.

She opened her eyes, and was dazzled by morning sunlight. She blinked several times, trying to get her eyes to adjust. It took several tries.

Morning had come… she hadn’t slept a wink, the whole night.

She was groggy. Even her thoughts seemed sluggish. Because she was so cold and hungry, she hadn’t been able to sleep at all…

Too late for that, now. Willow stood up, opened the door, and left the private gallery. She was greeted by a chilly draft. She hugged herself and shivered.

Last night, it had been too dark to see anything. Now that it was daylight, she took a look around:

The backyard was completely enclosed by high walls, too smooth to scale without a ladder. The walls were topped with a row of spikes, their razor-sharp points glinting menacingly in the sunlight, eager to foil any attempt at intrusion… or escape.