Page 19

I crashed into some sort of deep pool.

My body tensed. Frigid water burned as it rushed up my nose and I sank lower.

Panic engulfed me. I flailed my arms wildly, desperate to reach the surface. I was never a strong swimmer.

My lungs screamed from the pressure.

Kicking with all my energy, I prayed my instincts were leading me up. The burning from my lungs spread to my limbs.

Air! —I gulped in large breaths. My arms splashed recklessly, trying to keep my head above the surface. I sucked in, and coughed out water.

Blinking again and again, my eyes searched, but there was only darkness. No light was visible to make out my surroundings.

After a few panicked moments, I forced myself to flutter my feet as my mother had taught me. My breathing settled, and I gathered my composure. The sound of my splashing and heavy breathing echoed around me—echoed off of walls.

I must be in a small chamber ... most likely a cell.

As my eyes adjusted, a rectangular outline appeared not but twenty steps away. I swam toward it. When my hand hit a hard ledge, relief flooded in— I’m not going to drown.

Pulling myself up, water splashed loudly against the stone floor. I forced myself to stand. With my hands stretched forward, I sloshed toward the faintly lit outline.

Met with rough wood, I traced the edge for a handle … but either I was mistaken, or the door didn’t have one.

Before I could explore more, footsteps sounded from beyond. They grew loud, progressing in my direction.

I didn’t know if I should shout for help or hide.

Frozen with indecision, a flicker of blue torchlight passed through the iron bars of the rectangular opening near my head.

My instincts told me to hide and I slid into the corner of the cell, lowering to the ground, trying to make myself small.

“I know yous is in there,” an unfamiliar voice called from the other side. He waited for a breath. “Hiding ain’t gonna do yas no good. Better if yas just come out.”

I bit my lip. It wasn’t like my crashing around in the pool of water had gone unnoticed. All he had to do was open the door to find me.

Defeated, I sulked to the center of the cell, where flickering rays of light could reach me.

The stranger was but a shadow in the small opening. “Huh, tried to break through a ward, did yas? This ‘ill be fun.” He chuckled and withdrew the torch. His footfalls faded along with the light.

“Wait!” I called, not sure what I was pleading for. My hands wrapped around the metal bars. “Wait!” I called again.

Silence answered.

For the next few moments, I felt around the perimeter of my cell. Three solid walls and a pool of water I was not getting back in. There was no way out.

I backed into a corner and slid down, wrapping myself in a tight ball. I clutched the beads at my wrist, turning and counting, trying to calm myself.

With the chill air of the dungeon and my wet clothing, I shook from both fear and cold.

It felt like hours had passed before I heard footsteps again. This time more than one set.

The sound of Jesmine’s voice commanding the guard to open the door shot me to my feet.

The Keeper entered. The guard’s torch was bright and blinding, forcing me to look off to the side.

“Explain to me what you were doing, girl.”

I took a deep breath. “I got lost trying to find my way from the third floor.” My throat was tight with emotion as I continued, “I was looking for help and opened a—.”

Her hand gripped my throat. “Do. Not. Go. Where you are not permitted,” she spat. Her long fingers squeezed around my neck, blocking the air.

My hands latched onto her arm, weak and useless in stopping her.

With her other hand, she ripped down my collar and pressed her palm to my chest. A burning heat flared from the contact of our skin. I would have screamed, could I have breathed.

Jesmine’s eyes glowed, like tiny embers sparking to life beneath a layer of cold ash, an orange luminescence crept into her irises.

She is burning my energy!

My vision blurred with tears. The burning sensation moved up to my neck and ears whilst spreading lower into my chest and stomach.

Dizzy, my legs swayed.

She slammed me down. My knees knocked into the hard rock floor; a tremor of pain shot up my legs and a wheeze escaped me.

Ripping the torch from the guard’s hand, Jesmine leaned over me. “It would be so lovely to burn you to ash, little human … or even add a piece of you to my collection … but I have something more lucrative in mind for you, and it will work better if you are in one piece.”

She pulled away and addressed the guard. “Lock her in for the night.” In a lower voice, she muttered, “Lucky for her, I still have a need for her pathetic human blood.”

The guard followed her out, slamming the door behind him.

Darkness returned.

Still laying on the floor, all I could do was gasp for breath. I rubbed at the area around my neck and the spot on my chest where Jesmine’s hand had splayed.

Is this really happening?

When my breaths finally eased, I peeled myself away from the wet ground and rolled onto my hands and knees, my body shivering uncontrollably.

Stars danced in my vision when I tried to stand, so I crouched back down and crawled into a corner. I tucked my knees in and wrapped my arms around myself, staring into the dark.

The stabbing pain in my chest made it hard to think.

My body rocked back and forth.

I stared blankly.

I rocked.

Somewhere there was rhythmic tapping.

I rocked.

My mind tunneled along a void of nothingness.

I rocked some more.

The tapping grew persistent.

My thoughts drew together, and slowly my mind pulled back to reality.

The tapping noise was me—my teeth. They clanked together repeatedly; the chatter echoed off the walls.

How long have I been sitting … rocking … shaking?

Recognizing my shock, I shifted positions, trying to release the tension in my body. I stretched out my legs and arms. The pain was still sharp in my chest, my arm ached, and my knees were undoubtedly bruised, but nothing seemed broken.

It would have been wise to remove my wet clothing, but I was exhausted and couldn’t rouse up the energy. Like a whirlpool pulling me under, weariness held me down. The task of peeling off the sodden fabric seemed monumental.

How could Jesmine sap my energy so quickly? I know Ashlora can kill with their hands, but so easily? My vulnerability among the Ashlora is pathetic. How many times have I come close to their hands of burning death?

A fresh wave of fear made me nauseous, and I fought back the vomit. If it hadn’t been for Jesmine’s last statement, I would have thought she left me to die.

The only thing that kept her from burning out my energy was that she needed me as the Offering. And if that were true, as soon as my blood was no longer needed, she would end my life for any simple reason … or maybe just for fun.

Is it inevitable that my life will end to prolong hers?

I slid my body over and laid on the ground, curled my legs up and placed a hand under the side of my head.

Death hung heavy in the air. It wasn’t a place many escaped or survived.

How many lives have ended within these walls? Is it only a matter of time before a similar fate finds me?

My demise was a reality that I hadn’t truly accepted before—somewhere in the core of my being, I always believed I would find a way out. But in that moment, my thoughts grew as dark as my surroundings.

Clay would grow old without me. We would never get to share the trials of life with one another. I prayed his life would be happy and fulfilling— but I am going to miss it all. The thought was too much. I didn’t have the energy to cry fully. Stray tears trailed over my face.

Sleep couldn’t take me fast enough. The moldy stink of the cell scratched at the back of my throat.

At one point, I awoke, not sure if I had truly slept. I felt my forearm. The bandage was wet and cold. Somehow, I found enough energy and sense to remove it, hoping the ick of the water hadn’t found its way into the open wound.

Two guards startled me awake. The first was shorter, and held an Ashloran torch near my face, temporarily burning out my vision.

“Mornin’ pet.” It was the taller guard whose voice matched the one I heard the night before. He yanked me from the floor.

At some point, I must have found the energy to remove all of my wet clothing as it lay scattered about the enclosure. While I was cold, I was too tired to be concerned over my nudity. “What’s happening?” I rasped.

Though my legs shook with the effort to stand, and I in no way displayed resistance, the taller guard handled me like a wild animal torn from a trap. With a pinching grip and little regard for my struggle, he pulled me out of the cell. “Looks like yous got lucky. Getta go back up.”

My bare feet slipped on the stone as he rushed me down the curved pathway.

Torchlight poured into the hall ahead, the door to another cell propped open. The guards kept a steady march.

When we reached the room, the men didn’t slow. My gaze wandered over the space. Heavy chains hung from the walls and ceiling. A rickety chair sat empty. A dark residue formed a circle on the floor at the room’s center.

The chamber quickly passed by, but the image had burned into my mind—it was a torture chamber.

The hair along my neck rose, and a chill ran through my blood.

Had Claire been kept in that room? Is that where Jesmine held her after she used her to catch a Slip? It was a heart-wrenching thought that caused my legs to buckle.

The guard holding me responded with a sharp tug, dragging me into the stairwell.

The shorter guard led us upward. His torch eventually illuminated the main dungeon door. Metal creaked, followed by blinding light.

Squinting, I studied the guards who were so kindly escorting me.

Their appearances were rough. The one leading with the torch was bald and walked with a limp.

The taller guard, squeezing my arm, wore his hair slicked back in a small ponytail and had a scar on his upper lip.

Both were Ashlora, their eyes dark, impassive, and gray.

We turned down the hall leading to my room. In the daylight, I became more conscious of my nudity and wrapped my free arm over my chest.

I never thought I would be happy to return to the small barren space of my room, but there was a sense of comfort as the man flung me in and I tumbled to the floor.

“Get dressed. Yous is expected in the lab.” He slammed the door, and I was alone.

Hungry, tired, with a pounding headache, all I wanted to do was crawl onto my straw filled cot and hide myself away. Instead, I retrieved a clean servant’s frock from the dresser and slipped it on over my clammy skin.