Mia’s POV

“Release me!”

My voice cut through the smothering darkness, raw and jagged.

I was even surprised by the sound. It wasn't a whimper this time, or the broken pleas of a girl too feeble to fight back; it was a roar.

The echo was swallowed by the stone cave, but the chains that tied me to the chilly wall remained in place.

Instead, they blazed hotter, emitting a faint crimson glow as ancient inscriptions pulsed over the metal.

Every drag sapped me, ...