Chapter 6:

The Shadow's Bargain

Liora

The first thing I felt was cold. Not the gentle cold of morning air, but the bone-deep cold that comes from being underground where sunlight never reaches. My head pounded like someone had been using it as a drum, and when I tried to move, metal clinked against stone.

Chains. Heavy ones wrapped around my wrists and ankles.

I forced my eyes open, blinking against the darkness until shapes began to form. I was in a cave, the walls rough and dripping with ...