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Then I hear something new. A sound that is louder than anything else in the dungeons. A sound I have heard a thousand times before. Somewhere, someone is starting a fire.
The light, when it comes on, does not flicker or bloom into life. Instead, fiery red light in the form of flames burst into life from the walls around us. The air goes dry as the flames suck hungrily at the oxygen in the dungeons.
I can’t breathe, but hey, at least I can see.
Around me, my fellow captives are being shoved into cells that are about a quarter of the size of the smithy at home.In other words, very small,I think despondently.
I realize then that the naga who are jostling us into the cells are actually Lodra soldiers. I recognize them by the red and black coloring of their clothing.
So where did the Jalma soldiers go? They probably aren’t allowed to see the inner workings of their neighbors’ dungeons.
This makes sense to me. If I was a ruler of Lodra, I would not want the Jalma soldiers to see any important information, including the size of the dungeons.Not when they can run back home and tell their leaders everything.
Everyone knows how power-hungry the Jalma royals are. I wouldn’t put it past them to overthrow the Lodra royal family and lock them in their own dungeons. And while I do not feel too fondly about King Shradga right now, the other alternative is worse.
The other alternative is about to happen,I think with a shudder as I am finally forced into a cell.Vippera is about to become part of the Lodra royal family.
I am in the cell with two other women, who are both in too much shock to do anything except shiver and cry quietly.
I want to do something. I want to comfort them. I want to tell them that everything will be okay.
But I am not a liar.
The light from the fire-lit torches does not reach inside the cells, and there are no windows as we are three stories below ground. So we sit in darkness and listen as the soldiers shuffle out.
After a long moment of quiet, I go to the front of the cell and peer out through the bars of the cell door. I cannot see much, but I can see that two guards stand close to the entrance of the dungeons.
A wave of exhaustion and resignation passes over me. I turn woodenly to one of the benches that line the cell walls and take a seat.
I do not know if I fall asleep or start to dissociate from my surroundings, but when I become alert again, I can tell that time has passed. I do not know how I know this, except that I know it with absolute certainty.
My cell mates are asleep on the floor, and they shiver in their sleep as they clutch one another.They’ll wake up in the dark, and for a moment they’ll think that it was a horrible nightmare. And then they’ll realize that the surface beneath them is hard and uncomfortable.
And they’ll see that they only fell asleep because they had one another.I think this dispassionately as I stand up and start to pace the cell.
At least this place is big enough that I don’t trip over them right now.I almost laugh out loud at how quickly I have conformed to being in a cell.
I continue to pace the cell, and my head becomes slightly clearer, and my heartbeat feels slightly stronger.
I hear the guards murmuring a few feet away from our cell, and, for a split second, my magic crackles at my fingertips. I put my hands behind my back and wait for the energy in my hands to subside.
Now is not the time,I think fiercely to myself. I swallow several deep breaths as if to swallow the magic that threatens to spill from me.
I am so consumed by my own thoughts that I do not even notice the footsteps outside my cell until they are less than a minute away.
I turn to see which of the naga has come to hurt me this time, but the naga outside my cell does not look like a soldier or guard. Instead, he wears fine clothing, and his hair is longer and smoothly combed back.
“You.” He looks directly at me. “What is your name?”
I want to ignore him, but I do not think that is in my best interests.
“Aurora.” My voice is devoid of emotion.
The naga smiles slightly, which is shocking to see. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a naga smile before, let alone at a human.
Then again, you’ve never been this close to one before.
Again, I swallow to maintain my composure and to keep my magic at bay.
