I dodge on instinct and swing my hand in an arc, throwing the blow off course. It grazes me harmlessly. I use the momentum to spin, swinging and bringing my fist into a jaw. He lets out a noise of surprise and pain. I don’t relent.
With my other hand, I swing up, aiming for where his chin should be. I hit nothing but air. Movement at my side. He lands a solid blow this time, straight into my stomach. Pain blooms hot and sharp, radiating out all the way to my fingers and toes. I wheeze, falling back against the bars. I grab the cold metal, then grunt and kick out with my feet. I meet a satisfying resistanceand push hard, shoving him away before he can land another blow.
Noises of struggle rise from the other cages, but I can’t allow myself to be distracted. There’s nothing I can do right now for Saipha or Lucan. I must stay focused.
A breeze alerts me to the presence of someone behind me—on the other side of the bars. I’m jabbed with something sharp, and I cry out in pain as I stagger forward. Someone out there is prodding me like an animal. The man in the cage lands a blow that sends me reeling.
Stars dot the darkness, even behind my eyelids. I’m beaten down with precise, rapid blows I can’t keep up with. The only way I’d even managed to hold my own was the initial element of surprise—he hadn’t been expecting me to sense him at all.Damn it…is the fact that I heard him going to be somehow used against me to try and prove I’m cursed?
The question haunts me as my knees crash into the compacted ground. Another blow sends me sprawling. He must have a sigil that senses where I am.
I barely resist drawing a flame of Etherlight. Would the vicar want me to? Or should I keep it a secret?Will it be used against me?That last thought has me concealing my power. It’s not worth the risk for any of us.
The sounds of Saipha’s and Lucan’s struggles and ultimate beatings combine with my own. It becomes hard to tell who’s enduring what—where the screams of my agony end and theirs begin.
All at once, it’s over. We’re left whimpering in our cages. Left to the darkness.
…
The lights don’t come back on for what feels like days on end,even though I know it can’t be more than one or two. The only way I know the passage of any time is because—as promised—we are taken out one by one to attend to our physical needs. The prelate has a lantern in hand, and one inquisitor approaches the cage, flanked by others wielding crossbows.
I cannot see Saipha or Lucan clearly in the low light. Their bars cast ominous shadows over them and across the floor. We don’t speak when we’re taken out of the cages. I think we’re all afraid of what they might do to us if given an excuse.
Inky splotches of blood stain the floor—proof of what they’ve done to us. What they continue to do… All in the name of “pushing us to our limits to ensure we’re not cursed.”
The prelatehatesme. It’s my only conclusion.
…
Today they’ve used sigils to electrify the cages and have placed our food just beyond the bars.
…
Time has been muddled by the all-consuming darkness of the room and the seemingly endless rotation of tortures.Has anyone ever died before from going too long without seeing any kind of light?
We’re quiet more often than not, now. After the first beating, we tried to keep in communication to keep up our spirits, but it became too difficult. Everything seemed to get worse when we spoke.
It’s been so long since I’ve heard their voices that I wonder if they’re even there.
My eyes flutter closed, and I inhale deeply as my mind takes me back. Saipha and I sit on her front stoop at twilight, knowingwe’ll be called inside soon. Starsight Night is one of the few nights of the year where people dare to risk the dragons…just to see the shining stars. I try to breathe it all in—the fresh, crisp air, the smell of the roast, the baked squash slowly cooking. A complete portrait in scent.
Then…the aroma turns acrid.
What was once beautiful begins to melt before me like too-hot wax. The colors run across my senses. Something wriggles on my tongue, and I rush to spit it out. A long centipede hits the floor. I cough and swear I see another long insect follow.
I let out a scream, but in a blink, they disappear—never real to begin with.
The scent of green dragon vapor crept upon us so slowly that none of us noticed until it was far, far too late.
…
We drown in relentless visions.
And I learn something new.
There are only so many times you can watch ravens pick out the eyes of your loved ones or feel the heat of dragon’s breath as it burns you to a husk before you stop screaming.
…
