Page 41 of A Trial of Fate

The two hunters who carried my iron cage on foot forced me onto my feet and angled me toward a large opening in the wall of therocks. Months, maybe even years, of carving and chipping away at the sandstone and granite created this enlarged archway. The unique features of the rock held secret cracks of misery that I knew alluded to the prison awaiting me down below.

I stilled my breath as my acute shifter hearing flared, silencing the world around me. The stillness of my final moments above ground flashed before my eyes, creating a memory for me to cling to in the darkness below. The last rays of orange and red danced along the horizon. The moon was already visible in the sky with the sun setting along the western skyline. The colors were vibrant and alive, giving me one final shred of bliss before descending into the hunters’ lair.

My iron chains clinked and rubbed against open sores on my skin as I was forced to descend into the darkness. They forced my head down, pulling my hair to pin my gaze forward. I sent my final prayers to the gods and slumped my shoulders in defeat, finally accepting my fate. At the opening, only the sound of cold, hard stone and crumbled rock echoed beneath the boots on my feet.

“Bastards,” I mumbled in the silence. “How’s the nose?” I taunted, trying to fight back in any way I could.

The hunter on my left heard me and gave me a swift punch in the gut that caused me to double over. I lost my balance and tumbled down the stairs that led into the abyss. The heaviness of the chains pulled me down as I stumbled forward, desperately trying to catch myself. I tripped over the irons and toppled over, ducking my head, with my shoulder colliding first with the ground. I rolled over onto my side and groaned loudly. There was a loud popping sound and a blinding pain that radiated down my arm. It wasn’t broken, maybe, but fuck, it hurt.

“You idiot,” one of my captors scolded. “The mage wants this one fresh when he arrives to begin his work. The fall could have easily broken her neck, and we would have taken the lashings meant for her.”

Lashing… great. At least one question about my torture was answered. My animal’s anger boiled with my own as I grunted and groaned to try and get to my feet.

The hunter who punched me ignored the other’s comment and bent to pick me up off the ground. “The bitch deserved it for headbutting me in the nose. Give me a hand. She’s not a small female, and these chains are heavy.”

You’re telling me.

“Not as foul-looking as some of the others we have brought in here though,” he added as his hands hauled me upward.

“Bite me,” I snarled.

If I had the ability to roll my eyes and convey my disgust and annoyance, I would have. But one eye was already starting to swell shut from the impact with the ground. It wasn’t worth the effort, though. I was beginning to realize that this would be a waiting game. I had to hold out for as long as I could until help arrived.

If help arrived?

No.

Do not start going down that rabbit hole, Skylar. Help will come. They will find you…You just have to outlast the humans.I could not give up hope.

My captors disregarded my sparkling personality and guided me down a winding staircase, leading me farther and farther from the open sky and fresh air from above. The darkness thickened as we descended farther underground.

Fifty-five.

That was the number of steps I counted as they dragged me down the path to my demise. I wasn’t going to make this easy for them. I was a fighter. As shifters, we didn’t bend, and we refused to break.

The putrid smell of decay and death oozed from the chambers hidden in the abyss under the rocks. I allowed a silent scream to erupt inside my head as the looming panic tried to creep inside my mind. My fear for the moment was getting the best of me as my breathing began to accelerate with sweat pouring from my brow and my fists clenched.

I didn’t want to die here. No. Not like this. Not as some experimental torture victim.

The cell door swung open, and I was thrown inside yet another iron-locked cage. Could they change things up a bit? The lack of sunlight or even torches only added to the gloom and doom of this underground holding. From the stairs, I was taken to the left, but I could also see another pathway leading to the right. With only some hay and a piss bucket for company stashed away in the corner, I settled in. No other cells were here aside from mine.

Bastards. They planned this well. Shifters found strength in their pack. Here, I would be isolated and alone.

Congratulations, Skylar. Your torment has officially begun.

To my relief, one of the henchmen—I nicknamed Tiny—cut the gag from my mouth. The other one, whom I nicknamed Thorn,unlocked the excess chains around my legs and torso. However, the shackles on my ankles and wrists remained where they were. Thorn gave me a stern look that said if I caused trouble, the chains would return.

I nodded in silent understanding. I would play along for now.

Thorn grabbed Tiny, who was the recipient of my headbutt to the nose, by the collar of his cloak and shoved him out of my cell. The barred door slammed shut, followed by the sound of the lock turning over.

I was alone.

Well, not entirely alone.

My animal was with me. A lifelong soul companion that would never leave my side. I reached out to her, begging her not to take away any physical pain but to comfort and protect my mind. My body would be broken to pieces. I knew that… I could handle that aspect of their torture. Shifters were born with a high pain tolerance due to our bodies breaking when we transformed into our animal forms and a tendency to invoke violence—among other things.

But my mind, my soul, needed to remain intact. If I could manage that, then I could survive. I knew my body would eventually succumb to this place, but I refused to allow myself to break. I couldn’t help my trembling limbs as I wondered what I would have to sacrifice in order to survive.

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