Page 20 of The Book of Legends
This is a prison.
“Nithya.” A beat of silence. “In the castle’s dungeon.”
I scoff, but it comes out weak. “A dungeon? Nithya.” My throat is so dry it scratches my throat. “You’re serious?”
He doesn’t smile. Instead, he lifts a gnarly hand and points behind me. “The black metal bars say otherwise.”
I turn, and my stomach plummets. Thick black bars cage us inside a cell, less than an inch apart to keep someone from squeezing through. Beyond them, a long corridor stretches into darkness, the flickering orange glow of torches casting eerie shadows against the damp
walls.I clench my fists and feel something heavy encasing my wrists. Iron shackles chain them together, keeping me from pulling them further apart.
I take a deep breath and look up, grimacing from the thick air. The stone walls near the window, with more black bars, are thick with moss. The walls surrounding them are engraved with claw marks. My attention catches on the clumps of straw piled near the cell’s far corner.
The old man’s voice cuts through the silence. “In case the prisoners fuck.”
A wave of nausea slams into me.
“In case you were wondering what the straw is for. Entertainment for the guards.” His voice is empty. “It’s where prisoners fuck. Man, female, it doesn’t make a difference.”
My skincrawls. I need to get out of here.
Tears prick my eyes at what almost happened before I ended up here. How stupid I was to follow Eryndor or whatever the fuck his name is. Dream or not, he drugged me before he tried to rape me. It explains the loss of coordination and how my body reacted.
It was like he possessed some sort of magic and used it on me.
I can’t feel bad for what they did to Eryndor. I should be grateful to whoever it was that came and got me out, but when I look around, I’m suddenly not so sure I didn’t trade one monster for another.
There is only one way to find out. “How long have you been here?” Dread pools in my stomach, waiting for his answer. I’m exhausted. The side of my head is throbbing. I’m caked in dirt and ash, sitting on a filthy cold stone floor.
“Fifteen years.”
My stomach lurches. “Oh God.”
“Which God are you referring to?” The man’s lips twitch. “There are a few in Elarion.”
“I don’t know what you mean.”
It’s pointless to tell this man where I’m from. What difference does it make? He just told me he’s been locked away in here for the last fifteen years. But he said, Elarion. The name rings a bell in my head, tolling the end of everything I know.
My aunt’s book!
I hug my arms around myself. “This can’t be real.”
“But it is.”
And I am so, so fucked.
“How did you get here?”
I hesitate. “I don’t know.”
“But you do know a Spellbinder lured you and drugged you with magic?”
My eyes dart to his. He watches me, sharp eyes glinting. “The guards were talking when they dragged you in. You don’t seem the type to fall for their tricks. What did he do?”
“He…sang.”
The moment I say it, revulsion clenches my gut. His voice. The melody. The way it made me feel like my body wasn’t my own.
