Cold.
That was the first thing I registered.
Cold stone beneath me. Cold air on my skin.
My eyes fluttered open, and for a moment, I couldn't process what I was seeing.
Stone walls. Rough-hewn, ancient-looking. Symbols carved into them that made my head hurt to look at. Torches flickering in sconces, casting dancing shadows.
Underground. We're underground.
Damn, my captor was a fast runner.
I tried to move and immediately realized I was tied to a chair. Thick rope around my wrists, my ankles, across my chest. Professional knots.
Panic immediately slammed into me.
Oh god. Oh god oh god oh god.
I yanked against the ropes. Nothing. They didn't budge.
Fire. I need fire. Burn through the ropes, burn through—
I reached for my mana, and it was like grasping at smoke. I couldn't sense my mana.
What did these bastards do to me?
My breathing was coming faster now, shallow and panicked. The cave suddenly felt smaller, the walls closer, the air thinner.
