Chapter 20

Maia POV

I awoke from my involuntary slumber to the sensation of gravel digging into my skin through the fabric of my cotton pyjamas. The telltale smells of damp earth and shit lingering in the air told me I was being held in some kind of dungeon, but as my eyes fluttered open all I could see was darkness. The room was completely void of light and sound, and as the hours dragged on I almost began to feel as though I was floating in another realm altogether, unable to see myself or hear the outside world. The only indication that I hadn’t died and moved on to the afterlife was the searing pain radiating through my skull from where it had been smashed against the doorframe. Surely the Goddess wouldn’t be so cruel as to make you feel pain after death, right?

After what could have been hours or days later, the sound of a door opening pulled me from my existential crisis. I jumped to my feet, ignoring the ache in my stiff muscles as I tried to prepare myself for whatever Adrian had planne