Chapter 35

[Valerie]

There was movement outside the door, and I stirred awake, wondering who could be there. Alexander left hours ago, and as much as I tried to call out to him, or call out to anyone to come down, no one came. Even Layla, who had suffered much more than I did because she was considered a traitor, laid unconscious on the ground and barely moved after I managed to feed her the vegetable soup when Elena was done with us.

The slices on my back stung as if I’d been attacked by a thousand bees. I had to take my bra off, and used it to tie a terrible wound on Layla’s arm when she was bleeding out too much. Luckily, the bleeding stopped, but I knew her pain didn’t. There was no way out of this dungeon, and the dull light ahead was flickering as if it would die too. It seemed to match the way Layla was breathing sporadically, and I wished there was something more I could do.

I found an old blanket and used it to cover Layla’s beaten body. The horr