Chapter 26

 VERITY

I followed behind Usel, her long brown hair swaying side to side in front of me. She didn’t say a word, and neither had Shamshiel as I had left the room; however, I felt his eyes on my back as I had departed. Instead of being uncomfortable it felt normal, as if him having his eyes trained on me was as normal as breathing. I noted this in my mind but didn’t want to consider what it meant for me. Down and down, we went, the stairs spiraling even deeper underground, the walls gradually becoming rougher and rougher. Clearly, we were headed to a prison of some sorts, the dampness in the air and smell of human waste made that apparent enough. I covered my nose in an effort not to gag at the rancid stench, the woman turned around, her eyes icy as she looked at me with disdain. I met her eyes and held them, the challenge apparent. I looked away first, only because I began