Chapter 43

Serenity

My head throbbed, and my limbs felt like lead. The last thing I remembered was being dragged from the car and a sharp pain in my neck. Now, I was lying on a cold, hard floor in an unfamiliar room, dimly lit by a single bulb hanging from the ceiling. Panic surged through me, bracing myself against the wall to sit. Nausea and dizziness washed over me as I sat straight up, whatever drug they had injected me with still flowing within me.

I forced myself to take deep breaths and closed my eyes, trying to calm the racing of my heart. Tay… Where was Tay?

I had to find a way out and get back to him. I scanned the room, looking for anything that might help me escape. The walls were bare, and the windows were boarded up. There was a single door, but it was locked from the outside.

Footsteps approached, and I quickly lay back down, pretending to be unconscious. The door creaked open, and I heard muffled voices.

“She’s still out,” a gruff voice said. “Good. Elder Jalen wants her alive,