Page 142 of Prince of Darkness and Deceit

No sound comes.

I press my lips together. Did I imagine the noise? Was it one of my neighbors returning home after the celebration?

Tension leaves my shoulders, and my magic fades from my palms.

I rub a hand over my face and turn back to my bed, eager to find respite in my dreams.

THUMP.

I whirl around. The next moments occur in the blink of an eye.

A broad figure fills the doorway.

Rian?

No. This man is too short.

My power flares out from me like a whip, but before it can land, powder is tossed into my face.

I cough and choke on the acrid-smelling cloud. My magic coils up tight and then flickers out of existence. I collapse onto my hands and knees, gasping.

I can’t breathe.

Footsteps draw closer. Panic pricks the backs of my burning eyes.

Dark, shiny boots appear in my line of sight. Before I can look up to see their owner, a coarse sack is tossed over my head, throwing me into darkness.

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An ache unlike anything I’ve ever known pulses through my skull, drawing me out of darkness with a punishing throb.

I force my eyes to part, only for a spear of pain to stab my head, pulling an agonized groan from my throat. My eyes fall closed.

What happened to me?

The last I recall, I was lying in my bed. Then I heard a noise…

I gasp. A new throb travels through my head as I remember the powder thrown in my face. The polished boots. The bag over my head.

I’ve been abducted.

But by whom?

Before speaking with Rian, I would have blamed the Fae. But their expressions when we said goodbye indicated they truly plan on leaving Verdanthia.

No…the Fae aren’t responsible for this. But then who is? And how am I going to escape?

One step at a time, Elara.

I inhale a deep breath and think. First, I need to figure out where I am.

The air is quiet, and the surface under my right arm is hard. My left hand rests across my body where I lie on my side.

Slowly, I reach toward the surface, grimacing at the fresh jolts of pain stabbing my skull at the movement, until my fingers brush against the gritty surface. Dirt? Am I lying on the ground?

I think of the different places in town I could be.

Most paths in Verdanthia are made of dirt, but the silence around me leads me to believe I’m in a room of some sort.