Page 80 of A Crown of Hopes and Sorrows

33

Epiphany

I gasped. My eyes ached at the darkness, trying to reach for any scrap of light.

None came.

The world had disappeared.

Dampness permeated the space, a trickling sound of water dripping somewhere in the distance, icy rock pressing against my legs.

A scream echoed in the distance, and hair rose on the back of my neck. I yanked at my arms and rattled chains that held them suspended above my head.

A bolt of pain shot through me like a searing flash of lightning.

For a moment, reality grew fuzzy, and everything blurred as though my mind swept away from my body. I fought against it, gulped in breaths and the clammy taste of the air.

I had done this before. Woken up in this space and moved too quickly, the agony ushering me into passing out.

I eased over, the chains clinking, taking pressure off my shoulder.

Feeling rushed into the muscle there, and I swallowed air with my gasp as another sting of pain coursed through me. Tears hit my cheeks and dripped down my face.

A low growl sounded from somewhere in the distance, and I shivered, tucking back against the uneven surface of the wall. As if cowering would help me. I was chained and injured and sat in the pitch black. Anything could come after me, and I wouldn’t see it coming.

I swallowed at the dryness of my throat.

Hera had brought me here. The memory of her dragging me across the stones pierced back into my mind. My legs had scraped over sharp gravel, the pain yanking me into consciousness. I shifted, and the skirt of my dress stuck to my skin. Probably from dried blood.

My entire body ached, and I sobbed again—just once—a hopeless sound that echoed back to me.

Oh, gods. I didn’t know how to get out of this.

I was entirely helpless. I hurt so badly I couldn’t think straight, and Hera had trapped me in some godsforsaken place.

I would die.

I swallowed again and then coughed at the itchy sensation of it.

This is what Father had meant. Remember, you’re a princess, he’d said. If I’d done that rather than rushing off on my own, leaving the safety of Sappho’s residence, my guards, and Temi, then I would likely still be with them.

Instead, I had let my emotions get the best of me and peeled off into the mountains and right into the hands of Hera.

What did she want with me?

It had to be related to Temi. Did that mean she planned to trade me to her for something? Or threaten me to manipulate her for some purpose?

Gods, I hoped Temi wouldn’t capitulate. Whatever consequences would come with it, it would be too much. I didn’t wish to die, but I didn’t want my life to cost Temi whatever it might.

I whimpered, a note of self-pity that rang through the dark space.

No. I couldn’t give into despair. I had no control over what actions Temi might take. Maybe there was something I could do. I leaned my leg out. It ached so much that a rush of pain swept over me. But I ignored it and scraped my foot around until it hit a rock.

I dragged it in my direction. What would I do with a rock, anyway? My hands weren’t free. But if someone released me, I could grab it and have some sort of weapon. I shifted it towards me.

A scream echoed from farther back in the space.

I jumped.