In the time Eragon has been absent from Alagaësia, the riders have fallen to vices. Few have been able to raise to fulfill the roles the riders had originally been given, and a dark sect-reminiscent of the Foresworn-has risen to power. The cities...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Erys woke with a pounding head. It took several moments for sense to return to her. Her vision wouldn't focus, and everything still felt dark. She realised belatedly there was no light where she sat; the darkness was so complete she saw only a few inches past her nose, and that barely. When she realised where she sat, terror ripped through her. Fear chilled her veins so intensely she could not help urinating where she sat. She occupied the cage her victim once had; blood and gore were still present, filling the air with its rank stench. She sat in a pool of dried blood and urine and faeces.
She tried to shift into a more comfortable position. Pain shot up her legs, and she realised they were still broken. As her vision swam and she fought to remain conscious past the pain, she fell back against the wall, panting and gasping for breath. Tears slipped from her eyes. When she tried to wipe them away, she found her hands bound above her head tightly enough to cut into her wrist; a bar forced her hands over two feet apart from one another. She balled her hands into fists, fighting the numbness in her arms.
Erys whimpered, leaning her head against the wall. She didn't feel Du Thirr, she couldn't move, her legs remained broken. She was at their mercy and she would die in their care.
The door at the end of the room opened. Through the bars, Erys could see Ythari holding a lantern above her head.
"So." She set the lantern at her feet and approached the cell.
"So," Erys repeated.
"Ya lied to us all."
"I didn't—"
"Ya're a girl."
Erys heart stopped; her breath caught in her throat. She realised the futility of hoping no one else knew. By now, her secret was out. The Riders would be searching for her.
"Please—"
"Koarna kept ya secret." She paused. "We've punished her for her deception."
"What did you do?" she asked, more to herself through fear than the sake of knowledge.
"Bring her in!"
The colour drained from her face. Two guards dragged a naked Koarna into the dungeon. They dumped her unceremoniously on the floor. Open wounds covered her body, bruises and the lash of a whip marred her skin. She remained unmoving on the cell floor.
"She's been accused'a treason. She protected ya long enough."
"What are the charges?" Erys demanded.
"Ah don' owe ya an explanation—"
"What are the fucking charges?" she spat.
Ythari laughed. "If ya must know, treason, murder'n, deception. Ya die in three days time. Dawn."
