The Archress [HOLD]

VIII

They'd been in jails, they'd been in caves, and they'd been in underground tunnels like this that were damp and muddy and terrible. But this was different. The silence here was unbearable, along with the complete lack of sunlight. Every hour felt like a day, every day felt like an lifetime, and every lifetime felt like an eternity.

Ulysses felt like he was going to die. He'd long ago stopped keeping track of the days, since it was impossible to tell without any food, light, or fresh air. Already, two of the Huma he was kidnapped with had died. It was sudden, one minute they were complaining like everyone else, and the next they were--thankfully--forever silenced. Ciar had guessed that it was from hunger, but was perplexed because there weren't any symptoms, she had told him.

Ulysses had taken on the roll as leader, thinking that the fallen assassins would need one, but soon learned how boring it could be. Listening to fruitless escape plans and trying to aid anyone who was sick, all while struggling to find out where they were was a waste of time. Everything here was an abnormally, from the forever-burning torches to the lack of moisture and bugs that usually came from being underground--assuming that was where they were.

His thoughts kept tracing back to that fateful day when Armia had shown him that picture, when he witnessed Sasge's death and made a bargain with Delirious. He hadn't regretted any of it before, but now what-ifs plagued his mind. In fact, he was still reeling from the Beast and the green arrows.

"Hey, Ulysses! Care to stop moping for just a second?"

Lonco, Boak, and Ciar were all coming towards him, and from what little Ulysses could see of their faces, he knew something bad had happened. The sounds of the other Huma faded away as the trio came closer and closer, near enough the Ulysses could see bright red, almost glowing, irises.

He took a step back. "Great Bea-" he caught himself before he could finish his sister's most-used phrase. "I mean, what on earth happened to you? You're eyes..." he trailed off, staring into Boak's eyes, which were the brightest. They called to him, wiping away every feeling and surrounding around him. There was no up, no down, no Lonco, no Ciar, no Boak or other Huma. The tunnel he was in fell to nothing, until he drowning was in a wave of red, the familiar color of blood. His breath hitched as her felt a sharp stab in his head, then arms.

Then as violently as it came it left, leaving Ulysses dizzy and lightheaded. The people around him were floating off the the ground in doubles, and everything that moved was covered in a velvet-like red. Confusion flooded his mind and, suddenly tired, he dropped to the ground.