~A Wattpad featured and Wattys Longlisted story~
Lana can hardly remember what it's like to be free. After nine years as a captive on board a ship ruled by ruthless bounty hunters, sailing across Maris with no clear direction, she's desperate for so...
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LANA DIGS HER fingernails into her palm as they walk through the dungeon below Lyon, following the Riders who lead Raz to his cell. Pain laces it's way up her hand as Byran and Skye heatedly argue Raz's innocence while the young man in question just silently marches forward, his eyes wide and glazed over.
Truthfully, She doesn't know what to believe. She recalls Arlo talking about how both him, Raz, and another woman by the name of Samena were fully under Vyanna's control. If that was true, then he could have been controlled by her this entire time. He could be the spy.
But then, would Arlo be suspicious too?
It gets harder to listen to their arguments, and she feels overwhelmed with indecisiveness. She starts to tune them out. She forces everything to fade out except for her surroundings, hoping to have those as a distraction.
Apparently this is the fabled dungeon of Lyon, and it definitely lives up to its name. The cobblestone walls are dark and keep everything cold in a way that puts her on edge, as if this prison is devoid of all sense of joy. The only source of light in this abysmal pit of darkness are the torches mounted along the walls, which cast eerie shadows across the seemingly endless corridors. The halls are lined with cells to their left, most of which are full of dragon hunters. They watch with interest as the Riders make their way past them, and the looks they give make Lana's skin crawl.
It seems to take them decades to make their way to Raz's cell, and despite her efforts to ignore the argument taking place before her, she can't. It scrapes away at her ability to stay calm and she feels herself getting more and more nervous by the second.
Vyanna had gotten into her mind as well. Shouldn't she be restrained just like Raz then?
Finally, they reach the end of the seemingly endless corridor, and an empty cell finally comes into view. The sight of it makes her stomach turn as she thinks of the years she spent in a cell not too different from the one before her. Her vision tunnels slightly, and she freezes, her feet rooted to the spot several feet away from the cell. All the nerves that have been building up during this long walk rise to the surface. She's paralyzed.
The rest of them continue on, oblivious. Ellerin has a furious expression on her face, her eyebrows furrowed into a deep frown and her lips purse as if she's swallowed a lemon. Bryan's on the verge of tears and Skye looks angrier than Lana has ever seen him before. They're all the picture of desperation and all seem to pale as the cell door swings open for Raz.
The door makes a loud rusty creak that rings out through the dungeon like a cry of pain. She can't help but wince at the noise, only increasing the nervous energy within her. The small space...the iron bars...it all brings her back to the Sea Terror.
"Wait..." She tries to say, but her words get caught in her throat and it only comes out as a whisper. Both fear and her own self incrimination silencing her.
The Riders push Raz into the cell, swiftly locking the door and Horace turns towards a furious Skye.
