Vic let out a soft, bitter laugh. “Easier said than done,” she muttered, her head dropping back against the wall.
Her defeat cut me deeper than I expected. This wasn’t the Vic I knew—the fiery, stubborn girl who always had a snarky comment ready. Seeing her like this, broken and helpless, made my stomach turn.
“Don’t say that,” I said firmly, forcing strength into my voice even as fear clawed at my throat. “We’re going to get out of here. Together.”
She didn’t respond, and the silence that followed was deafening. I glanced around the room again, my eyes searching for anything—any weakness in the walls, any tool I could use to break free. But there was nothing. Just stone, shadows, and cold.
And then I felt it.
A faint pulse, like a heartbeat, but wrong. Dark. Malevolent.
