I wake up in a cage, in the middle of some abandoned warehouse and I wince as I try to sit up. It’s dark and freezing here. I can’t tell if I’m shivering from the cold or if I’m in shock. I try to sit up, but every muscle in my body protests. Gasping for air, I whimper at the sharp pain in my side. I lift up my shirt to see a massive bruise stretching across my ribcage as if I were kicked there.
The lights are dim, and as I crane my neck to look out the one window in here, I see it’s nighttime. Hours have passed and I have no idea where I am or how long I’ve been unconscious. I remember Malrik’s men putting some sweet-smelling cloth over my face when we were in the van. I screamed for Archer and then fell into darkness.
Sights and sounds filter into my consciousness as my awareness incre
