Chapter 220

THE LAST DAYS PASSED REMARKABLY fast and it felt scary to wake and know that tonight was our last night in these caves. Tomorrow, by midday perhaps, we'd be above ground.

I lay there in the dark, eyes wide and heart racing at the thought of it all and reached for the chain around my neck, tracing along to the weight of the ring. I'd given up trying to wear it in the caves, too worried I'd damage it but I would wear it into battle. I wanted to have something of his near to me when I died.

My wrists throbbed and panic constricted my chest when I considered the next few days, the darkness making everything feel far more real at the moment.

All you can do is fight, fight to win. At the best you'll see him sooner rather than later, I thought, trying to quell the fears. At the worst, a voice in my head thought ironically, you'll live centuries without him.

Ugh.

I closed my eyes against that, trying to coax sleep. I knew I'd woken far too early. My mind refused to shut up and I lay there