(Ava’s POV)
The cold seeped through the cracks in the stone walls like a living thing, curling around my skin and into my bones. I had no idea how long I’d been locked down here—hours, a day, more? Hunger gnawed at my stomach, but it wasn’t the worst part. The worst part was the silence. The way time blurred in the dark, punctuated only by the occasional echo of bootsteps and the clatter of metal far above.
I sat with my back against the far wall, knees drawn to my chest. My bruises throbbed like tiny pulses beneath the skin—evidence of the fight, the trap, the loss. Emily had made it out. I clung to that fact like a lifeline. But one of our team hadn’t, and I didn’t know if they were dead… or somewhere nearby, suffering the same fate.
Footsteps again.
I lifted my head, schooling my fa
