Down in Flames by Neilsen Shauna

Author:Neilsen, Shauna
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2022-04-18T16:00:00+00:00

I turned at the sound of my door being opened, looking up from the book I was reading and glanced over to see who it was. The wooden door creaked open and Aidan stepped inside, holding a lit torch and beckoning me to come with him. He had a wicked gleam in his eyes as he reached out to me and smiled. “Come with me. I have a present for you.”

I set the book down on a side table and raised an eyebrow at him suspiciously while I rose from the armchair. “What kind of present?” I asked him cautiously.

His smile widened, the flickering light of the torch casting long shadows across his face. “You'll see.”

Slowly, I went toward him and he placed one hand around my waist and guided me gently from the room. My heart thudded faster, playing along with his game and following him out into the corridor. It was almost midnight and everyone else was asleep in their chambers – it was just the two of us. Aidan led me down the hall to the service elevator. It wasn't used by royalty, or for any other purpose except to bring food and supplies to the various levels of the castle.

The only exception to that rule was if we were going down.

I glanced up at him nervously, seeking confirmation, but his eyes were on the wall ahead. The elevator compartment had two doors, one on either side, and the hallway bridge leading out towards the dungeon was only accessible through this gate.

As he held it open for me, I swallowed hard and then stepped inside. Neither of us spoke as it descended to the ground floor of the palace, also known as “the pits”. He smiled, seeming pleased with himself as our journey continued onward, the tension in the air between us building steadily. When it finally landed on the prison floor, the back door opened, leading out the opposite direction than we had entered by, and let us out to a bridge. It connected the palace to the dungeon keep where all the prisoners were being held.

“Come,” he insisted firmly.

I set my jaw and followed as he lead the way across the stony path. The bridge was longer than a football field and covered with a glass archway overhead. Aidan's steps were calm and deliberate as he opened the door to Avernus dungeon and led me through winding halls, lit with torches exactly like the one he carried. I walked in silence around some corners, almost losing my direction as I followed him through the roundabout route before finally ending at one doorway in particular.

“This is it,” Aidan muttered, pulling out the key and unlocking the metal lock. “This is what I wanted to show you.”

As the door swung open, I went inside and found an older man, chained loosely to the walls, with smears of blood across his body from where the guards had beaten him.

“He's all yours,” Aidan told me.

I turned, glancing up at him, confused.

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