The First Encounter - Twenty-Three

My head hung low, strands of hair clinging to the sweat on my brow. The room felt colder now, like the shadows themselves were pressing in on us, listening. I could hear Arthur shifting behind me, the creak of leather and rope taut with tension.

"Hold on, Vera," he said, voice strained as he fought the restraints. "I'll get us out of here."

I didn’t lift …