bChapter /bb159 /b

Nyssa pov

As I ran into the dungeon, my steps were fast, though soundless and my breathing were soft, barely audible and once again, I found myself grateful to Zayn that he had helped me and saved me the trouble of trying to get past the guards.

However, as I walked through the tworge gates in front of the building, I couldn’t help but think about something.

Why were there only two guards at the dungeon? The dungeon wasn’t inside the packhouse. It wasn’t that far from it, but the route to it wasplicated and, unlike the packhouse, it was usually heavily guarded. Yet here, only two guards stood at its gates.

Wasn’t this the ce where Darius kept his prisoners? Why was it so unguarded? I had expected far more guards, but I knew I couldn’t dwell bon /bit. I bhad /bto focus and be careful.

As soon as I stepped inside the dungeon, my eyes briefly scanned the ce. It was dark but tidy with ck walls and dim torches casting a soft, flickering light along the way.

I frowned and quickly pressed myself against a wall, hiding from view before leaning out slightly to take a closer look. To my surprise, there wasn’t a single person around, the whole ce was so empty that you could probably hear your voice echo if you spoke.

I wasn’t surprised that there weren’t any prisoners in sight since they were kept in the cells beneath the building, but theck of guards was what truly shocked me. Shouldn’t they be here in case an intruder came in or someone tried to escape?

I wasn’t sure but maybe that was why I had this chilling, uneasy feeling that something wasn’t right.

Either way, I leaned back against the wall and shook my head, trying not to think too much about it as I recalled Isabe’s words to me.

“When you enter the dungeon, miss, you should go straight. On the right side, as soon as you step inside, there’s a stairway. If you bfollow /bit down, you’ll find the cells where the prisoners are kept.”

That was exactly how she had described the dungeon’s location to me.

Taking a deep breath, I clenched my hands at my sides, ready to move. But just as I began to push away from the wall, the sound of footsteps and ba /bvoice reached my ears, making me instantly stiffen. My breath caught in my throat as I quickly pressed back, hiding myself from view.

Almost immediately, a man’s voice cut through the air and I could clearly hear the sound of his footsteps just inches away as he passed by and spoke.

“Haha, that’s what I’m saying. I really can’t wait to go home and get some rest, I’m so tired, man,” he began and I frowned, my breathing harsh as I tried not to make a sound and draw his attention, realizing I had been wrong about the guards and had almost gotten caught.

“I don’t even know why I was the only one picked to guard the dungeon today. Apparently, it was the king’s order that everyone should go home and only three people should stay on guard.”

I blinked in confusion at his words. His footsteps stopped, and as he continued speaking, I slowly leaned my head away from the wall before peeking out slightly, seeing his back turned to me. He had stopped walking and in his hand was a phone.

“I’m not joking, bro, he really asked us to do it. I don’t have many details, but the head of the guards ordered Erick and Andrew to guard bthe /bfrontes and me to guard the inside. So basically, we’re the unlucky ones stuck here. What am I saying? They’re lucky to be outside while I’m bstuck /bbinside /bbalone /bwith these prisoners. I’m even scared to go down into the dungeon.”

The man hissed in frustration, running a hand through his hair, and as I watched him, I tried to process everything he was saying while keeping bmyself /bhidden.

“Of course I’m scared of the prisoners. They’re a troublesome bunchb, /bI know they can not escape their cells so I’ve got the bkeys with /bbme/bb” /b

My eyes followed his hand as he tapped his waist, where a set of keys hung, making me narrow my bgaze /bbon /bbthem/b.

14:11 Sat 16 Aug ?

b“/bbBut /bstill, some of them are dangerous criminals, and they scare me, you know.”

He whispered thest words under his breath, then straightened and ran a hand through his hair as he kept talking. My eyes stayed locked bon /bthe k my jaw tightening as i stared at them.

I wasn’t sure if this was luck or just Darius’s strange order working in my favor, but there was no way in hell I was letting this opportunity bship /bbby/b. The keys to the cells were right there, practically jingling as though they were begging me to take them. And as I turned my attention back to bthe /bman, I realized the wasn’t even paying attention to his surroundings, which made things easier, especially since I was certain I was stronger than him.

The corner of my lips tugged slightly into an almost–smirk, and for the first time since this whole mess Begari, She’s voice echoed in my head.

“You look ugly when you smile like that,” she said, but my smile didn’t waver. Instead, I lifted my hand into the air and muttered under my bbreath/bb, /b

“I remember how Father told me to strike the neck when I want to knock someone out instantly… I remember exactly how he said I should do itb! /bmurmured, practicing the motion with my hand as my grin widened. I heard She scoff, but before she could say anything, I drew in a sharp, deep breath and moved–so fast that I even surprised myself.

As I closed in on the guard, he suddenly stopped speaking, and I knew he’d sensed my presence. But before he could react, it was toote. I raised my hand higher, then brought it down sharply against his neck.

Almost instantly, he let out a groan and copsed to the ground without even turning to see my face, his phone slipping from his hand and ttering bto /b

the floor.

My eyes widened in brief surprise that I had actually managed to knock him out so cleanly, but then I smiled and whispered a quick apology to the bman /bbefore snatching up his keys, and without a moment’s hesitation, I sprinted in the direction Isabe had described to me.

It didn’t take long before I reached the stairway, and without slowing, I descended the steps into the depths below. As soon as I did, bI /bwas met with rows of cells lined up side by side.

I hadn’t even taken a single step when, as if they had already sensed my presence, loud voices suddenly erupted.

“Oi! Looks like someone’s finally here!” someone shouted from one of the cells.

Before I could react, another voice called out, “About time! We haven’t eaten yet. Why aren’t you guys bringing us dinner today?!”

“Yes, we need food! Do you think this is fair, just because we’re prisoners, we can’t eat?” another voice echoed.

Soon, the whole ce was filled with shouting, everyone screaming above each other. I swallowed nervously, but knowing I didn’t have much time, I rubbed my sweaty palms on my dress before stepping forward.

The moment I did, I was met with dozens of stunned eyes staring right at me.

The ce instantly fell silent, everyone watching me as if shocked to see me here, probably even more surprised that I was a woman. I ignored their stares and kept moving, scanning the rows as I walked forward, searching for the cell Serena was in.

“Wait… is that a woman, or am I tripping?i” /isomeone finally spoke, and in the blink of an eye, more voices followed.

“Oh! It is a woman! And she’s dressed like a maid! Two women in one day, we’re really lucky, boys, aren’t we?” one of them joked. My stomach twisted at

his words.

Two women in a day… He was probably talking about Serena. I didn’t ask, though, something told me engaging them would be ba /bbad i proved right when I heard what came next.

binstincts /b

“Hey, look at her hand! She’s got the keys bto /bour cells. Oh, goddess,dy, are you looking for someone? Why don’t you open this cell so I bcan /bbhelp /bbyou /b

search?”

“Keys! Please,e open this cell! I’m begging you!”

“Open mine btoo/b!”

b2/3 /b

14:11 Sat,

??

but l the air,

scanning for Serena. Then,

The voices rang through

Aug

slow didn’t

just as I was about to take

my next

down. I walked

ignoring the straight ahead,

shouting,

step,

a voice, low, almost inaudible, reached

not looking a

at bany /b

bof /bthem a

asi continued

my ears.

“Mydy?”

I froze,

my whole

body going rigid,

heart my nearly leaping

out

of

even realized it, I turned

sharply to m

my left

and there she was

Serena. Sitting

gon the

ground,

staring up at me in shock.

–