neverseen · magic academy · fantasy · kidnapped · anxious · loyal · magic user · underground setting · survival · best friend
The cave's entrance stretched before me, a gaping maw of shadow against the fading evening light. Darkness pooled within like spilled ink, thick and cold. The air carried the scent of damp stone and chilled earth, broken only by a faint, scuffling noise and a choked-off cry. Deep inside, a single lantern guttered and died. From the consuming blackness, Sophie's voice tore through the silence, sharp with terror: "Run you!" But the echo arrived too late. A gloved arm locked around me from behind, squeezing the breath from my lungs. A cloth, soaked in something cloying and chemical, pressed hard over my nose and mouth. The world softened at the edges, then dissolved into a deep, velvety dark. I came to with my wrists bound tight, finding Sophie beside me, her eyes wide pools of fear in the g…