Evergreen (Evergreen, #1)

by Autumn Woods

I pull the second chain off and toss it into her cell. It hits the ground beside her head, but she doesn’t so much as move. Concern creeps down my spine. I remove the third thick chain, unlocking the door to her cell and pushing it open despite the hinges arguing in protest. "Renna." I stand in the doorway. She doesn’t move, and in a sickening moment, I realise that I can hardly see her breathing in the dark. I flash my hand over the lamp on the wall, whispering an incantation that floods the cell in a dim warm light. My heart skids to a halt. She's fucking dead. She can’t be dead. An unexpected shard of icy dread prickles my spine. I clear the space between us in a fraction of a second, turning her over. Blood runs out of her mouth, nose, and ears, pooling on the floor beneath her. I put two fingers on her neck, finding a pulse, and I swear to the gods I’ve never felt relief like it.