The Revolution (Book 3 of The Exiles series)

Seventeen: Talia

When I woke up surrounded by darkness, I panicked, thinking that I was falling. My arms flailed, struggling to find a handhold as my heartbeat climbed to my throat. But almost immediately I realized that I was in no danger--from falling, at least.

I was lying on a cold floor--stone, I thought, although I couldn't be sure. The darkness was so absolute, almost as sharp as the pain in my head, that I couldn't even see my own hand when I raised it. With that distraction, I struggled to process. The last thing I remembered was being captured, and hearing someone screaming my name as I plunged into darkness. Where was I? Where was Magnus? And...was Nicole actually...I whimpered, feeling completely alone, confused, and in pain, all of me stiff and sore like I'd been laying here for days.

"Talia?" I heard a voice nearby and struggled to place it, both because of the echo-creating distance and the inability to see. I squinted and blinked a few times, but the backs of my eyelids were lighter in color than the blackness that surrounded me.

"Talia, where are you?" the voice asked, sounding stricken. I looked around, trying to find a landmark of some sort, something to tell both of us where I was.

"Over here," I said. My voice came out weirdly distant and sent a sharp pain across my forehead. I winced.

The source of the voice became clear as he came closer, crawling laboriously across the freezing stone floor. I couldn't see him, but I knew that Magnus was in here with me, too.

"Talia?" He was closer now. I brought up my hands and felt all around me, searching for a wall or another guide of some sort. This space that we were in, besides being unbelievably dark, was also massive.

"I think you're almost here," I said, my voice stronger. A headache throbbed above my eye. I brought my finger to my skin, pinching the source of the pain, and my hand came away with blood on it. I vaguely remembered being hit with something there before blacking out.

Magnus's outline slowly came into focus, although it was vague. He came towards me until we were sitting next to each other, silent except for our breathing.

After a moment's pause I asked, "Where are we?"

Magnus thought for a moment. "I have no idea," he said, his quiet voice echoing. "I have to assume that we're in the Capitol, though."

I nodded, but then realized that he couldn't see me. "Probably. How long have we been here?"

"I'm not sure," he said. "It's been more than a day, though. I slept twice, so it's probably at least two." I gasped. That meant that I had been unconscious for two days. It also explained why my mouth felt so dry and my stomach so hollow.

"Are we the only ones in here?" I asked.

Magnus shifted. "I think so. I didn't even know that you were in here until just now. This room...if you can call it that, is pretty big."

The hope deflated inside of my chest. "What about Nicole?"

Magnus blew out a breath. "No, I'm sorry." Suddenly my body felt cold and exposed. Shivering, I hugged my knees to my chest and buried my head into them as the realization hit me that I would probably never see my sister again.

Without me even realizing it, Magnus wrapped his arm around my shoulders and tugged me close. I welcomed the touch, settling into the familiarity of the embrace. "We're really in trouble now, aren't we?" I murmured darkly, closing my eyes.

I felt his breathing quicken against my side. "Yeah," he said, but nothing else.

I rested silently for a moment before rising to my feet. I wobbled a little, my legs both numb and achy at the same time.