Chapter 44

Sofia went from sleeping to awake, trying to make sense of what she sensed around her. Last she recalled they were in that horrible fog. It was poison. Pure awful poison, and it attacked them, forcing her to use her magic. Use it until she felt like a candle, a melted puddle with nothing left to burn.

She was no longer in the boat that rocked just enough to make her stomach queasy. This bed didn't move. The air she breathed was damp and musty. She could hear the soft breath of someone nearby. She rolled enough to turn her head and look, but the room was dark. Too dark to see. She heard a slight creak. Barely a sound really, but she went stiff.

It might just be the normal sounds of a building settling. Still, it didn't hurt to hold her breath. To feign sleep and watch through the tiniest of slits.

She heard the scuff of a shoe. The swish of fabric. They weren't alone.