Chapter 91: Bound in Darkness

Kerrigan awoke with a sharp, burning pain in her lungs, each breath like inhaling fire. She blinked against the oppressive heat, her vision blurry and unfocused as she struggled to take in her surroundings. Sweat trickled down her face, stinging her eyes as she squinted through the haze of steam and smoke that hung thick in the air.

She was in a cave, far underground, the walls illuminated by the searing orange glow of molten lava that flowed just a few feet away.

The heat was unbearable, the kind that scorched the skin and made the air shimmer. She could feel the sweat soaking through her flannel pajamas, clinging to her skin as her body tried desperately to cool itself in the sweltering inferno.

Her hands were bound tightly behind her back, her wrists raw from the rough rope that bit into her flesh. Her legs were tied together, making any movement almost impossible, and a heavy metal collar around her neck chained her to the wall, its iron biting into her skin with every shift.

She s