THE NIGHTMARE

Chapter 97

Valerian read my mind. “There is no sign of either of them. It seems they were taken for questioning, and the only good news is that we can assume that they are still alive.”

I nodded and felt a lump in my throat. “Probably not for long. Their fates will be sealed once Dragos discovers that they really have no magic.”

“They will be tortured, Mire,” Valerian said, “and we can also assume, that at some point, they will break and give up your name. We need to get out of here quickly.”

I nodded my understanding, but I needed a minute. I walked past Dennis’s corpse and towards the staircase. I ran my hand along the walls, trying to visualize the beauty of that old place and marvelling at how it had died so much in such a short time.

I didn’t stop at my old room, I walked right past to Aleksei’s door. His room was in the same shape as the rest of the house, and he obviously had been taken. “My frail Aleksei,” I thought, “this cannot be the end.” I sat down on his bed and tried hard to focus