章 55: The awakening song...

Lyla

A few minutes later I was dressed in the ceremonial outfit.

The clothes looked unexpectedly good on me. I met Xander at the bottom of the stairs, his eyes glowing with adoration as I came down.

"You look so beautiful!" he sighed, reaching for my hand.

I smiled at him and allowed him to lead me towards his car. We drove in silence. I was trying to formulate an escape plan by trying to remember the road, using houses, trees or whatever my brain can remember as landmarks.

Finally, we arrived at what looked like an abandoned warehouse. He guided me towards a hidden entrance and we started descending into what looked like an underground tunnel. The walls were lined with flickering torches. The air was damp and thick with an unfamiliar scent that made my skin crawl. As we walked deeper into the tunnel, my anxiety grew.