King Cyrus' POV:
We were ready to go in a few seconds; Lyra's rescue mission was about to begin with a handful of us.
Me, Darya, Sam and Jackie.
It's not easy for me to tolerate Sam's presence but I just had to for Lyra's sake.
And amongst three of us, he knew more about that place than we did so we had to carry him along.
The plan was simple: find Lyra and bring her home though the boy says she might not be in the same cell by now and she might be moved.
All I hope is that she's not dead because that won't end well for anyone; Hellen especially.
"are you ready?" Darya asked and we all nodded.
I watched patiently as she opened a gate and we all walked through.
There were guards moving around and we stuck out like a sore thumb so before another one could pass, Darya used magic to make each of us armor and we fit in just like that.
"where is she?" I asked Sam who moved in front of us all and we followed him to the dungeons.
My palms were soaked with sweat. I was partially ready to take whatever was behind the doors.
But when they creaked open on stubborn hinges the entire place was empty; though the smell of blood was still fresh and lingered in the air.
"hope you aren't pulling my legs boy or else I'll rip yours out" I growled, abandoning my armor.
"this was where I left her. She was here! I-I don't know where she could be" he panicked.
Controlling the urge to kill was beyond difficult.
"this isn't the time, I can still track her or try to locate the crystal, that's if it's powers aren't weakened" Darya closed her eyes tightly and tried concentrating.
While she tried to focus, a guard walked in but was a bit startled to find us there.
Before he could decipher anything else, Jackie had already killed him with her bare hands.
"I know where she is but…you won't like it" there was a sorrowful look on Darya's face and it made me swallow the lump in my throat.
No matter what or where she could be, I would do anything to get her back to safety.
Darya opened another gate that led us outside the castle to a scared land. It was more like a hole if I'm being honest.
There were bodies, broken spears, swords, glass and potions lying around.
The stench alone was enough to drive anyone away.
"what is this place?" Jackie asked while trying to cover up her nose.
"this place is called 'THE PIT'. This is where Hellen dumps everyone she has tortured as well as potions that were a mistake or not needed. The problem is…it made the dead restricted to this place but once anything alive goes in there; you die too…this is where Lyra is"
The look of irritation and disgust was evident on my face and I couldn't hide it to save my life…but this is where she was.
We were at the edge looking around, if we could see her at all.
"there she is; in the center of it all" Sam drew our attention and we all shifted our gaze to where he pointed.
My heart shattered into a million pieces once I took note of her condition.
She had large wounds on her body that would turn to scars, the two huge slashes on her back were the worst; her once elegant dress was like a rag barely hiding her nakedness.
Her hair was messy and was covered in blood and other liquids.
The once bright crystal was dull and lifeless.
She was barely breathing.
Without thought, I began to talk into the hole, ignoring the screams of everyone behind me telling me to stop.
If I had guarded her, would she be like this?
If I had protected her, would she end up here?
The feeling of guilt washed over me as her silhouette got larger and larger.
I was in another void at this point.
Please be alright.
I was paralyzed when I was just a few inches away from her.
My hand came in contact with hers and she was cold; Lyra was dying.
Her heartbeat was faint.
The whole place was quiet; the wind was dead, the birds might be too and yet I could barely hear her breathe; they had pushed her to her limits.
Reality came crashing back to me and I carried her in my arms out of the pit.
Out of nowhere, the dead rose and tried to hold me down.
They tore at my clothes and bit into my skin.
The drool from their mouths burned my skin.
They did their best to hold my legs and stop me from moving; some using spears on my feet.
Moving became even more difficult as the seconds passed but I had to.
Lyra needed me and I wasn't going to abandon her ever again.
Mustering all the strength I could, I pressed on and continued walking not matter how difficult they made it for me.
Everyone watched in awe as I neared the edges of the pit.
My eyes turned to face Lyra's body.
I would do anything for her to open her eyes or to squeeze my shirt or anything but she laid limp in my arms.
The feeling of being watched came over me and with one swift turn to my right, I could see Hellen looking at me through the windows of the castle.
This dump wasn't too far from it then.
She did all this and I was going to make her pay as soon as Lyra is better.
As soon as I was out, Darya opened a gate that took us back home…
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