Florian shivered, curling himself tighter in the corner of the dimly lit room. His arms were wrapped around his knees, his body hunched as if making himself smaller would somehow make him invisible.
The scent of damp earth filled his nostrils, mingling with the dry, musty stench of hay. The only source of light came from the eerie green flames flickering on the torches along the stone walls, casting unsettling shadows that stretched and twisted with every movement of the fire.
It had been an hour. Or at least, he thought it had. Time felt strange in this underground prison, buried deep within the dead forest. There were no windows, no shifting of the sun to track its movement, no sounds of the outside world. Only the distant drip of water echoing through unseen hallways and the low, constant crackle of the unnatural flames.
