CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT

Caitlin slowly opened her eyes, in excruciating pain. As the light hit her eyes, it felt like knives entering her forehead. She had to squint—even though it was dim in here, lit only by torches.

She felt aches and pains all over her body and as she tried to move, she realized she was chained. She looked over and saw chains binding her hands and feet to a wall. She was standing upright, arms and legs outstretched, chained, her back against a cold stone wall, the cold metal digging into her wrists and ankles. She struggled against her shackles, and realized they were silver.

She felt a huge welt forming on her cheek, and realized that was the spot where Sam must have hit her. The thought of that hurt her more than the lump. Sam. Her own brother. She could hardly conceive it. Had he so thoroughly turned to the dark side that he would attack even her?

Apparently, he had. And that hurt her more than she could contemplate. Sam, she realized, was no longer her brother. Their relationship w