67: The Witch's Debt

JONAS’S POV

I awoke with a start, my breath catching in my throat as if I had been fleeing from a monstrous beast in my dreams. My eyelids felt as heavy as lead, reluctantly opening to reveal the world around me.

I lay there on the hard surface, trying to figure out where I was and only realizing I was enveloped in an abyss of darkness, a kind that swallowed all light and hope.

As I sniffed the air around me, I realized it was a bitter cocktail of dampness and decay, reminiscent of a forgotten dungeon buried deep beneath the earth.

Time in itself had lost all meaning, with the past and present blurring into an indistinguishable haze. The only memory that managed to pierce through the fog was the treacherous act committed by Billy, that vile rogue.

“Filthy animal,” a curse slipped from my lips, a venomous whisper echoing in the hollow silence. The memory of Billy’s betrayal was like a sharp blade, slicing through the fabric of my thoughts. Yet, the anticipated pain from the stab wound