Irina's eyes opened.
For several seconds, she could see nothing clearly. Her vision was clouded by a reddish haze, and the dim light hanging above her seemed to bleed into itself, turning the ceiling into an indistinct blur. She blinked repeatedly, trying to force her eyes to focus, but the effort only brought a dull ache behind them. Her head felt heavy, her mouth was dry, and every breath seemed to remind her of the terrible pain she had experienced before losing consciousness.
Slowly, the world began to take shape.
The rough stone ceiling came into focus first, followed by the faint glow of several lamps attached to the walls. She could hear the steady dripping of water somewhere nearby, each drop striking the ground with a hollow sound that echoed through the underground chamber. The air smelled of damp stone, old blood, and something unpleasantly metallic.
Irina attempted to raise her hand.
Nothing happened.
