Transmigrated as the Crown Prince's Mate
Chapter 56: Good News; Bad News...

Chapter 56: Good News; Bad News...

Evelina leaned against the rough wall of the pit, breathing hard and shallow. The air was thick with the smell of damp soil and decay, and her body shook from the lingering effects of the wolfsbane in her system.

Insects crawled around her, giving her chills as their tiny legs lightly touched her skin, feeling like whispers of danger.

Her voice trembled gently as she called out, "Hello? Is anyone there?" Her words floated softly in the stillness, only to be swallowed by the heavy silence around her.

There was no response.

Swallowing hard, Evelina forced herself onto her knees, her body protesting every movement. She squinted up at the jagged edges of the pit’s opening above her.

It felt impossibly high; the dim light filtering through made the climb appear insurmountable. The edges were uneven, but they offered the faintest possibility of handholds.

"Alright, Evie," Relia murmured weakly, her usual sass muted by their shared pain. "No one’s coming to save us. Guess we’re on our own."

Evelina didn’t reply; instead, she dug her fingers into the damp soil to test her grip. Her nails scraped against the earth, her hands slipping with each attempt. The effort sent sharp pains through her limbs, her body still too weak from the poison.

She gritted her teeth, muttering under her breath, "Come on... move." Her muscles screamed in protest as she pulled herself up a few inches. Her grip faltered, and she slid back down, landing with a thud.

"Not your best," Relia offered dryly.

Evelina bit back a frustrated groan, her eyes scanning the pit for anything useful. A rope, a stick—anything.

Her gaze landed on a scorpion skittering near her foot. She jerked instinctively, pressing herself against the wall.

Ants moved in random patterns around her, their small bodies shining with moisture from the wet soil. A rat quickly came out from a crack, its small eyes shining in the dim light before it hurried back into another hole.

Her heart raced, and panic clawed at the edges of her mind. But she forced herself to focus. Panic won’t help. Think.

"You’ve handled worse," Relia said, her voice faint but steady. "You can do this."

Evelina couldn’t think of anything worse she had handled before, aside from not dying in an explosion and magically waking up in a disgraced and ready-to-be-executed body.

Knowing Relia was just trying to encourage her, Evelina inhaled deeply, pushing herself up onto her feet.

Her legs wobbled, and she held onto the wall for balance, her hands pressing against the wet surface. She pushed through the pain in her limbs, motivated by fear and determination.

She tried again, this time planting her feet against the wall and reaching higher. Her fingers found a small ledge, but her grip was weak. She slipped once more, her knees hitting the ground hard.

Tears of frustration burned her eyes. "I can’t do this," she whispered.

"You don’t have a choice," Relia countered firmly. "Either you climb out of here, or you wait for whoever did this to come back—and you know that won’t end well."

Evelina clenched her fists, her nails pressing into her palms as she prepared herself. She looked around the pit one last time, her thoughts racing. If she couldn’t climb out, she would need to think of another way.

"Hello!" she shouted again, her voice hoarse. "Can anyone hear me?"

Silence.

The reality of her isolation sank in, the weight of her predicament pressing down on her chest. She glanced at her hands, noticing faint bite marks from the ants. The pain from the bites felt sharper now, a sign that the wolfsbane’s numbing effect was fading.

But with the return of feeling came an overwhelming ache in her muscles and joints.

"Good news: you’re feeling again," Relia quipped. "Bad news: everything hurts."

Evelina slumped back against the wall, her breath coming in shallow gasps. She was trapped, alone, and vulnerable. But she wasn’t ready to give up—not yet.

She stared up at the light above, her mind circling one thought: I have to survive. I have to figure out who did this. And I have to stop them.

Evelina’s head rested against the cold, damp wall of the pit as she felt overwhelmed by exhaustion.

Even though she had promised herself to stay awake and search for a way out, her body let her down, succumbing to the weakening effects of the wolfsbane and her growing tiredness.

She didn’t know how long she had been unconscious when a sharp, burning pain suddenly woke her up. Her body jerked, and her hand instinctively pulled away from her thigh. When she opened her eyes, she saw a scorpion, its tail curled threateningly as if it was mocking her.

"Dammit!" she exclaimed, her voice trembling with a blend of anger and tears. The scorpion moved slightly, its pincers clicking. Clenching her teeth, Evelina struck the creature with all her strength. Its shell broke with the force, and it stopped moving.

The pain radiating from the bite brought fresh tears to her eyes. Breathing heavily, she looked at the wound. A deep puncture mark gleamed faintly, a dark red circle forming around it.

Her hand trembled as she tore at the hem of her gown, ripping away a strip of fabric and tying it tightly above the bite to slow the venom’s spread.

"Fucking fantastic," she muttered under her breath, wincing as she tightened the makeshift bandage.

The pain was excruciating, but it did something unexpected—it woke her up. Her sluggish body felt a flicker of energy, adrenaline surging through her veins in response to the bite.

"Well, if pain’s what you need to get moving, we’ve got plenty of it," Relia muttered faintly.

Evelina pressed her palms to the dirt, pushing herself to her feet. Ignoring the ants crawling over her legs and the ache in her muscles, she began climbing again.

Her fingers dug into the soft, wet earth, pulling her upward inch by agonizing inch. Ants bit at her hands and arms, their tiny mandibles leaving sharp, stinging welts, but she didn’t stop.

She couldn’t.

As she climbed higher, the damp soil turned into jagged rocks. She reached for a ledge, her fingers scraping against the sharp edges. Pain shot through her palms as the rocks cut into them, and blood trickled down her hands.

She gasped, a muffled cry slipping from her mouth. Still, she climbed.

"Just a little more," she whispered to herself, her voice breaking as tears streamed down her face. "Just... a little..."

"You’ve got this," Relia encouraged, her voice gaining strength as Evelina pushed through. "A few more feet and we’re out of this hellhole."

But then it happened.

As Evelina reached her foot toward another ledge, the slippery rock moved under her weight. She gasped as she felt herself leaning backward as she missed her footing.

Her fingers quickly searched for something to grab onto, desperately trying to catch hold of the rough rock surface.

"Uh-oh." Relia’s voice faltered.