When Sarah woke up, she felt like every single one of her senses had been sharpened like dull knives and all at once everything was clearer. She could feel every wisp of air enter her lungs, each tickle as it brushed back over her parted lips. She was hyper-aware of the thumping pulse in her wrist and throat, each strand of hair on her head and each pore of her skin. It was as if every cell in Sarah's body was zinging with energy, and Sarah knew exactly where she was—no other place had ever made her feel so alive.
She was in the Underground.
Her eyes flew open, but she saw nothing. Blackness seemed to shroud her eyes, masking her from her surroundings, but she had a feeling she wasn't lying on the dusty hill where her journey had first started five years ago. The surface beneath her back was soft and perfectly fluffed, supporting the arch of her spine and cradling her ribs—which she now realized were aching.
Sarah gasped as she sat up, the sudden movement made her want to retch. Pinpricks poked her eye sockets lazily, like an annoying child starving for attention. She dug at her eyes, trying to root out the pain. Blinking, she looked around, but saw nothing.
Her heart began to race as she rubbed her eyes again, hoping to see her surroundings once again, but it failed. Again. Again. Again. Again. Images of sly-looking fae shone in her mind's eye, grinning evilly, their pointed ears sharp as daggers. Did he do this? Would he do this?
Sarah clutched at the air, hoping to find some handhold that would connect her to normalcy, to the way things used to be. But nothing had ever been normal for Sarah. Not for the last five years. Not ever, come to think of it.
"Well, it seems that our Sleeping Beauty has come back to join us."
Sarah froze; even the blood in her veins turned to stone. The voice was satin, smooth and decadent as the syllables bounced across her skin. She turned her head in the direction of the voice, knowing very well who it was without even needing to see. The Goblin King had entered.
It felt as if Sarah's mouth was sewn shut, but the silence was taken for impudence. "What, no hello?" The king said testily. The quiet seemed to deepen. Sarah gaped like a fish, sucking in air and trying to form words.
Finally, she managed a hoarse whisper. "How long have I been here?"
Jareth seemed to smile, she could hear it in his inflection. "You must really like to sleep, love. You've been unconscious for six days. This is the seventh."
Sarah did a double take, jolted forward as if she was going to vomit. It was as if the Devil's invisible hand had punched her in the stomach, forcing her to freefall back to reality. But being stuck in a fairy-tale land could hardly be considered reality. Toby could be dead. He could have been bleeding out in that damn car while she was here, sleeping in a feather-soft bed. With another jolt, she realized just where she was probably sleeping, the room that would have the satin sheets and gilded headboards.
The King's Chambers.
She dryly whispered her brother's name, and the Goblin King responded without delay. "In the guest room. He is quite well. Faring better than you are at least."
For the first time she since had woken up, Sarah breathed a gusty sigh of utter relief. She smiled slightly, but then a new thought dawned across her features. She straightened up, her voice wavering.
"Why is everything black?"