Ren clawed her way out of the narrow hole in the rock face, scraping her elbows and getting a mouthful of moss in the process. She flopped onto the forest floor, gasping like a fish on land.
She stood up and brushed the dirt off her "dress."
"Freedom," she whispered.
The forest was breathtaking. The canopy was alive with the sound of a thousand birds. Sunlight filtered through the massive leaves in dappled beams of gold, illuminating oversized ferns that looked like they belonged in Jurassic Park. Vines hung like green curtains, decorated with flowers the size of dinner plates in shades of neon pink and violent violet.
It was beautiful. It was majestic.
It was also a sauna.
Ren wiped a bead of sweat from her forehead. The air outside the cavern was heavy and humid, sticking to her skin instantly. And the dress—the burlap sack of torture Vex had gifted her—was not helping. Every time she moved, the raw wool scratched her sensitive skin.
