40. Chapter Forty
Chapter Forty
Eldrake
The cold iron bit into my wrists, the unforgiving manacles slicing deeper into my flesh with every ragged breath. My shoulders burned from the strain of being suspended, my toes barely brushing the filthy stone floor beneath me.
Blood trickled slowly down my arms, pooling at my fingertips before dripping into the muck below.
My head pounded, a relentless drumbeat of pain radiating from the gash above my brow, and the metallic taste of blood coated my tongue.
The air was thick with the stench of rot, damp stone, and sulfur—an oppressive mix that clawed at my senses.
Across the dimly lit chamber, Avod was shackled to the wall, his usually defiant expression marred by exhaustion and pain.
His face was pale, his breaths shallow as he hung limply in his chains.
His eyes flicked toward me briefly, filled with a mixture of anger and grim determination, before he turned his gaze downward, conserving his strength.
The faint sound of dripping water punctuated the silence, a morbid metronome to our shared suffering.
Somewhere deeper in the dungeon, the guttural growls of Vyrmin guards echoed, a sinister reminder of the monsters lurking nearby.
I gritted my teeth, pulling against the chains with every ounce of strength I could muster, the cuffs biting harder into my flesh.
The ache in my muscles was nothing compared to the searing frustration as I willed my beast to surface.
I reached deep into the core of my being, searching for the fire that always burned within me, but it sputtered uselessly.
Pain lanced through my back like a lightning strike.
My spine arched involuntarily as heat bloomed beneath my skin—my body trying to shift.
Scales erupted along my arms for a split second, the faint crackle of fire rising in my throat…
and then everything collapsed inward. Something snapped down like a vice, severing the connection mid-transformation.
The partial shift recoiled violently, leaving my muscles locked and trembling, my breath rasping through clenched teeth. My heart pounded as I tasted copper on my tongue. The fire was there—so close—but every time I reached for it, the magic choked me.
The bitter truth settled over me like a shroud.
Wards. This dungeon was drenched in them, layers upon layers of magical suppression designed to choke the Riftborn.
The air felt heavy, like a weight pressing against my chest, cutting me off from my magic.
Cutting off the bond. My Dragon roared within me, straining against the invisible chains, but the wards clamped down harder, snuffing out every flicker of power before it could ignite.
What if I couldn’t reach her this time? What if she thought I’d left her?
“Try all you like, Dragon ,” a gravelly voice jeered, cutting through the haze of my thoughts.
One of Vyper’s henchmen stepped into the dim light, his malformed face twisted in a grotesque grin.
His skin was an ashen gray, pulled taut over sharp cheekbones, and his blackened teeth gleamed as he smirked at me.
His eyes glowed faintly red, a sickly hue that matched the foul aura clinging to him.
He was a grotesque mockery of life, twisted and corrupted into something barely human.
He stopped a few feet away, tilting his head like a fox prowling a rabbit.
“You won’t find your fire here,” he taunted, his voice dripping with mockery.
“The master was quite thorough in ensuring that little trick of yours wouldn’t work. ”
I glared at him, the heat of my fury rising despite the wards’ oppressive grip.
If I could have torn free from the chains, I would have ripped him limb from limb with my bare hands.
Instead, I spat blood at his feet, the only act of defiance I could muster.
His grin widened, his amusement at my helplessness stoking my anger further.
“You’re strong.” he chuckled, stepping closer. The stench of decay clung to him, making my stomach churn. “But we’ll see how long that lasts.” His words slithered into my ears, igniting every protective instinct I had.
My mind raced, not with fear for myself, but with thoughts of Eva. What if she was in this same hell, subjected to the same torment? The idea was enough to twist the molten rage within me into something sharper, more desperate.
The henchman leaned in, his rancid breath hot against my face. “Tell me, Dragon,” he sneered. “Where is your little haven? Where are the rest of your kind hiding?”
I said nothing, meeting his gaze with a cold, unyielding stare.
The bastard’s grin faltered for a split second before twisting into something darker, more menacing.
He turned away, pacing toward the table lined with cruel instruments of torture.
Blades, hooks, and brands glinted in the flickering torchlight, each one promising pain.
“Maybe,” he said, picking up a jagged dagger and testing its edge with a gnarled finger. “Your friend over there might be more cooperative.” I twisted my wrists against the chains, the iron cutting deeper, but I didn’t care.
“Touch him,” I growled, my voice low and lethal, “and I’ll make you eat your own heart.”
The henchman barked a laugh, his amusement genuine this time. “Big words from a man in chains,” he turned his attention to Avod, his twisted grin widening. “Let’s see what secrets he’s hiding. Too bad someone beat me to his horns.”
I watched helplessly as the creature approached Avod, his clawed hand reaching for my friend’s temple.
Avod jerked his head away, but the henchman’s grip was relentless.
A faint glow pulsed beneath his fingers as he delved into Avod’s mind, the magic invasive and vile.
Avod let out a strangled grunt; his teeth clenched as he resisted the intrusion.
“Ah,” the henchman mused, his eyes narrowing in mock pity. “What’s this? A secret buried deep. A heartache?” Avod’s body tensed, his jaw tightening further as the creature pulled something from his mind. I wanted to roar, to lunge, to stop this, but the chains held me fast.
“Fen,” the henchman purred, his tone sickeningly sweet. “You love her, don’t you? So loyal, so steadfast, and yet... so utterly rejected, ” he laughed, the sound grating and cruel. “She doesn’t care for you, does she? You’re nothing but a shadow to her.”
Avod’s eyes burned with fury, but he stayed silent, his chest heaving with labored breaths.
“Enough!” I barked, my voice echoing through the chamber. The henchman turned to me, his grin widening.
“Patience, Dragon,” he said, his voice dripping with malice. “You’ll have your turn.”
He stalked toward me, the jagged blade glinting in the flickering torchlight as he twirled it lazily between his gnarled fingers. His grotesque grin widened as he stopped mere inches from me, his rancid breath washing over my face.
“Let me tell you, Dragon,” he hissed, his voice oily with malice. “Your mate… she’s quite the fighter,” he trailed the tip of the blade along my arm, not cutting, but enough to make my skin crawl. “Master Vyper knows just how to break them… yet she held.”
I locked eyes with him, my fury a molten core, ready to erupt. But I said nothing, refusing to give him the satisfaction of a reaction. He sneered at my silence, calculating his next words.
“Her back,” he began, his tone mocking, almost gleeful.
“Ah, the deep marks she bore were exquisite. Steel-tipped whips have a way of leaving such… memorable impressions, don’t you think?
The flesh fell from her wounds in such delicate ribbons…
” His words slithered into my ears, each one a venomous barb.
My fists clenched against the manacles, the sharp bite of iron digging deeper into my wrists. My breath came in short, furious bursts, but still, I held my tongue.
“Oh, the way she whimpered,” he continued, his grotesque face alight with sadistic delight.
“How she bit her lip to keep from crying out. Such determination! She bled so beautifully, crimson rivers soaking into the stone,” he leaned closer, his voice dropping to a whisper.
“But do you know the most fascinating part? She never gave you up. Never whispered a single secret.”
A storm of emotions surged within me—pride, admiration, rage.
She had endured the unimaginable, holding fast to protect us, to protect me, even though she hated me.
A part of me swelled with pride at her resilience, her unyielding strength.
But that pride was dwarfed by the consuming fire of my fury.
Someone had laid their filthy hands on my mate and dared to harm what was mine.
My chest heaved, the effort of my beast being caged took everything I had. The chains rattled as I strained against them, my muscles burning with the effort. The wards pressed down on me like a suffocating weight, but my rage pushed back, screaming for release.
The henchman stepped back, his laughter grating and triumphant. “You should be proud, Dragon. She endured so much for you. But I wonder… how much more can she take?”
The words were a trigger, an explosion within me. A guttural roar tore from my throat, the sound reverberating through the chamber. I lunged against the chains, the iron biting deeper into my wrists, blood dripping to the floor. The wards pressed harder, choking my fire, but my rage burned hotter.
“Touch her again,” I growled, my voice a guttural snarl, “and I’ll rip you limb from limb. I will feed you your fucking entrails!”
The henchman laughed, a cruel, mocking sound. “Perhaps I’ll visit her again. See how far she can be pushed.”
Something inside me snapped. The air around me seemed to hum with tension, the faintest flicker of heat sparking in my core. It wasn’t enough to summon my fire, but it was there—a reminder that my beast was waiting, simmering just beneath the surface.
“You won’t survive long enough to see her again,” I spat, my voice a promise laced with venom. The henchman’s grin faltered, just for a moment, before he turned away with a dismissive wave.
“We’ll see about that, Dragon. We’ll see.
” He disappeared into the darkness, his flame the only source of light in the chamber, fading as his steps receded.
The flame flickered one last time before disappearing entirely, leaving us cloaked in suffocating darkness.
The silence felt oppressive, broken only by the faint sound of dripping water and my own labored breathing.
My wrists throbbed where the iron manacles dug into my skin, and exhaustion weighed heavily on me.
We sat in the darkness for a time, my rage simmering hotter with each shallow breath.
The silence pressed in on me, thick as the stone walls, broken only by the drip of water and the rattle of chains.
Hate gnawed at the edges of my thoughts, anger coiled tight in my gut, pain burning steady in my wrists.
I needed to think of something else—anything else—before I drowned in it.
“So,” I said, my voice rough and low, attempting to distract myself from the burning ache in my muscles. “You’re in love with Fen.”
Avod let out a shaky chuckle, the sound brittle and dry.
“It would seem that way.” His tone was subdued—not the usual sharp wit I’d grown used to.
He didn’t deny it, but there was a weight to his words, a lifetime of rejection and longing packed tight beneath the surface.
I might have teased him further if I wasn’t actively bleeding out.