Chapter 51 The Vault of Sorrows
I woke up in a room of white light and sterile silence.
My limbs felt heavy, my magic suppressed by a collar of silver-chrome that hummed against my throat.
I tried to shift, but the moment the intent entered my mind, a surge of electricity coursed through my nerves, forcing me back.
"Don't fight it, Elara," a voice said from the corner.
It was Silas. He was sitting in a chair, his mask removed.
His milky-white eyes were fixed on a point somewhere above my head.
He wasn't wearing a collar.
"You're working for her," I whispered, the realization cutting deeper than any blade.
"The North... the escape... it was all a setup.
"
"Not exactly," Silas said, his voice devoid of emotion.
"My father was a rogue variable. Lilith wanted him out of the way so she could take the Northern nodes.
I was just the tool used to guide you toward the destination.
You needed to be tested. You needed to break.
"
"Where are the boys, Silas?" I demanded, struggling against the restraints.
"In the nursery," he said, and for the first time, a flicker of something like regret crossed his scarred face. "But it’s not the nursery you remember. It’s an extraction chamber. She’s trying to jump-start their magic, Elara.
She thinks if she puts them under enough stress, the Silver Gene will reboot.
"
"She’ll kill them!"
"She doesn't care," Silas said, standing up. "She sees them as data points. And Killian... he’s in the pits. She’s using him to train the next generation of Ghost-Wolves. She wants to see if an Alpha’s will can be broken by a machine.
"
I closed my eyes, a single tear of frustration and rage sliding down my cheek.
"Why, Silas? Why help her?"
"Because she promised me my sight back," he whispered.
"She promised me a world where I wouldn't be a monster. But I’m starting to realize... in her world, we’re all just parts for a machine that never sleeps.
"
He walked to the door, his hand hovering over the lock.
"I can't let you out, Elara. But I can tell you this: the collar isn't powered by the pylons. It’s powered by your own heartbeat.
If you want to break it, you have to make your heart stop. "