POV: Elara
I was made to burn, and maybe that was the problem… everyone who tried to chain me wanted a girl who stayed quiet, who bowed, who accepted her place.
But I had no place here, not even as a maid, not as a Luna, not as some hidden weapon.
I stood in the dark corridor, pulse still racing from Luca's touch and Kael's silence, when the castle bells rang, a low, vibrating chime that only sounded when the Elders summoned court.
Something was wrong. I turned, my heart thudding.
Then came the guards.
"Elara Varyn," one barked. "By order of the High Council, you are to be brought before the Elders. Now."
"What?" My voice cracked. "Why?"
"You'll answer for your blood."
I didn't have time to run. Didn't have time to think.
They grabbed me by the arms.
I screamed, "Let me go! I haven't done anything!"
My voice echoed through the halls.
No one came.
Not Kael.
Not even a servant.
No one.
The Elder Court was built of white stone, but it felt darker than any dungeon. Seven thrones stood at the center, each one carved with ancient runes, their wielders cloaked in silver robes, masks hiding their faces.
The nobles surrounded the chamber like hungry crows.
And in front of them stood her.
Seraphina.
Her amethyst eyes gleamed with victory.
"I warned you," she said sweetly as I was dragged in, "that this castle only had room for one queen."
"You're no queen," I hissed.
She smiled wider. "Neither are you."
The High Elder rose from his seat. His voice echoed through the chamber.
"Elara Varyn. You have been accused of blood treason. Of possessing a forbidden lineage. Of hiding the blood of dragons within your veins."
Laughter rippled through the crowd. Not the funny kind, the cruel kind. Disbelief. Mockery. Hatred.
"That's a lie!" I yelled. "I didn't know! I never, "
Seraphina held up a glass vial.
Inside it… was my blood.
"Then explain this," she said. "Tested and verified. Crimson laced with flame. You are a hybrid, Elara."
Gasps filled the court. I looked around for someone, anyone, to defend me, and then I saw him.
Kael tanding at the edge of the court, arms folded, face stone-cold, but his eyes, they were wild. Roaring.
"Kael," I whispered. "Please." The High Elder spoke again. "A test shall confirm it. Here. Now."
Two guards approached with silver needles.
"No, please, " I fought, but they grabbed my arms and plunged the needle deep.
The second the blood hit the glass, the room darkened.
The vial glowed crimson, brighter, brighter, until fire licked up the sides of the container.
The Elder stared. "The prophecy... It's real."
"Kill her now," Seraphina demanded, stepping forward. "She's a threat to the balance. The dragons nearly destroyed our kind before. You all remember the First War."
"She isn't her ancestors," Kael snapped suddenly.
All heads turned.
"She is mine."
Then he moved.
Fast.
Kael stormed forward and slammed both fists into the Elder's stone table.
It shattered. Cracks split across the floor like lightning. "She belongs to me," he said again, voice booming. "She has done nothing wrong."
"She exists," Seraphina shouted. "That's enough."
"She was made by your lies," Kael growled. "By the silence of this court. By wolves who failed her. Including me."
Silence fell over the chamber.
The Elders whispered to each other behind masks.
Then the High Elder spoke again, voice cold.
"Elara Varyn is a hybrid, an unnatural child of flame and fang. Her presence threatens the order of our kingdom. She carries the blood of a war long buried. And for that…"
He paused.
"…she is to be executed."
"No!" Kael roared. "She is under my protection!"
"You will not defy us," the Elder said. "Or you'll join her in the flames."
I couldn't breathe.
Everything tilted.
Two guards seized me again, snapping shackles around my wrists.
"No, no, Kael, please!" I cried. "Don't let them, don't let them do this!"
He tried to push forward, but Seraphina stepped in front of him.
"You wanted to save her," she whispered. "And now you'll lose her. Like every king who dared love a monster."
"Get out of my way," Kael growled.
But she held him there, and I was dragged from the court, screaming.
They locked me in the underground cell, the same one where traitors were kept before public execution.
I shook against the wall, the chains biting into my skin.
It couldn't end like this.
I'd survived rejection. Humiliation. Abuse. Silence.
I'd clawed my way up from the dirt just to be dragged back to hell again.
My fingers burned, but there was no fire this time.
Only cold.
My wolf was still silent. Was she gone for good?
Had she given up on me, too?
Footsteps echoed outside. Luca appeared behind the bars, arms crossed, smirking.
"Well, well," he said. "Look where we are again."
Go to hell.
I thought you might say that. He stepped closer.
You know, I came here ready to beg Kael to spare you. Maybe offer a deal to take you back into my pack, but now? He shook his head slowly. "I think it's better this way. You burn, and the threat ends. One less wildcard."
"You're disgusting." He grinned. You're just mad because deep down… You still feel the bond… the bond died when you sold me, and yet, he said, his voice dropping, "you still flinch when I get close. You still look for me."
I looked for someone to save me. Anyone, but not anymore." I stepped forward, chains clinking. "I'll save myself."
He tilted his head, eyes narrowing. "You always were too proud, and you always were a coward. He laughed once and turned to leave.
But before he walked away, he said the words that froze my blood:
"Burn her at dawn."
The cell door slammed shut, and the flame in my chest flared once, painful, sharp.
Tomorrow, they'd kill me, and no one would stop it. Not Kael, not Luca, not even my wolf, but just me. And the fire is waiting to break free.