Chapter 35: STILL IN THE CHAMBER

CHAPTER 35. STILL IN THE CHAMBER

IRIS'S POV

My heart is a frantic hammer against my ribs, each thud loud and hollow in the damp chill of the cavern. I stand frozen, forced to watch as the nightmare unfolds in precise, agonizing turns. Selene’s two minions are pushed forward next by the stoic bodyguards. They look like pale ghosts in their green school uniforms, their tears tracing clean lines through the dirt on their cheeks. One by one, they step into the glittering center of the obsidian vessel.

Crack. Just like Selene, the purple lightning descends, the brilliant gems flash, and they vanish into nothingness. I stare at the empty space where they stood just a second ago, my mind reeling. I don't know if I’m supposed to actually believe they are safely evaporating back to the human world, or if Ciara’s magic is quietly fracturing them into a million pieces and scattering them across some dark void I can't even comprehend. The sheer uncertainty of it is a cold weight pressing down on my lungs, making it impossible to draw a full breath. I am terrified, my hands trembling against my thighs as the reality of my isolation settles in.

Suddenly, a wave of intense heat breaks the cavern's chill. A strong, comforting presence steps into my personal space, and when I turn my head, I find Kaelen standing right beside me. The Alpha isn't looking at the Council or the captive witch; his golden eyes are fixed entirely on me, a look of profound, agonizing worry etched into his sharp features.

"I really wish I could keep you here," he whispers, his voice dropping to a low, gravelly rasp that vibrates straight through my skin.

I swallow hard, a sudden, tight lump forming in my throat. I don't know why his words have the power to do that to me—to twist something deep in my chest until it hurts. He lets out a long, ragged exhale, his broad shoulders tensing beneath his jacket.

"I tried my best, Iris," he continues, his fingers reaching out to find mine. He squeezes my hand with a desperate, unyielding pressure, as if he’s trying to imprint the memory of my skin into his own palms. "I might be the Alpha of my pack, but I don't really have much power when it comes to the decrees of the Elders. When the Council speaks, the laws are absolute."

He looks down at me, his gaze so reluctant, so heavy with unspoken words, that I have to drop my eyes. "You don't need to worry about the process, though," he murmurs, trying to offer a comfort he clearly doesn't feel. "It’s going exactly how it’s supposed to. You are definitely returning back to the safety of the human world. It’s just... I don't know if I’m ever going to see you again."

I look back up at him, my mind a blank slate of shock. I am completely tongue-tied, frozen under the weight of his golden stare, utterly unsure of how to reply to a werewolf who looks at me like I am his entire universe.

"Iris... I’m going now."

Lyra’s quiet, shaking voice breaks the spell. I tear my eyes away from Kaelen and turn around to see my best friend taking her final, reluctant steps toward the crystal chamber. Her face is pale, but she offers me a small, brave nod.

I exhale a shaky breath and snap my focus back to the Alpha standing before me. "I’m sorry," I whisper, my voice cracking under the weight of the silence. "I don't know... maybe this is for the very best."

The moment the words leave my lips, I see the visible damage they cause. A deep, pained frown creases Kaelen’s forehead, his jaw clenching tightly as he shakes his head slowly. He looks at me like I’ve just dealt him a physical blow, completely lost for words, his golden eyes clouding over with an intense, silent sorrow.

I am forced to look away as Lyra steps into the center of the cylindrical tube. Ciara doesn't waste any time. The witch raises her hands, her blood-red lips moving in a swift, practiced rhythm as she delivers the ancient incantations. A second later, a brilliant fork of purple lightning strikes the top of the vessel with a deafening boom. The glass glows with a white-hot intensity, filling the cavern with blinding light, and just like the rest, Lyra vanishes into the smoke.

The chamber is empty again. The witch stops her movements, her hands dropping to her sides as the mist clears. She slowly turns around, her dark cloak billowing behind her, and her violet eyes lock onto mine with a sharp, knowing smile.

"It’s your turn, beauty," she says, her tone smooth and clinical.

I swallow hard, the knot in my throat growing until it feels like it might choke me. I turn my head back to look at Kaelen, but his grip on my hand hasn't relaxed. If anything, his fingers have tightened, holding onto my wrist like a lifeline. He doesn't look like he’s ready to let me go. He looks like a man willing to start a war just to keep me standing beside him.

"Let her go, Kaelen."

Elder Cyphros’s voice booms loudly from the shadows behind us, the sheer authority of the sound making me flinch. The sound ripples through the air like a physical wave, heavy with a choking pressure that warns us the Council’s patience has completely run out.

I try to pull away, slowly attempting to detach my hand from his grip, but Kaelen remains unyielding.

"If you truly understood the instance and the degree of trouble you are causing right now, you wouldn't dare stand against an Elder when a direct instruction has been given," Cyphros warns. His voice turns to literal thunder, echoing off the stone pillars and rattling the very earth beneath our boots.

Kaelen grits his teeth so hard the muscles in his jaw bulge. He looks up at the row of Elders, his chest heaving with a silent, volatile fury. For a split second, I think he’s going to attack. But then, he let out a harsh, bitter scoff. He lets go of my hand.

He spins on his heel, his movements sharp and aggressive, and walks over toward a far, darkened section of the cavern. He slams his back against the stone wall, folding his arms tightly over his chest, his eyes fixed on the floor as he deliberately avoids looking at the space where I stand.

"Look at you, pouting like a petulant child," Elder Cyphros mutters, completely ignoring the Alpha’s anger as he gestures toward the altar. "Move along, human."

"All right, I’m waiting," Ciara says, her sharp voice forcing me to snap my attention away from Kaelen’s distant form and focus back on the glittering tube. She points a slender finger toward the glass opening.

I exhale a long, ragged breath, trying to steady the frantic rhythm of my heart. I take a deep breath of the damp, metallic air, turning my head one last time to look at each and every one of them—the pale-skinned vampires, the broad-shouldered wolves, and the ancient, stone-faced Elders.

"Don't worry, little girl," Elder Cyphros says, his lips twisting into a weird, patronizing smile that makes a cold shiver spread all over my skin. "It will all be over in a minute. By dawn, you won't even know that you were ever here."

I ignore his face. I ignore the piercing, judgmental stares of the rest of the Council. I turn my back on them and walk quickly over toward the glass chamber, my boots clicking defiantly against the stone. It’s not like I actually want to have anything to do with these people anyway. The wolves and the vampires have made it perfectly clear that humans are nothing more than cattle to them. They don't think like us, and they are definitely not going to welcome an outsider into their ranks. Even if a small, traitorous part of my soul wants to stay here—wants to find out why Kaelen is in my dreams—I can already tell that residing in this place would be a literal hell.

I step across the threshold, climbing inside the cylindrical vessel. The heavy glass door slides shut behind me with a muted thud, instantly sealing me inside.

It is only then, trapped behind the thick barrier, that I realize the world outside has changed. The voices of the Elders and the crackle of the torches are suddenly muffled, reduced to low, distorted mumbles that I can't quite piece together. I watch through the glass as Ciara takes her place in front of the altar. I can see her lips moving, her head tilting back as she begins the incantation, but the words don't reach my ears; they come out as a distant, watery hum.

I stand perfectly still in the center of the tube, my hands clenched into fists, when a bizarre sensation begins to creep across my skin. It starts as a low, prickling warmth at the soles of my feet before crawling up my legs. It’s a violent, tingling current that makes every single hair on my body stand on end. I lift my hands, my eyes widening as I see the small hairs on my arms rising, vibrating with a static charge. Even my long, crimson-red hair begins to lift, floating around my shoulders like it’s suspended in water.

Crack.

Just like before, a massive bolt of purple lightning tears through the subterranean ceiling. I feel the full, raw power of the magic slamming against the exterior of the glass tube, the force of the impact vibrating through the marrow of my bones. I close my eyes tight, bracing myself, waiting for the white-hot flash that will dissolve my consciousness and send me safely back to the human realm.

The lightning strikes with a blinding fury. Even behind my closed lids, I can see the brilliant sheets of violet light surrounding me, enveloping my body in a scenario so bright, so overwhelming, it feels almost heavenly. I hold my breath, waiting for the static to clear. I wait for the hissing sound of the magic to disappear, expecting to open my eyes and find myself lying in the grass of the Dead Zone, searching for the path back to my high school.

But the moment the hissing sound finally clears, the cold weight of gravity slams back into me. I open my eyes, my breath catching in my throat.

I am still inside the tube.

I frown in absolute, bone-chilling confusion, my heart skipping a beat. What is going on? I wonder, my hands pressing against the smooth glass. This didn't happen to Lyra. It didn't happen to Selene.

Slowly, I look up, staring through the transparent barrier at the cavern outside. The scene before me is a portrait of pure chaos.

Ciara is staring directly at me, her arms frozen mid-air, her violet eyes wide with a staggering, historical disbelief. Beyond her, the Elders are stepping closer to the altar, their unified expressions of arrogance completely shattered. Their eyes are wide, their bodies rigid as they stare at the glittering chamber as if they can't believe what they are witnessing. I can see their lips moving frantically, their jaws snapping as they shout commands over the din, but the thick glass dulls the sound into an unintelligible roar.

I see Elder Cyphros point a shaking, clawed finger at Ciara, his face twisted in a furious snarl as he barks out an order I can't hear.

The witch snaps out of her trance. Her face hardens, her features setting into a desperate scowl as she lifts her hands once more. Her chest heaves, her voice rising in volume until the vibrations manage to bleed through the glass. I can hear the jagged, frantic rhythm of the incantation as she recites the spell for a second time, her fingers moving in blurred, frantic motions.

What is happening to me? The thought is a scream in my own mind.

Before I can find an answer, the ceiling ignites again. The violet lightning returns with a vengeance, striking the top of the vessel over and over, turning the inside of the chamber into a blinding haze of bright, white light. The static prints against my skin like fire, every nerve ending screaming under the pressure of the magic. Just like before, the light reaches a deafening peak, and then... it slowly disappears. The smoke clears.

I drop my hands, my chest heaving as I pant for air, staring through the glass.

I am still in the chamber.