Chapter 17: Chapter Seventeen – I want Out!

After chaining Kaidon to the ancient, rune-etched iron, the entire dungeon trembled beneath his fury.

His breaths were ragged and wild, chest heaving with a storm he could no longer contain. The chains groaned, stretched taut over his arms, across his torso—barely holding him back.

“She can’t reject me!” Kaidon bellowed, voice no longer recognizable—twisted, dark, monstrous. “She’s mine!”

It wasn’t just pain anymore—it was madness. His body was shifting again, bigger, darker. His frame had grown by nearly a foot, muscles bulging, veins pulsing with blackened magic.

His crimson eyes shone like a beast’s, full of rage and something more terrifying—heartbreak.

The guards who had dragged him in? Gone. They didn’t wait. They never stayed when he turned like this.

Only Rylan remained. The silence between them was thick—too heavy, too familiar.

Rylan watched from the shadows, heart weighed with something he never spoke of—pity.

Not for the monster Kaidon was becoming. But for the boy he used to be.

Born into a cursed bloodline that had been haunted for centuries—each generation marked with the same twisted fate. The Demon Curse.

A cruel bond to a soulmate who was their only salvation.

And if the soulmate rejected them?

They’d rot. From the inside out. Mind first. Body second. Soul last.

Some never even made it past childhood.

Kaidon had. Barely.

His mother had died the day he was born, her body torn apart by the darkness she couldn’t withstand. His father? Broken beyond repair, dead a few moons later. And Kaidon? He survived. Not because he was lucky. Because he was cursed to.

He grew up in that loneliness. In that silence. In that need. And now that he had finally found her—his only salvation—she didn’t want him. She was terrified of him.

“She’s mine…” Kaidon growled again, voice strained, demonic claws curling as he thrashed once more. “Mine. Mine.”

Rylan looked away, jaw clenched.

“Damn this bloodline,” he muttered, stepping closer for a moment, just to see him—really see him.

Kaidon’s back arched in pain as another wave surged through his chest. The red mark glowing at the center of his torso was now burning, flickering like fire eating flesh. It was eating him alive.

Rylan wanted to scream. To curse the heavens. But all he did was exhale, slowly, bitterly.

“I don’t know how to fix this,” he whispered. “But I’ll find a way. I swear it.”

Kaidon didn’t hear him. He was already lost to the madness. The growl he let out next wasn’t human. It wasn’t even demonic. It was pure anguish.

Rylan turned away, one hand lingering on the cold, iron door.

He hesitated.

Then he heard it—the low, guttural growl echoing like thunder, a sound that didn’t just fill the dungeon but crawled under the skin.

His eyes shut briefly. His grip tightened.

Then, silently, he walked away—leaving Kaidon to fight the curse alone one more night.

♧♧♧

“Ma’am, please wait!” Lenora’s panicked voice rang down the marble halls as Taliya flew like a storm down the massive grand staircase, her heart pounding in her ears.

A few guards were right behind her, their footsteps thundering like drums of war.

“No. No, I can’t stay here! I can’t!” Taliya’s thoughts screamed as she raced down the endless marble steps, her breath ragged, her bare feet slapping the cold floor.

She glanced back—they were still chasing her.

Her chest tightened.

She didn’t stop. Not when she shoved open the towering double doors, not when the cold air hit her like a slap. She was out.

Out in the open under the vast night sky, the moonlight washing over the massive compound. She didn’t know where to run—but anywhere was better than here.

“Don’t let her go! Master will be fury!” Lenora’s voice cracked from behind, her terror barely masked.

Taliya didn’t care. “I’m getting the hell out of here,” she panted, running faster, faster. Her legs ached, lungs burned—but she could still hear them behind her.

No. Not again. Not back there. She wasn’t going back in there. No. Hell no..

And just when she thought she might make it to the gate—

A hand shot out of the shadows, dragging her forcefully behind a massive stone statue. She gasped, thrashed, struggled, adrenaline flooding her veins—until her eyes landed on his face.

“You?” she whispered, confused.

“What is wrong with you demented people?!” she snapped, voice trembling with fury and exhaustion.

“Can’t you all just leave me alone? I don’t want to be here!”

“Taliya... I believe that’s your name.” Rylan said quietly, his tone calm but intense.

She froze..

And then his gaze dropped—just for a second—and lingered.

There was something about her… something that pulled men into madness. Her eyes, wild and stormy. Her lips, parted and trembling. That soft, untamed beauty… like she didn’t even know what she was doing to them.

Lenora and the guards finally reached the statue. They halted immediately when they saw who was with her.

“Lord Rylan,” Lenora said quickly, her voice dropping in respect. They all bowed.

“She’s with me.” Rylan said sharply, eyes cold.

The guards didn’t argue. They bowed again and turned away. Taliya watched them leave, her chest still heaving.

The silence returned. Cold and heavy.

Then Rylan spoke again, quieter this time.

“Your beauty is… ethereal.”

Taliya’s eyes snapped to him. “What?” she breathed, taking a step back.

Rylan blinked, realization dawning on his face as his ears turned red. “I—I mean, you’re… unique. I didn’t mean to—” he stumbled over his words, looking down and bowing lightly. “Forgive me.”

She’s a vixen without even knowing. That face, that fire in her eyes… he swallowed hard. No wonder Kaidon is obsessed. Any man would be. She doesn’t know what kind of chaos she brings just by breathing.

“I want to leave,” Taliya said, voice softer now, but still firm.

Rylan’s expression changed. Serious. Torn.

He stared at her for a long moment, then—

“…You can’t,” he whispered. “Not anymore.”