Chapter 141 Delightful

Chapter 141 Delightful
~ Lyra's POV ~

No other words were exchanged. The tension that had been building between them finally reached its limit, and instead of responding verbally, the guard suddenly threw a punch toward Elder Rowan's face.

The attack came fast and without warning, but Elder Rowan reacted in time. He turned away from the incoming fist before it could connect and immediately responded with one of his own.

His punch landed directly in the middle of the guard's face with enough force to drive him several steps backward. Blood instantly appeared on the man's split lip, and a look of shock flashed across his features as he struggled to steady himself.

The moment that happened, the situation exploded into chaos.

Several guards rushed into the cell alongside Dagan, their boots pounding against the floor as they closed in. The small space that had already felt cramped suddenly seemed even smaller with so many warriors crowding inside.

My stomach tightened as I took in the sight. Elder Rowan might have been capable, but there was no way he could stand against so many opponents by himself. If I continued hiding behind him while he fought for my sake, he would be the one paying the price for it.

Without wasting another second, I hurried out from behind him and moved directly in front of him before anyone could stop me. The movement drew everyone's attention immediately.

"Stop!" I ordered.

My voice rang through the cell loudly enough to make every warrior pause. Even Dagan stopped advancing. Several pairs of eyes settled on me, waiting to hear what I had to say.

"It's me you want, right?" I said. "Here I am. Take me and leave him alone."

For a brief moment, silence followed my words. I could feel Elder Rowan standing behind me, and I already knew he was not going to like what I had just done.

"Lyra." His voice reached my ears exactly as expected. At the same time, his hand closed around my right arm in an attempt to pull me away from the center of attention.

"No!" I resisted immediately. "This is my fight. Let me handle it." I refused to budge.

Dagan stepped forward, his face twisted into a furious frown. The anger radiating from him was impossible to miss. Before I could react, his hand shot out and closed around my left arm. The force behind the movement caught me completely off guard.

One moment I was standing in front of Elder Rowan, and the next I was being pulled away so violently that it felt like I had been thrown in another direction.

A guard standing behind Dagan caught me before I could slam into the wall. Strong hands immediately locked around my arms, preventing any attempt to break free.

"Take what you want from her," Dagan instructed the guards without turning his head. His entire focus remained fixed on Elder Rowan. The hostility in his eyes made it clear that he had completely forgotten about me for the moment. "As for this one, I will handle him myself. He's been getting on my nerves for too long."

As soon as he finished speaking, he attacked. Dagan lunged at Elder Rowan without hesitation, and Elder Rowan met him head on.

The two of them immediately began exchanging punches. Neither man appeared willing to back down. The sounds of fists connecting echoed through the cell while the surrounding guards kept their attention divided between restraining me and watching the fight unfold before them.

I tried to keep my eyes on the confrontation, but a sudden sting cut through my concentration.

Pain flared across my palm, forcing a wince from me. One of the guards standing behind me had drawn a knife across my skin. The sharp sensation instantly dragged my attention away from the fight.

"What are you doing?" I demanded after the initial sting faded.

Since I could not see what was happening behind me, the uncertainty only made me more anxious. I twisted slightly in an attempt to look, but the guards tightened their grip and prevented me from moving.

Nobody answered my question. Not a single one of them acknowledged me. They simply continued holding me in place while another guard kept my injured hand steady. Their silence made me increasingly suspicious.

They were taking my blood again.

The suspicion remained in the back of my thoughts for only a few moments before it was confirmed. One of the guards behind me finally stepped away carrying a small jar. I turned my head just enough to catch sight of it.

The container was no longer empty, and the man was already screwing the lid shut with practiced ease. The sight erased any remaining doubt. They had come here for my blood, and judging by the satisfied look on the priestess's face, obtaining it had been one of the reasons for her visit.

I fixed my gaze on the priestess, who had been watching everything unfold with an eerie calm settled across her face. She did not look disturbed by the chaos in the cell or the blood that had already been taken. Instead, she observed everything as if it was unfolding exactly the way she expected.

“Why do you keep taking my blood? What are you doing with it?” I yelled at her.

She did not answer. Her eyes remained on me for a moment longer, studying me with that same unreadable expression. Then, without a single word, she shifted her attention away from me and focused on Dagan and Elder Rowan instead.

“Don’t kill him, Dagan. He will make a good first meal for the Void Wolf. His soul is strong. Spare him for the greater purpose.”

The moment she spoke, Dagan released Elder Rowan.

Elder Rowan staggered slightly, already showing signs of the injuries he had sustained during the fight, his body clearly pushed beyond what he should have been enduring at his age, yet still standing.

“This is just the tip of the iceberg. I am going to enjoy feeding on your soul,” Dagan said, his voice sounding more unhinged than before.

His words confused me more than I wanted to admit, especially the way he spoke about souls and feeding. Was he the Void Wolf?

He stepped out of the cell with the others, and the metallic sound of the door locking again echoed through the dungeon, sealing us back inside.

“Are you okay? You are bleeding,” Elder Rowan hurried to my side, moving behind me to check my hands.

“It's fine. It is already healing,” I sighed, though my attention was not fully on him. My eyes followed the priestess instead as she slowly turned her gaze across the entire dungeon, observing everyone present as if she was taking inventory rather than seeing people.

When her eyes eventually landed on Brenda’s cell, her brows knitted slightly.

“You locked up an Alpha as well?” she asked, though it did not sound like she expected anyone to answer. “A pregnant one for that matter.”

“That one is less of an Alpha and more of a glorified desperate Omega. She is carrying Kael’s child,” Dagan replied without hesitation, as if the information meant nothing beyond its usefulness.

Brenda did not speak. She only glared at them, her silence carrying more anger than words could have managed.

The priestess laughed softly, almost pleased by what she had just heard.

“You never cease to amaze me, Dagan,” she said. Then her tone shifted slightly, curiosity threading through it. “Do you know what this means?”

“What does it mean, my love?” Dagan asked, his voice immediately softening at the word he used for her.

“It means if you were having doubts initially that Kael is dead, this is the surest way to ensure he dies and stays dead,” she explained, her eyes brightening with something that looked disturbingly close to excitement.

The words landed inside me like a blow I had not been prepared for. My chest tightened as the words sank in. I had already allowed myself the fragile relief that Kael might still be alive, that there was still a chance he was out there somewhere. Now that hope was being dragged back into something far darker.

“How is that possible? Tell me more about it,” Dagan said, leaning into her words with the clear eagerness of one who had been waiting for an opportunity to end Kael completely.

“Simple. I will cast a spell on her, then we feed her soul to the Void Wolf, together with the soul of the child. As soon as their souls are consumed, the father of the child she is carrying dies instantly no matter where he is,” she explained calmly, as if describing something routine. Then she turned to Dagan again. “Isn’t that just wonderful?”

“Delightful, my love. I cannot wait,” Dagan responded, and there was an unmistakable enthusiasm in his voice.

But I noticed his smile this time carried something different beneath it, something that did not match the excitement he was trying to show.