Chapter 69:Shackled Flame

Chapter 69:Shackled Flame

Fianna’s POV

The chains were too tight.

They had been forged for strength, not mercy. Iron links bit into the flesh of my wrists and ankles until skin tore, until blood dried and scabbed, only to crack again when I moved. The weight of them dragged at my shoulders, heavy as betrayal, pressing me down against the cold wall of the dungeon.

Every shift of my body scraped bone against stone. Every breath carried the stink of damp moss, stale water, and the faint copper sting of blood that had seeped too deeply into the ground to ever wash away.

The dungeon had no windows. No light, except for the occasional flicker of a torch when the guards passed. Time had no meaning here. Minutes bled into hours, hours into days. It might have been weeks since Derek’s wolves dragged me here.

Or maybe it was only yesterday.

The silence made it hard to tell.

It pressed against my skull until my own thoughts turned sharp enough to wound me. My wolf prowled inside me, restless, claws scratching at the edges of my ribs, whispering over and over: We are not prey. We are not prey.

I held on to that. To her. To the fire still smoldering in my chest. Because if I didn’t, then Derek had already won.

But tonight… tonight was different.

The bond pulsed.

It had been faint before, a flicker of warmth when the cold threatened to swallow me whole. But now it surged through me like lightning striking dry earth. My knees buckled. I choked on a gasp as the chains clattered and pulled taut, their noise echoing through the dungeon like the cry of some wounded beast.

My wolf froze. Then lifted her head, ears pricked, eyes blazing with sudden, wild light.

And I knew.

Kael.

It wasn’t hope. It wasn’t fantasy. It was him. His fury, hot and raw, burning across the tether that bound us still. His hunger. His rage. His vow.

Tears stung my eyes before I could stop them. I pressed my forehead against the stone wall, breathing hard. “Kael,” I whispered, broken and fierce all at once.

The bond answered in fire.

Hold on.

Two words, unspoken, yet branded into my very soul.

I hated him for it. Hated him for still having that power, for making me want to believe. For making my heart race with the knowledge that somewhere out there, he was moving closer, closer, closer.

But beneath the hate, something else burned too.

Something like faith.

The dungeon door creaked open.

I stiffened, pulling my pain and my fire around me like armor. A torch flared, spilling harsh orange light across the damp stones, painting long shadows that stretched and curled like snakes.

And there he was.

Derek.

His presence filled the room like smoke. Tall, broad, every inch of him carved from cruelty and command. His ice-blue eyes gleamed, sharp enough to cut. He moved without hurry, without hesitation, because men like him never feared what was shackled.

“Still awake,” he murmured, stepping closer. His voice was soft, almost indulgent, like a man speaking to a pet he already owned. “You should rest, Fianna. You’ll need strength for what comes.”

I spat blood onto the ground at his boots. The iron taste coated my tongue, but it was worth it to see the faint twitch of irritation cross his mouth.

“Keep dreaming,” I rasped.

His smile was slow, dangerous. He crouched in front of me, close enough that the heat of the torch made the air shimmer between us. His fingers brushed along the chain binding my wrist, almost tender, but the gesture curdled my stomach.

“You feel him, don’t you?” Derek’s words slithered between us, slick and poisonous. “Your Kael. Your Alpha. Even now, he burns for you. Even now, he claws through forest and blood to reach you.”

My jaw locked. I said nothing.

Derek’s eyes narrowed, but his smile never faltered. “Bonds are chains, Fianna. Just like these.” He tugged sharply on the iron, dragging a hiss of pain from me as metal scraped open old wounds. “They bind you. Weaken you. Make you prey for wolves like me.”

I bared my teeth, wolf rising in me with a snarl. “You’ll never have me. Not in this life. Not in any.”

For the first time, something flickered in his gaze—anger, sharp and cold as a knife’s edge. He gripped my chin, hard, forcing my head up until I met his stare. His breath was smoke, bitter and suffocating.

“You think you’re strong because he’s coming,” Derek whispered. “But strength isn’t found in bonds. It’s found in breaking them. When Kael fails you—when he falls—you will see who truly rules you.”

He released me suddenly, his hand dropping away like a blade leaving flesh. He straightened, gaze lingering on me for a long, silent moment. Then he turned, torchlight trailing after him, and stepped out of the cell.

The heavy door slammed shut, rattling the stones. The echoes faded into silence.

But I didn’t let it claim me. Not this time.

Because the bond still burned in my chest. Fierce. Alive.

Kael was out there.

And when he came, this dungeon would drown i
n blood and fire.

And Derek, He would learn what it meant to try to shackle a flame.