Chapter 26: Chains

It was dark all around me, and it felt like smoke was getting into my lungs.

When I moved, there was a loud clang, and iron bit into my wrists.

Chains.

The cold links scraped against my skin, making my arms hurt.

Every muscle hurt; it was tight, swollen, and stiff. My throat was as dry as ash and my lips were cracked.

The smell of old and new blood mixed together in the air to make something awful. It got stuck on my tongue every time I took a short breath.

The stone below me was wet and very cold. Somewhere far away, water dripped, its beat making fun of me. The world swam when I blinked.

My eyelashes were caked with dirt and tears.

I didn't remember crying.

At last, the flicker of a flashlight on the far wall became clear, throwing scary shadows across the cell.

There was deep, pulsing pain behind my eyes, like war drums beating inside my head.

I could feel metal needles pricking me, hear laughter that made my blood boil, and hear his voice whispering lies and truths at the same time.

Humphrey.

My chest got tight. The chains shook because I was so angry, and my hands were curled into fists. I had been lied to. Once more.

I clenched my teeth and pushed myself up. Another wave of pain hit my ribs from the movement, but I didn't pass out.

I didn't want to fall down.

I had to get through this. I would get through this.

My wolf moved inside me, but she was weak and far away, like she was stuck behind a wall I couldn't get through. I tried to reach for her, but nothing moved. Fear grabbed my throat. I was cut off. Chained.

"Don't try to move."

The voice, which was clear to be real, cut through the quiet like a knife.

As I turned my head toward the sound, my ribs screamed in pain. I held back a gasp. I didn't hear that sound.

Someone moved in the corner. A person came out of the dark just in time for the flashlight to hit his face.

Lots of cheeks.

Narrow eyes that sparkled with something that couldn't be read. He had dark curls that fell to his neck and were tangled with dried blood.

He had an old, angry scar that went from the corner of his mouth to the base of his chin.

"What are you?" My voice was dry and raspy as I spoke.

He didn't get any closer. Seemed to be interested in me and wary at the same time.

He just said, "Sage."

This man didn't smile, but the way he stood made me feel calm. It was too calm for this place.

"Perhaps you are the Phantom Queen?"

The words hit like a blow. My whole body jerked.

"No longer," I said in a low voice. I felt like ashes when I read the title.

He laughed quietly and was not at all funny. Alucard doesn't waste time on people who don't matter. You're not just anyone.

I became very angry, and my chest got very hot. I tried to keep my voice from shaking.

"Then why am I here?" "What does he need from me?"

After that, there was a thick quiet. Sage knew more than he was telling me. I could tell by the look in his eyes.

I knew I wouldn't like the answer no matter what it was.

He did not say anything while he looked at me for a long time. He was looking at me as if he were weighing the weight of my soul against something that couldn't be seen.

The iron cuffs on his wrists made a soft clinking sound as he leaned back against the wall.

Sage finally spoke up. His voice was low and even. "He's been picking us up." "People like you." Born when stars were rare. Those with blood from long ago. "Magic that shouldn't be around anymore."

He took a break.

I feel like something bigger than war and revenge is about to happen. Alucard is getting ready for it. And us? "We're just pieces on his board."

I felt sick to my stomach, and the nausea curled up in my throat like smoke.

I looked at him with wide eyes. The words he spoke hit me like rocks in a river.

I said in a whisper, "You're lying."

He responded, "I wish I was." His eyes were now dull and far away. "Once upon a time, I was the heir to the Moonfire Clan." "Now I'm just another ghost stuck in his games."

The quiet that followed was as sharp as a knife.

I couldn't speak for a long time. Not even able to breathe right. I looked at the cuts, dried blood, and cold metal that was pushing against my skin from the manacle around my wrist.

I said in a low voice, "I won't be a piece." "Not again."

Sage's eyes lit up. He said, "Good. Then you'll want to know what I have planned."

Things changed before he could say anything else.

The dungeon went away.

All of a sudden, I was standing on a field of stars without shoes.

Light sparkled under my feet, as if the sky had turned concrete and into a mirror of the sky. Wind swirled around me and whispered in a language I had never heard before, but I could figure out what it meant. I felt it in my body.

The moon was bleeding red above me.

It wasn't smooth and silvery; it was deep red and pulsed like a live thing.

There was no evil in the shadows that moved around me; they were hungry. Some kind of reason.

After that, I heard the voice.

"You were never meant to be locked up."

As I turned around in a circle, my heart hit my ribs hard. In the darkness, shapes came to life: women dressed in silver robes, dogs made of stardust, and beings with antennae and glowing symbols on their heads. They looked at me with angry eyes and sad smiles.

One of them took a step forward.

She was very tall, much bigger than a person should be. Her hair fell like ink, and her skin was the color of midnight. But it was her eyes that stopped me.

"Who are you, really?" I spoke softly.

The stars could hear her words.

"Your blood is in us."

As the others raised their hands, a flash of light went through my chest.

I screamed.

My mother singing lullabies in a language that everyone had forgotten, glyphs carved into my skin when I was too young to understand them, and the feel of a silver knife biting into my hand, a rune flaring with pain and power. These were memories I didn't remember having.

I got down on my knees.

It was too hot to stand, but it didn't burn.

It did what I told it to do.