Chapter 253

Chapter 253
Elenna's POV

I braced myself, every muscle in my body tensing as the wolf lunged toward me. In that terrifying moment, I knew with absolute certainty that death had finally come for me.

Time seemed to slow down. My heart hammered violently against my ribs, each beat thundering in my ears like it was trying to fit a lifetime of beats into these final seconds. My thoughts crystallized around a single, burning desire.

I wish I could see Aurelian one more time.

I closed my eyes, unwilling to watch my own end. The wolf's hot breath hit my face, and I waited for the tearing pain that would follow.

It never came.

Instead, a deafening roar split the air, so powerful it seemed to shake the very ground beneath me. My eyes flew open just in time to see a massive shadow descend from above – Aurelian in his dragon form, wings extended, diving like a predator from the sky.

With one powerful swipe of his clawed hand, he batted the wolf away. The creature yelped in pain as it tumbled through the underbrush. In an instant, Aurelian positioned himself protectively in front of me, his massive body forming a living shield between me and danger.

More howls echoed through the forest. The attack had drawn attention. Shadowy forms began materializing from between the trees, moving with cautious steps now that a predator far more dangerous than themselves had entered the scene.

I counted at least five different shapes approaching, with more rustling sounds suggesting others hidden from view. They had found us. Or rather, they had found me, and now Aurelian was trapped here too.

I expected to witness a bloodbath. Aurelian could easily kill them all. But instead of attacking, he glanced back at me, his golden eyes scanning my body quickly for injuries before returning to assess the growing threat surrounding us.

I couldn't read his expression in his dragon form, but I understood his hesitation. He could survive this fight easily, but protecting me during it would be another matter. One slip, one moment when a single attacker broke through his defense, and I could suffer a fatal wound. The odds weren't in our favor.

Suddenly, Aurelian turned and scooped me up in his powerful arms. With a powerful thrust of his wings, he launched us in the opposite direction, moving with breathtaking speed. The wind whipped against my face as we fled, Aurelian's body partially shielding me from the worst of it.

The howls behind us grew distant but didn't fade entirely. They would track us.

"We can't leave the forest," I gasped, remembering the rules that kept us trapped within this hunting ground.

"I know," Aurelian growled, his voice deeper and rougher in this form.

As we raced through the darkness, I stared up at the night sky. Dawn was still hours away. Could I truly survive until morning? Should we keep running, or would that only exhaust us both?

I can't abandon Doria or Adrian. We have to find a way through this.

Suddenly, Aurelian slowed his pace. His head turned sharply toward the north, ears pricked forward at attention. I heard it too – a distant roar, different from the others. Something in Aurelian's eyes changed, a flash of recognition.

"What is it?" I whispered.

Aurelian couldn't speak clearly in his current form, but his eyes conveyed something I couldn't quite interpret. Before I could ask again, he tightened his grip on me and changed direction, heading toward the source of that mysterious call.

My heart pounded with uncertainty, but I trusted him.

Doria's POV

"Stop that useless noise," Millicent snapped at Adrian, her voice cutting through the damp air of our prison. "You'll only bring more guards."

I watched anxiously as Adrian paused his roaring, fixing Millicent with a hollow, vacant stare. Then, as if she hadn't spoken at all, he tilted his head back and continued calling toward the night sky through the small ventilation shaft above us.

Despite his beaten state, I couldn't help but admire his courage. He'd been a prisoner far longer than I had and clearly had endured much worse, yet nothing seemed to frighten him. If anything, he seemed more determined than ever.

It wasn't long before Millicent's warning proved accurate. Two soldiers burst into our dark dungeon, their faces twisted with anger. Adrian continued his calls even as they unlocked his cell. My stomach clenched as they entered, knowing what would follow.

"Please, have mercy!" I cried out, gripping the bars of our cell as I watched them strike him repeatedly. "Show some compassion!"

The guards were exceptionally cruel, stabbing at him with the butts of their spears until Adrian was too weak to stand. I felt tears burning in my eyes, helpless to stop their brutality. They finally stopped and stepped back, not saying a word as they left his cell, locked the door, and departed. One guard glared at me before walking away as if nothing had happened.

Adrian hadn't even tried to defend himself. He lay on the ground in his half-dragon form, covered in fresh wounds, but still breathing. That knowledge alone gave me some comfort. Though only half-dragon, his healing abilities would help him recover in time.

"I told you so," Millicent said coldly from beside me.

"That doesn't help," I replied, trying to keep the tremor from my voice.

Millicent snorted. "You should remain quiet and patient. Just wait for my army to arrive."

I turned to her in surprise. "Your... army? Aren't you part of the rebellion?"

Millicent let out a bitter laugh that echoed off the stone walls.

"How could you think I would willingly work with that despicable man?" she asked.

She revealed that Solan was obsessed with Elenna, almost to the point of madness.

"A significant portion of us have separated from Solan's forces," she explained.

"There are two rebel armies?" I gasped, suddenly realizing the rebellion itself was brewing an internal war. Such instability might work in Elenna and the Dragon King's favor—if they weren't fighting for their lives in the forest.

Millicent explained that the two factions cooperated out of necessity rather than desire.

"Despite my efforts to maintain peace, the rebels have split into two factions—those loyal to Solan and those loyal to me," she said. "We've managed to coexist until now, but not without tension. Unfortunately, this imprisonment is the final insult."

"So this base belongs to Solan's faction, which is why he's here... and why these soldiers imprisoned me," I deduced, the pieces finally fitting together.

"Correct. But don't be fooled, child. My imprisonment will only increase my standing among the people here," Millicent confirmed. "I'm well-liked and high-ranking, not to mention Hadrian's second wife. Solan's order to imprison me was a grave mistake."

"While I don't appreciate the infighting between our factions, I will certainly use this situation to my advantage."

I worried about how readily Millicent shared information about the rebellion's inner workings. I hoped it was due to camaraderie as fellow prisoners, or perhaps her arrogance led her to underestimate Adrian and me as mere servants.

More concerning was the possibility that Millicent planned to kill us, or perhaps imprison us under her own rebel faction. Neither was a pleasant thought, though if given the choice, I would prefer imprisonment to death.

"How can you use this situation when you're locked up here?" I dared to ask.

Millicent smiled more genuinely this time and tapped her cane in a specific, angled way. The top suddenly opened, revealing a small device hidden beneath.

Millicent pressed a button, activating the device.

After a moment, when nothing visibly happened, I asked, "What did you just do?"

Millicent looked at me, her voice calm and confident: "I just started a war."