Chapter 25 Containment
The runic chains, which were glowing and changing color, were wrapped tightly around his arms and legs. They had beaten him, but not without a battle. Ryder was the kind of man who would fight to the end, and his spirit was strong. But there he was, stuck. Sienna stood at the door of the room and watched him with her heart racing. Her stomach felt like it was in knots. The Council, which had once protected her, had now caught Ryder, the man she had once trusted. She had always believed in the Council's power, but now? She didn't know what their function was now. They said they were doing what was best for the people, but at what price? A loud voice pierced the quiet.
"Ryder," Elder Kane's voice cut through the thick air like a knife. His eyes were icy and unemotional, as if the man's death was just a little annoyance. "You've let us down. There is no space for mercy. Sienna's heart raced at the words, yet she couldn't look away from Ryder. As he resisted the chains, his chest rose and fell with effort, and the muscles in his neck strained. His dark hair, which he usually kept clean, was now wild and stuck to his forehead with the sweat that was there. "Don't do this," Sienna muttered as she stepped closer. Her voice shook with fear and rage. "He didn't let us down. He was attempting to keep safe,
"Stop talking!" There was something evil in Elder Kane's eyes. The room felt colder, and the air felt thick with his strength. "You, Sienna, have constantly defended those who don't deserve it without thinking." When he heard her name, Ryder's head snapped up and their eyes met. The look in his eyes was so intense that it made her blood run cold. "Get out of here, Sienna." Get out of here now. "It's a trap," he said in a raspy but frantic voice. The Council had been aware of it. They knew it was going to happen.
The prophesies and archaic scriptures that the First Queen had written had come true. And now they were at the edge of a choice that may change everything. "Don't go near him!" Elder Kane's voice was full of poison as he stepped forward to warn. "His fate is set." Sienna's pulse raced as she felt the weight of the choice she had to make. They were right all along, the Council. Ryder had gone against their orders. He had decided to go against the exact thing that made their existence possible. But she couldn't leave him. Not right now. Her thoughts raced. She has always been faithful to her people and to her job as their defender. But Ryder was not the same. He wasn't just any guy.
He was a part of her past, present, and possibly even her future. Could she really just stand by and watch him die, knowing she could have done something to save him? Ryder's eyes softened as if he could read her mind. "You have to make a choice, Sienna. You or me. I know what you've always thought. "I've seen it in your eyes..." She shook her head and moved closer to him, even though the Council was giving her warning looks. "None of that matters to me. I love you. "Please, please let him go," she begged, her voice breaking. Elder Kane stepped closer and raised his hands, telling the shackles around Ryder's wrists to get tighter.
The power got stronger, and each link of the chain glowed brightly, throwing sparks of light into the air. "That's enough, Sienna!" He yelled, "Enough!" because he was getting angry. "He's a traitor." A threat to everyone. And your love for him has made you blind. Her heart raced. Ryder's fate was in the balance, yet she couldn't look away. She couldn't leave him like way, not after everything they had been through together. But what if this was a test for her? The time when she had to show that her loyalty was to more than simply a man? To her people, to the Council... To her job as a guardian? As the chains got tighter, Ryder's face contorted in misery. For a fleeting second, Sienna saw something flash, something she hadn't seen before.
"I'm not the monster they say I am," Ryder said, his voice strained. "But if you leave now, they'll hurt you." They'll also kill you. Sienna didn't move. His words hit her like a tsunami. She could feel the pull between her heart and the responsibility on her shoulder. The choice felt like an anchor, pulling her down into a sea of doubt. The room felt colder as Ryder's voice resonated in her head. The air was so tense that it was impossible to breathe.
"I have to make a choice," she mumbled, as if saying the words would relieve her of the heavy weight. "But I don't know if I can." Elder Kane looked at her, but his face was hard to decipher. "You don't have a choice, Sienna." Someone else has already done it for you. Her fingers shook at her side, and she gazed back at Ryder one final time, her heart breaking. But when she grabbed for him, the chains that held him broke with such force that the whole chamber shook. The Council's features twisted in horror, and Elder Kane's eyes got bigger in bewilderment. Ryder was free.