Chapter 3 002

▪️Kaelis' Pov▪️

The stench of rot hit me first before I could open my eyes to the thick darkness as the only source of light came from a little crack in the door.

I tried to move my hand but it burned and was stretched above me. The ache spread down to my spine and my throat felt torn.

I tried to swallow but the effort only scraped the inside of my throat. My tongue was dry and heavy as I parted my lips, hoping some sound would come but nothing left me.

A groan escaped my throat-- coarse and broken like I had been screaming.

Had I?

I pulled once and hard but the chains did not budge instead the iron cut deeper into my skin until I had to stop.

Where was I?

How long had I been here?

The question hit hard.

I tried to search my mind, but when I reached for answers-- all I could find was emptiness-- a blank slate that should have harboured my memories but still nothing. I pressed harder as I tried to drag something or anything from the shadows.

Nothing came.

Still nothing came.

The blankness scared me more than the chains.

My heart kicked against my ribs, wild and desperate. I searched the darkness for answers, but all I found was the taste of fear in my mouth.

A rat ran near the corner, its squeaks drowned out by the sound of multiple boots in the corridor.

"Spy!"

"Trespasser!"

"Enemy wolf!"

The voices sounded way too loud to not be close as I searched to find where they came from and I heard loud laughter just outside the door and I could not see who spoke.

Enemy wolf?

What were they talking about?

Who are they talking about?

I searched myself over and over again, way too desperate to understand whatever was going on but my thoughts still could not align until panic washed over me.

I heard keys clanking as the door slammed open as two men walked in. Their rough hands grabbed me as they dragged me forward. The chains rattled as I stumbled and my knees crashing against the hard floor.

Pain hit me hard as my legs scraped the floor and my hands hurt badly when they were dropped to the ground and the chains were removed.

Voices barked questions at me, each one louder than the former

"Who sent you?"

"What do you want in Silvermaw territory?"

"Why are you here?"

The names and places struck my ears like foreign sounds. I tried to open my mouth, searching for the truth or the right answers but nothing came up, yet again.

I lifted my head, but my vision was blurred. "I... I don't know," my voice croaked as the words scraped out of my broken throat. "I... I don't remember." My voice sounding weak.

The men looked at each other-- disgust twisted their faces.

"Lies!" One of them spat.

The first blow landed across my cheek causing my head to snap to the side-- the taste of blood flooding my mouth. Before I could recover another fist drive into my stomach-- my breath ceased.

I fell over gagging and gasping for breath that would not come.

Cold water poured down on me into my mouth, my nose and filling every space. I choked, desperate for air with my chest heaving and my lungs burning as I coughed but it only forced more water down my throat.

Right there-- I thought I would die... Without a name or a reason.

When it stopped, I collapsed forward, gagging and coughing out water until my throat burned-- my body trembling from the cold. My hair clung to my face and dripping against my skin.

Why was this happening?

Why could I not answer them?

Why did my mind feel like it had been locked away?

Why was I alone?

The guards lifted their fists again, ready to continue as my body flinched even before the next hit came. I squeezed my eyes shut, bracing for it. I hated myself for the way my body cowered.

The sound of the door slamming open froze the room.

The air around was charged with an aura I could not explain. Even before I lifted my head, I had felt it-- the pressure, the power that rolled in like a storm.

The guards dropped their hands at once as the silence was deafening.

A tall figure with broad shoulders walked in-- his steps slow but heavy, his presence thick with power and the air seemed to bend around him.

The guards' heads bowed low as the air pressed down on me until I felt small and fragile.

The man's voice rolled through the silence-- deep and sharp.

"Release her."

Without hesitation, the chains that once held me were snapped free and my hands dropped-- too numb to catch myself. I stumbled forward coughing.

Who was he?

Why was he releasing me?

Before I could gather my thoughts, I was being dragged again across the ground-- I had barely lifted my head. My eyes blurred from tears but the lights ahead grew bright with every step and the light burnt my eyes after being in the dark for too long.

They dragged me into a vast hall that was lit with fire. Torches burned high, their flames casting long shadows across the walls, the air smelled of smoke and steel. Silver banners hung down and shining against the stones-- each one marked with a snarling wolf's head.

Rows of men and women stood on both side of the walls, their eyes watching me with open hatred and suspicion.

At the end of the hall sat a throne, and on it the same man who had spoken earlier. In the light, he was more massive than I had thought and his eyes were golden but cold-- his hair was dark with a silver streak at the tip. His jaw was chiseled and power clung to him in every breath and in every glance.

I knew without asking.

He must be their leader.

My chest tightened as his gaze locked onto mine.

"The Kaelis Dreadmoor," he said. His voice echoing in the hall. "Enemy to Silvermaw."

Kaelis?

"Kaelis," I whispered but the name struck me like a knife. It sounded all too strange and foreign like it did not belong to me.

"I don't... I don't know that name."

The hall erupted at once-- voices screamed over one another.

"Liar!"

"Spy!"

"Burn her!"

Their fury shook me to my bones as I wrapped my arms around myself, pressing my nails into my palms to keep myself from falling apart.

"You dare play with my intelligence?" He roared.

"No!" I retorted.

"You walk into my land, you carry Ashfang blood and now you kneel before me..."

Ashfang?

I swallowed hard, forcing my voice out though it shook. "I don't... I don't understand. I don't know who I am and I have no idea why I am here."

"She mocks us!"

"Kill her now!"

The man on the throne raised his hand and silence fell again. His eyes never left mine. "You dare claim you know nothing?"

My hands trembled against my knees. "I swear I don't know anything. Not my name or this place. Nothing! Please, I beg you."

His eyes narrowed as anger sparked through them. The air in the hall grew heavy, pressing down on me until my breath came in short gasps.

"You stand before me and expect mercy with lies?" He said.

Panic surged through me as my pulse thudded in my ears. I shook my head fast and desperate. "No... No. I swear, I don't know. I don't know who you are and I don't know what you want from me."

He rose from the throne and stepped down, each footstep echoing against the floor. I shrank back, my hands shaking against the floor and my body was too weak to stand. Every instinct screamed to bow lower, to hide but I forced myself to look up at him through the blurred vision.

He grabbed me by the neck and raised me up as tears spilled down my cheeks. "Please... I beg... of you," my voice breaking with every word.

His grip got tighter suffocating me when a voice came from the shadows, cutting through the heat of his rage.

"She is not lying."

The hall froze.

A figure stepped forward, hood drawn low and face hidden. The voice was calm and certain, carrying a strange weight that made even the golden eyed man pause.

"She doesn't remember and she speaks the truth," the figure said.

He slowly left me and I fell to the ground gasping for air as the doors were opened with a loud bang.

A small body was carried in side-- a pup. His fur clung to his frame, his chest rising in short gasps. His cries were faint and full of pain.

They laid him down before the throne and seeing him led to something inside me to crack-- wide open.

Before I realised what I was doing, I was on my knees beside him as my trembling hands reached for him, afraid I would hurt him more but I couldn't stop myself.

A warmth stirred inside me-- at first it was faint, like a breath but it grew stronger, pulsing through my hands.

A soft glow shimmered against his fur and my breath caught.

The pup calmed and his gasps became even, body relaxed and pain eased.

I looked up slowly.

The man had risen from his throne, his expression have nothing away.

"You may stay," he said, his voice calm but edged with danger. "For now."

He stepped closer, every movement was controlled and his eyes were locked on mine.

"But know this," his voice dropped, sharp enough to cut steel. "Silvermaw devors liars."