The sun-masked Luminary leans forward, his deep voice fills the hall, echoing into every crack and crevice.“Until then, she will remain bound.Kael…” He looks at the stranger standing next to me.“...ensure no one touches her.”A corner of his mouth curls upward—a silent, mocking expression of disdain.
Kael gives a curt nod and turns to leave.
“Oh, and Kael—” He stops mid-stride.He doesn’t look back, but his shoulders go rigid.“—ensure her…stench is dealt with.”
“Yes, sir.”Kael nods, his gaze directed at the heavy doors ahead.He drags me from the dais, back down the lengthy hall where stares turn to glares.
“I don’t smell,” I mutter, pulling my shoulders back to find some scrap of dignity.
Kael doesn’t slow his pace.“You do to them.”
I look at the back of his head.“And…to you?”
“No.”The answer comes too fast—sharp and honest.
I smile despite myself.“Then that sounds like athemproblem.”
* * *
I’m pulledthrough the grand doors, stumbling behind Kael as we make our way through the labyrinth of white corridors.His broad shoulders block my view, but I still scan every window or doorway—any exit that might lead me out of this pristine prison.
No sconces line the walls or ceilings, yet everything is blindingly bright—as if the light emanates from nowhere and everywhere at once.It’s a suffocating brilliance.The weight of it forces my head down, sending a throb of pain behind my eyes as I struggle to adjust.
Comfort comes only in the dark behind my eyelids.I squeeze them shut, and there it is—the map.It’s still there, as clear as the world I just left.An overwhelming urge to look deeper pulls me to a halt, a sudden, desperate need to find something hidden within the lines.
A sharp tug sends me stumbling.I jolt, my eyes opening as I nearly collide with Kael’s back.He wheels around, his nose wrinkling in disgust.“Walk…properly,” he says, the words forced through gritted teeth.
“I would if you didn’t keep pulling the chains,” I snap.
Silence.
He steps into my space, our noses almost touching.One side of his lip curls into a lopsided smile that sends shivers down my spine.His glare burrows deep, searching for something hidden behind my eyes.
His gaze turns calculating—the kind that clings like oil and reminds you of a man who wants to break you, just to see what the pieces look like.A growl forms deep in his throat, a vibration I feel in my own chest.“Walk.”
People stop and stare.Whispers.Silence.A snigger.To them, I am nothing more than a monster in chains—someone to despise because their masters told them to.
We are no monster,a voice whispers inside me.It curls around my skull, stoking the fire deep within.
My shoulders square, my chin rising as I show them their monster holds no fear.He brings me to a large door at the far end of the hall.Carved of polished wood and inlaid with gold, it hangs from ornate brackets—but it has no handle.
Kael places a hand against the wood.Light erupts from his palm, and runes spread in waves across the surface.A soft click echoes from within.As the door swings open, orange blossom and spices rush out, enveloping me in a cloying, overwhelming scent.
Inside, the room isn’t as I expected.There’s no cell, no chains, no pot for waste.Instead, it’s as lavish and opulent as the rest of the city.My brow hardens as I take in the silken bedspreads, plush rugs that look soft enough to swallow my boots, and incense curling from tall lamps.
With a shaky foot, I step inside.My gaze travels up the white stone to the edge of the ceiling, where runes of every shape and size form a jagged border.As if flicked by a switch, they ignite in a warm, yellow glow.Light-forged.Just like the manacles.Of course.
My jaw goes slack, my breath hitching as I try to process the reality before me: a cell masquerading as a room.It doesn’t feel like a gift.It feels like a gilded trap.
Kael pulls me further in.Behind us, the door shuts with a final, heavy thud.With a sharp movement, he unhooks the chain, but the manacles remain—their runes glowing the same sickly yellow as the ceiling.
My hands flex, blood rushing back into my fingers with a prickling heat.
“Why are you keeping mehere?”I motion to the room, the words tearing out of me before I can stop them.
He says nothing.His silver eyes flick over me once, unreadable, before he steps back toward the door.
“Wash,” he says, his voice flat—hollow.“You need it.”
