đź“– Chronicles of the Watchers
Chapter 28: Ashes of Victory
The cellar beneath Kaelith rang with drunken chants. The Red Hands slammed cups against the stone tables, firelight flickering in their fevered eyes. The smoke of burned wagons still clung to their cloaks, but they wore it like perfume.
"Chains broken!" one bellowed.
"Blood spilled!" another howled.
"Victory!" the chamber roared.
Liora sat stiff-backed in the shadows, her hand curling tight around her cup though she had not drunk from it. Her mind was still in the street—faces of the freed slaves, some coughing up smoke, some not rising at all.
Selene leaned against the wall, arms crossed, watching with her wolfish grin. "They're wolves who've tasted meat," she muttered. "You can't tell a wolf to chew politely."
Liora's eyes burned. "They killed as many as they freed."
A hush fell as the leader of the Red Hands rose, scarred scarf tied tight at his throat. His voice carried over the revel.
"Tonight the Dominion learned fear. They will dream of fire every time they lash a slave. And it is you," he pointed to Liora, "who struck truest. You who cut chains in the heart of the blaze."
The rebels pounded the tables, shouting her name. Liora, Liora, Liora!
Her stomach twisted. "I wasn't saving your fire," she said, her voice cutting through the noise. "I was saving them. The people in those wagons."
The chamber quieted. The leader's eyes narrowed. "Freedom is never clean. You speak as though you are above the blood, girl—but blood is the price. Or would you rather they rot forever in chains?"
Liora stood, her voice steady. "There's a difference between fighting for freedom… and burning the world just to watch it scream."
The rebels muttered, divided. Some glared, but others watched her with a new weight in their eyes—like they were seeing not just a sword-arm, but a leader.
Selene slipped beside her, low enough only she could hear. "Careful, little flame. Wolves bite the hand that pulls them back."
But Selene's smirk betrayed a flicker of respect.
In the silence, the leader finally spat, "Then prove your way is better. Or be swallowed by ours."
The fire crackled between them, as sharp as steel.
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⚡ End of Chapter 28.