Her arms burned where the black-armored thing had grabbed her. Its fingers weren't flesh, they were iron, cold even through her skin. She kicked, scratched, bit, but the thing didn't move. It dragged her across the courtyard like she weighed nothing.
"Let me go—!" she shouted, voice breaking, throat raw from smoke.
The thing didn't answer. It had no mouth, only a dark slit where a helm should be. Its grip tightened, chains biting her wrist till she thought her bones would crack.
She twisted to look back. Kaelen was on his knees, fire shuddering around him like it was being pulled from his very bones. The Emperor stood above him, calm as stone, one hand lifted.
Her chest squeezed. No, not him. Not like this.
She bit her lip hard till blood filled her mouth. If she screamed his name, the boy might burn hotter, and the Emperor would only pull tighter. Better to stay silent. Better to keep her head.
The thing hauled her through the smoke-filled archways, past burning halls. Every guard they passed stared but didn't dare speak. Some made the sign of warding over their chests, eyes lowered. They feared her too, even chained. Good. Fear was still a weapon.
The hall narrowed, cold stone swallowing the firelight. The passage lambs burned low. The smell of ash gave way to damp mold.
The dungeon.
Her stomach twisted. She had been in cages before. Too many times. But this one… this place stank of something worse.
The thing shoved her into a narrow cell. She stumbled, hit the ground hard, iron biting her ribs. The door slammed. Chains clattered as they hooked to the wall, locking her arms high. She hissed, teeth gritted, legs trembling.
The thing turned and left without a sound.
Darkness pressed in. Only a thin torch outside gave light.
Her head drooped, sweat sliding down her cheek. She laughed under her breath, bitter. "Back in chains again. Story of my cursed life."
Footsteps.
Not the heavy scrape of soldiers. Softer. Slower.
A man stepped into the light. Not the Emperor. Too thin. His robe gray, plain, tied with rope. His face pale, eyes sunken. A scholar, maybe. Or a priest.
He stopped at her bars, looking her over like she was something on a table.
"You are older than you look," he said quietly. His voice rasped like dry paper. "I can smell it. Dragon blood. Mixed with… something else."
She spat blood on the floor. "You smell like rot."
He didn't flinch. Only leaned closer. "The Emperor wants to know how much you know of the prophecy."
Her stomach clenched. She forced a smirk. "More than you, bookworm."
His eyes narrowed. He pulled something from his sleeve—a shard of black stone, edges glowing faint red. He pressed it to the bars. The air burned cold. Her skin prickled, heart hammering.
Not normal stone. Binding stone.
"You will tell me," he whispered. "Because every moment you hold silence, this stone will drink your fire. And when your fire is gone, it will drink your flesh."
Pain stabbed through her arms. She gasped, biting back the scream. The chains grew colder, pulling heat from her skin.
The man smiled thin, cruel. "Yes. I see it now. You're more than dragon blood. You carry memory. Old memory. Ancient. That is what the Emperor wants."
She fought the chains, breath shaking. "He… he won't have it. Not from me."
The stone pulsed brighter. The cold deepened. Her vision blurred at the edges.
Her thoughts clawed for Kaelen. The boy with fire too wild, too strong. She had meant only to guide him, show him enough to survive. But now… now the Emperor had him.
She whispered, barely sound, "Kaelen… don't give in…"
The scholar frowned. "What did you say?"
She met his eyes, forcing her voice steady, though her insides trembled. "Tell your master… the fire doesn't bow."
The man's mouth curled, not quite a smile, more like hunger. He slid the stone back into his sleeve. "Then we will see how long you last."
He turned, walking away, his steps fading.
The cold stayed. The chains hummed faint, stealing warmth with each breath. She sagged forward, sweat freezing on her brow.
Her eyes closed. Memories swam—old wings beating the sky, voices of dragons calling her name, a crown of scales blazing like the sun.
She jolted awake.
Whispers filled the dark. Not human. Not the guards. From the cell beside hers, a voice, low and broken:
"They will break you too. They break us all."
She froze, heart hammering. Someone else was here.
The voice chuckled dry. "But you… you smell of ash. Of fire. Maybe you're the one who can tear these walls down."
She pressed against the chains, peering through the bars. Only shadows. A shape hunched, eyes glowing faint red in the dark.
Her throat went dry. Not human eyes.
"Who… what are you?" she whispered.
The thing chuckled again, rattling its chains. "Spawn. Failed spawn. What he does to dragon blood when it breaks. You'll see. You'll see soon."
Her stomach dropped.
Before she could speak again, the guards' steps thundered back down the hall. Torches flared. The red eyes vanished into dark.
The cloaked woman bit her tongue, forcing herself still, silent.
The door creaked open. Two guards stepped in, masks hiding their faces.
"The Emperor calls you," one said.
They unhooked her chains, yanking her forward. Her arms burned, her legs weak, but she stood. She would not crawl. Not before them.
They dragged her out, up the stairs, toward the burning light above.
Her heart pounded. Toward the Emperor. Toward Kaelen.
She knew this path too well. Few returned from it.
But this time… maybe this time fire would answer.