Vivian
The world didn't return all at once; it came back in layers of cold. The first layer was the cold stone beneath me—smooth, dark, and freezing enough to numb the skin of my cheek. The second layer was the smell of rusted and damp earth.
For a moment, I didn't move.
I wasn't sure I could.
I attempted to move my hands, but the sound of the heavy metal clicking stopped me.
My wrists were secured in thick,black shackles that felt nothing like the ornate silver of the Sun clan. These were weighty, digging into my skin and resonating with an odd vibration that sent throbbing pain through my head.
"Wake up, little stray".
The voice was like a shape blade sliding over silk.
I bolted upright, my breath catching in my throat. I found myself in a round chamber chiseled straight into the mountainside. There were no prison bars, just a glowing curtain of dark, translucent energy that vibrated with a low, predatory vibration.
A man stood on the other side of the veil. He was learning against the rough stone wall, tossing a small, black coin in the air. In the dim blue light of the torches, his silver eyes looked almost metallic. He wasn't wearing the golden armour like my people. He wore charcoal leathers and a mantle of raven feathers.
"Where am I?" I rasped, my throat feeling as if I'd swallowed fire.
"You're in the northern heartland", He replied, catching the coin with a quick snap. "This is the Citadel of Shadows—a place your kind uses to frighten their children into eating their vegetables".
I backed away until my back hit the damp wall. My heart jumped in my chest. "The hunt…" I whispered , my voice breaking. "The trackers…."
" Were already on you", he finished , pushing off the wall.
"Damian is an idiot who believes the world stops at his doorstep", Silas cut in, moving closer to the veil. He tilted his head, his eyes drifting down to my collarbone. "He thought he was disposing of waste. What he didn't realise was that he is giving us a match in a room full of gunpowder".
He reached out, his gloved fingers hovering just inches from the energy veil. "That Void spark of yours…. It isn't a lack of power, Vivian. It's a seal. And the silver poison I put in your arm is currently eating the wax".
Before I could ask what he meant, a heavy thud echoed through the corridor.
He straightened his back, and just for a second, his relaxed expression changed,to one of real respect, or fear.
"The king is here", he whispered. "Don't scream. He can't stand the noise".
The shadows at the end of the hall didn't just move aside; they seemed to shrink back , as if the darkness itself feared what was happening.
A second man stepped into the light.
He was bigger—massive ,broader and more lethal than any Solari warrior I had ever seen. His hair was black as a raven's wing,and his eyes….they weren't really eyes. They were dark and empty.
The Butcher of the North.
The man the elders told us would eat our hearts if we wandered too far from the light.
He stopped at the veil, his gaze locking onto mine.
The moment our eyes met, the violet mark of my neck screamed. A fierce,glowing unseen connection suddenly formed between us
My chest hit the energy barrier , the dark force burning my skin, yet I was unable to break free.
The butcher let out a low growl that shook the stone beneath my feet. He held onto his chest tightly , his knuckles going pale as he clutched his furs.
"Silas!!" He rasped, his voice full of rage."Get out!!"
"Alpha, the girl is—"
"OUT!!"
The silver eyed man, Silas, vanished into the darkness without another word.
The Butcher stepped up to the veil. He didn't use a key , he just simply reached out and gripped the shimmering energy with his hands and tore a hole through the magic like it was wet paper.
He stepped into the cell. He reached down , his massive scarred hand wrapping around my throat.
"A Solari maid", he whispered , his face inches from mine. "A girl with no wolf, no name , and a father who died a traitor".
I recoiled from his touch , my breath catching. "How.. how do you know who I am?"
The Butcher's grip didn't loosen. "My scouts spend more time in your golden city than your own guards ever do, little stray. They've watched the Void girl scrub floors for years. They wondered when the Sun would get tired of his favourite ghost".
He leaned in closer , his lips brushing the shell of my ear.
"So why ", he hissed. "Is my soul recognised in yours?"
He pulled back and grabbed my shackled hands, forcing them up between us .
"Tell me the truth", he commanded . "What did he do to you at those falls? Because you aren't just a prisoner anymore".
He looked down at out joined hands, and I followed his gaze.
Where our skin touched, the iron of the shackles wasn't just breaking.
It was turning to ash.