COUNCIL OF CHAINS
405 Words
The grand hall beneath Moonridge was nothing like Mira expected.
No gold. No banners. Just cold stone, aged iron, and six wolves in cloaks who smelled like secrets and old power.
She stood in the center of the circle, the pendant at her chest faintly glowing under her shirt. Elias was forced to wait outside. Even Kael hadn’t been allowed in.
"Mira Blackfang," the middle Elder intoned, his voice like thunder rumbling through gravel.
"That’s not my name," she said quickly. But her voice lacked conviction.
"And yet the moon has marked you," said another, female, her silver eyes piercing.
"Then what do you want from me?" Mira asked, trembling despite herself.
The first Elder stood. "A choice. Declare yourself unaligned—deny your bloodline, your bond, your claim—and you will live. Hidden. Bound. Harmless."
She knew what that meant. She’d become a ghost. A caged relic.
"And if I don’t?"
The Elder’s gaze sharpened. "Then you become a threat. And threats are… handled."
---
Outside the chamber, Elias paced like a wolf on the verge of breaking.
Lyra arrived in silence, dressed in gray—an insult to the moon’s silver.
"She’ll never survive this," she said, lips curling into a smirk.
Elias didn’t respond.
Lyra stepped closer. "You think she’s your mate. She’s not. She's a storm you can’t control."
He looked at her then, ice in his stare. "Maybe I don’t want to control her."
---
Back inside, Mira stared at the circle. Her hands were shaking, but her spine stayed straight.
"I don’t know who I am yet," she admitted. "But I won’t let you decide for me."
"So be it," the Elders whispered in unison.
A guard approached with glowing silver chains. Mira flinched.
Before he could touch her, a roar split the air.
Elias burst through the doors.
"You’ll have to chain me too."
The room trembled.
The chains stopped.
And the oldest Elder finally spoke.
"Very well. The girl will be tested. Three moons. Three trials. If she fails, she dies."
Elias’s growl echoed in the walls.
Mira’s heart pounded. But she nodded.
"Then I’ll survive all three."
---
Later, in the shadows, Lyra stood with one of the cloaked Elders.
"You wanted her broken," the Elder muttered. "Now you’ll have to break her the old way."
Lyra smirked, silver eyes gleaming.
"Don’t worry. I know exactly where to strike. Her heart."
---
- Writer
