Chapter 26 - Duty Wears Many Faces
1056 Words
The prison was quieter in the mornings.
Water dripped steadily somewhere deeper underground, the sound carrying through the corridor beneath the bitter scent of silver woven into the walls. Guards had stopped passing through hours ago, leaving the underground level still enough that every small movement echoed.
Elara sat against the far side of the open cell with one knee drawn loosely toward her chest, staring at the doorway Nyra had disappeared through before dawn.
Sleep had never come.
Every time her eyes closed, she saw exhausted wolves stumbling through the corridor, half-starved and barely steady on their feet after years trapped underground. Garrick helping the older wolves walk. Nyra glancing back one final time before leaving.
“You’re coming with us.”
Nyra had stood beside the open cell door with stolen keys hanging from her fingers while the Valemere wolves slipped quietly into the corridor behind her.
Elara shook her head immediately.
“They need to leave before the guards change shifts.”
Nyra’s expression tightened.
“You’re serious.”
“If I leave with them, Draegon sends warriors after all of us.”
Her attention shifted toward Garrick farther down the corridor, helping another wolf stay upright.
“They’re exhausted, Nyra. Some of them can barely walk.”
Frustration flashed across Nyra’s face.
“So you stay behind in a prison cell?”
“I make sure they get home safely.”
The answer came easily because the moment Nyra unlocked that door, Elara already knew what she was going to do.
Nyra stepped closer, lowering her voice.
“Draco is going to lose his mind when he finds out I left you here.”
A faint smile almost touched Elara’s mouth despite everything.
“Then wait before telling him.”
Nyra gave her a flat look.
“That’s your brilliant plan?”
“I’ll find a way to contact Lyria once you’re far enough from the border. She can meet you with warriors before you reach Valemere.”
Nyra hesitated.
“You trust them to make it that far?”
“I trust you.”
The corridor behind Nyra had already emptied by then.
Time was running short.
Nyra muttered something under her breath before crossing the distance between them and pulling Elara into a quick, tight embrace.
“You are unbelievably frustrating.”
A quiet breath escaped Elara, somewhere between exhaustion and amusement.
“I keep hearing that.”
Nyra pulled back reluctantly.
“I’m coming back the second they’re safe.”
“Nyra.”
Something in Elara’s tone made her pause before turning away fully.
“Be careful,” Elara said quietly. “You cannot get caught.”
For a second Nyra simply held her gaze.
Then she nodded once and disappeared down the corridor beside the escaping Valemere wolves.
And Elara stayed behind.
Now pale morning light filtered faintly through the narrow barred openings high above the prison corridor, casting dull gray streaks across the stone floor.
The open cell door remained exactly where Nyra had left it.
Elara had not moved since.
She expected panic eventually. Regret too. Instead, exhaustion weighed heavily through her body while the bond twisted restlessly beneath her ribs every time she imagined Thorne walking into an empty prison.
Footsteps finally echoed somewhere beyond the corridor.
The bond shifted before she even saw him.
Thorne.
Elara straightened slightly against the wall as the footsteps drew closer.
Then he appeared at the far end of the corridor.
Rafe entered beside him and stopped so abruptly his boots scraped lightly against the stone floor the second he noticed the open cells farther down.
His eyes widened immediately.
Realization hit hard enough to strip the color from his face.
“Oh shit.”
His attention snapped toward Thorne at once, caution replacing the surprise almost instantly.
Thorne said nothing.
He walked farther into the prison slowly, his attention moving across the corridor as he took in the open doors and empty cells.
The silence that followed pressed heavily through the underground corridor.
Rafe stayed quiet beside him, watching carefully like he was trying to judge exactly how bad this was about to become.
Then Thorne’s gaze found Elara.
And stopped.
She remained seated inside the open cell, calm and motionless against the stone wall while the bond between them pulled tightly enough to make her chest ache.
Several seconds passed before he spoke.
“How did you do it?”
Elara tilted her head lightly against the wall behind her.
“Does it matter?” She gave a small shrug. “They deserved to go home.”
Rafe glanced between them, understanding spreading slowly across his face as the truth finally landed.
Elara had stayed.
Thorne stepped closer.
“And you remained here.”
Elara held his gaze steadily.
“Yes.”
She watched realization move across his expression piece by piece. She had every opportunity to disappear from Draegon territory completely, yet she stayed behind for wolves who could barely protect themselves.
Even Rafe looked at her differently now.
Thorne stopped directly outside the open cell door.
“You should’ve left with them.”
Elara studied him quietly.
“Would you have respected me if I did?”
His jaw tightened.
“This goes beyond respect.”
“No,” she said softly. “This is responsibility.”
Her gaze drifted briefly toward the corridor where the Valemere wolves had vanished hours earlier.
“I did something for Draegon too.”
One of Thorne’s brows lifted slightly.
“And what is that?”
“I made sure Draegon upheld the terms of the treaty.” Her eyes returned to his. “It’s why I’m here, isn’t it?”
The words lingered between them.
The anger in his expression eased enough for her to finally see something else underneath it. Something quieter. Harder to fight against.
His stare held hers for another long moment before he finally gave a single nod and turned away.
Rafe watched him disappear down the corridor, surprise still lingering across his face before he looked back toward Elara.
“I think that means you can go too,” he said carefully.
Elara pushed herself to her feet, brushing dirt from her pants as stiffness pulled through her muscles after hours against the stone floor.
“Let’s go before he changes his mind.
- Writer
