The broken chains lay scattered across the chamber floor.
They hadn’t rusted away.
They hadn’t weakened with time.
They had been torn apart.
From the inside.
A chilling silence settled over the forgotten prison.
No one moved.
No one breathed.
Then Darian whispered,
“We’re too late.”
⸻
Conflict
Ronan drew his sword.
“We don’t know how long it’s been free.”
Cassian inspected the shattered chains, his face grim.
“Hours…”
He ran a finger over a fresh claw mark.
“Maybe days.”
Lucien knelt beside the ancient throne.
“No.”
He frowned.
“The dust hasn’t settled.”
He looked at the others.
“It escaped… very recently.”
Every warrior instinctively tightened their grip on their weapons.
Ronan’s wolf growled.
“It’s still here…”
The chamber suddenly became suffocatingly cold.
T
