Chapter 3 – Don’t Scream
1199 Words
Chapter 3 – Don’t Scream
Lyra’s fingers froze on the handle.
“…Found you.”
The voice was low. Calm. Too calm.
Not a student.
Not a servant.
Something colder.
Her heartbeat slammed against her chest.
Run.
Every instinct screamed at her.
But her body didn’t move.
“…Who are you?” she whispered, her voice barely steady.
Silence.
Then—
A soft chuckle.
“You don’t need to know.”
Ice ran down her spine.
Lyra stepped back slowly, her hand slipping away from the door.
“No,” she said under her breath. “I won’t—”
The door burst open.
---
A force slammed into her before she could react.
Lyra hit the ground hard, the air knocked from her lungs. A hand clamped over her mouth instantly, suffocating any scream.
“Quiet.”
The man above her was cloaked in darkness, his face hidden beneath a hood. But his grip was real. Solid. Unyielding.
Not a dream.
Not imagination.
This was real.
Lyra struggled immediately, panic exploding through her body. She twisted, kicked, tried to bite—but it was useless.
He was too strong.
“Don’t fight,” he murmured near her ear. “You’ll only make it worse.”
Her breath came out in short, broken gasps against his palm.
Help—
But no sound escaped.
No one would hear her.
No one ever did.
---
“Please…” she tried to speak.
The word came out muffled, desperate.
The man didn’t respond.
Instead, something cold pressed against her neck.
Sharp.
A needle.
Lyra’s eyes widened.
“No—!”
Pain shot through her as it pierced her skin.
Her body jerked.
Then—
Weakness.
It spread too fast.
Her limbs grew heavy, her strength fading like sand slipping through her fingers.
Her vision blurred.
No… no…
She couldn’t move.
Couldn’t fight.
Couldn’t even scream.
“Good girl,” the man whispered.
Darkness swallowed her whole.
---
When Lyra woke up, she wished she hadn’t.
Pain greeted her first.
Cold.
Then pressure.
Her wrists burned.
She forced her eyes open.
Darkness.
Stone walls.
Chains.
Her arms were pulled above her head, wrists bound tightly in iron. The metal dug into her skin, cold and unforgiving.
Her breath came out unevenly.
“…Where…?”
“Awake already?”
The voice echoed through the room.
Lyra’s body went rigid.
The same voice.
The same man.
He stepped out from the shadows slowly, boots echoing softly against the stone floor.
Tall.
Cloaked.
Hidden.
But his presence filled the room.
“You’re stronger than I expected,” he said casually.
Lyra’s heart pounded.
“Let me go…” she whispered, her voice shaking.
He tilted his head slightly.
“…Why would I do that?”
Fear clawed at her chest.
“I—I don’t have anything—”
“That’s where you’re wrong.”
He stopped in front of her.
Close enough for her to feel the chill radiating from him.
“You have something very valuable.”
Lyra shook her head weakly.
“I don’t—”
“You do.”
His hand lifted.
Magic flickered faintly.
Lyra’s breath hitched.
“You just don’t understand it yet.”
---
He grabbed her wrist.
Hard.
Pain shot up her arm as the chain rattled.
“Let’s test something,” he murmured.
Before she could react—
A blade appeared in his hand.
Lyra’s eyes widened.
“No—wait—!”
Too late.
The blade sliced across her arm.
---
Pain exploded through her body.
Lyra screamed.
This time, there was no hand to stop her.
No reason to hide it.
The sound echoed through the dungeon, raw and broken.
Her blood spilled instantly, warm against the cold air, dripping down her skin.
Her breathing turned ragged.
“Please… stop…” she begged.
The man didn’t.
He watched.
Silently.
Carefully.
As if she were nothing more than an experiment.
Seconds passed.
Then—
He stilled.
“…There it is.”
Lyra’s body trembled.
“…What…?”
Her vision blurred as she looked down.
The blood… slowed.
Then stopped.
The wound—
Closed.
Right in front of him.
Right in front of her.
Skin is knitting back together unnaturally fast.
As if it had never been cut.
Silence filled the room.
Then—
A soft laugh.
Low.
Satisfied.
“I knew it,” he whispered.
Lyra’s heart dropped.
“No…”
“You’re not just a half-blood,” he said, his voice laced with something dark. “You’re far more interesting than that.”
She shook her head weakly.
“I don’t understand—”
“You don’t need to.”
He stepped closer.
“You just need to bleed.”
---
Magic flared.
Chains tightened suddenly.
Lyra gasped as pressure crushed her wrists.
“No—please—!”
Another blade.
Another cut.
This time deeper.
Pain tore through her again, worse than before.
Her scream echoed louder.
Tears streamed down her face uncontrollably.
“Stop—please—!”
He didn’t stop.
He watched.
Every cut.
Every drop of blood.
Every moment her body tried to heal.
Faster.
Stronger.
More desperate.
“Fascinating…” he murmured.
Lyra’s vision spun.
Her body shook violently.
She couldn’t take it.
She couldn’t—
Please… someone…
But no one came.
No one ever did.
---
Far above the dungeon—
The academy slept.
Silent.
Peaceful.
Unaware.
Students rested in warm beds.
Laughter from earlier long faded.
Nothing disturbed the night.
Nothing—
Except for one thing.
A faint sound.
Barely audible.
A scream.
---
Kael Draven stopped walking.
The corridor was empty, lit only by pale moonlight filtering through tall windows.
His expression didn’t change.
But his eyes shifted slightly.
Listening.
Another sound.
Faint.
Distant.
Wrong.
“…What is that…?”
He turned his head.
Toward the lower levels.
Toward the place no noble ever bothered to look.
His gaze narrowed.
Something about it—
Didn’t feel right.
---
Back in the dungeon—
Lyra’s body hung limply against the chains.
Her breathing was weak.
Broken.
Her vision was fading in and out.
“I think I’ve seen enough for tonight,” the man said calmly.
Lyra didn’t respond.
She couldn’t.
“Don’t worry,” he added. “We’re just getting started.”
Her heart sank.
No…
No, no—
She wouldn’t survive this.
She couldn’t.
“Rest well,” he said softly. “You’ll need it.”
He turned.
Footsteps echoed.
Fading.
Leaving her alone.
---
Lyra’s head dropped forward.
Her body trembled faintly.
Pain.
Cold.
Darkness.
Everything hurt.
“…I don’t want to die…”
The words slipped out weakly.
Almost soundless.
For the first time—
She truly believed it.
This was the end.
---
Then—
Something changed.
Deep inside her.
A faint warmth.
Small.
Weak.
But there.
Her fingers twitched.
Her breathing shifted slightly.
And for a brief moment—
A faint, almost invisible glow flickered across her palm.
---
Above—
Kael’s footsteps stopped.
Completely.
His gaze sharpened.
“…Magic?”
Not normal magic.
Something else.
Something unfamiliar.
Something—
Interesting.
---
He turned fully this time.
Toward the darkness below.
And without hesitation—
He started walking.
- Writer
