Chapter 3 – Invisible Chains
1182 Words
The lock clicked. Kaia's head jerked up as the thick oak door creaked open. Daylight flooded the room for the first time in seven days, and she blinked in the sudden glare.
Then she saw him. Ronan. Same dark eyes. Same unreadable expression. But there was something in his stance today. Tense. As if he had made a decision he didn't believe.
"You're going with me," he said.
Kaia slowly stood. Her legs felt unsteady from too much sitting still, but she straightened her spine.
"To be put to death in the light of day as opposed to in shadow?" she asked dryly.
Ronan arched a brow. "To walk. To breathe fresh air. And maybe to learn something."
She hesitated. "Why now?"
"You're not a prisoner anymore. You're a guest," he replied evenly. "And to do it this time, when the Council didn't vote on it."
Kaia's breath caught. "You disobeyed them?"
Ronan didn't answer. "What!" he growled instead and turned on his heel and walked away, certain that she would come after him.
So she did.
It was nothing like Kaia imagined. Her father had always called it barbaric — of wolves in dirt and ruins, led by rage and superstition. But what she witnessed was … a little different. For years after, from the floor below to spires linked by spiral bridges and open terraces. Warriors flowed with discipline, and those nodding sharply as Ronan went. In the distance, children were laughing. Smoke curled from chimneys. It was peaceful here — not gentle, but balanced. And they all bowed to him.
Even wordless, Ronan owned the space as though the moon had dug it for him.
Kaia felt the weight of it. Of him. It was… unnerving.
He took her to an open grassy space at the rear of the training posts. There was a wooden circle that had been chalked. Its circumference was surrounded by wooden dummies, target boards, and a rack of spears.
She stared. "A sparring field? You brought me to a sparring field?"
"You have to be able to defend yourself."
"Against your own wolves?"
He turned. His voice was softer now, the same way that thunder is quiet before it storms. "Against my Council. They've started whispering. If you all are against me, you'll be the first person they come after."
Her throat tightened. "Why would they turn on you?"
"Because I protected an Ashbane. Because I lied to them. Because they smell weakness."
"You're not weak," she said before she could stop herself.
His gaze snapped to hers, sharp and impenetrable. Then he stepped closer.
"Show me your stance," he added, picking up a couple of wooden daggers.
Kaia swallowed. "I… I've never—"
"You're fast," he said. "You got past border guards. You came back from Hollow Cave by yourself. There's strength in you. You simply do not know how to use it."
He tossed her a dagger. She caught it ungainly, holding onto the handle as if it were a kitchen knife.
"Wrong," he murmured. "Hold it like this."
He moved behind and guided her hand softly, his fingers lightly touching hers. It was a brief touch — but electric.
Kaia's skin flushed. She detested how her heart still reacted to him.
Even after everything.
But her wolf didn't care. Her wolf leaned in.
"Now," he said. "Come at me."
She blinked. "You want me to fight you?"
He nodded once.
Kaia hesitated… then swung. He blocked easily. Again. And again. Each time, he adjusted the way that she was gripping him, the placement of her feet, her balance. And each time, she became a little steadier.
When she shook hands with the ninth round's challenger, she was panting and soaked in sweat, but she landed a punch. The blade tapped his ribs. Soft. But sure.
Ronan smiled — not a big smile, but a genuine one. "Better," he said.
Kaia was glaring into the spot where it had landed. "I didn't mean to—"
"You meant to win," he said. "That's the difference."
She was still out of breath when a voice came over the field. "Well, well. The Ashbane girl is a soldier now."
Kaia turned. Three black leather-clad wolves had filed out, marked with the sigils of the Nightshade. The speaker — a tall, silver-haired woman with a scar down her cheek — was obviously the leader.
"Councilor Aris," Ronan said coldly.
The woman smiled, but it was tight. "Teaching up our little guest, hey?"
"She isn't a guest," a rival warrior added from behind Aris. "She's a liability."
Kaia stepped back, looking automatically at Ronan. He didn't move. But his voice cooled several degrees. "Say that again."
"You heard me," the man said. "She's the child of the wolf who killed your sister. And you're leaving her in your walls. Train on your field. Eat your food."
Kaia went still. The air around them changed. Then — so quick Kaia almost didn't realize it — Ronan shifted. The next he was just next to her. The next he had the man by the collar and was beating his head against a wooden post.
"You speak her name again," he growled, "you'll wish you had a healer close."
The man gasped, nodding quickly. Ronan released him. He turned to Aris. "If you have concerns, bring them to the whole council. Don't whisper like a coward."
Aris smiled tightly. "I'll be doing just that."
They left without another word. Kaia stood frozen.
"You lost your sister?" she added when they were out of earshot.
Ronan didn't answer.
So she said again, more softly, "I'm sorry."
He looked at her. There was no fury in his expression now. Only something deeper. Older. "I didn't care for her," he said.
Kaia looked down. "Then perhaps you're protecting me to compensate for it."
He didn't answer. But neither did he deny it.
That night, Kaia couldn't sleep. Her muscles hurt from the training. Her mind raced from the encounter. Silent as the grave (without boots off she padded all over the bricks) did she range the halls.
That's when she heard it — voices, low and clipped, wafting from the war room. She moved closer.
Aris's voice. Cold and sharp. "Ronan's not thinking clearly. He's compromised. So we bring the tyrant down by the weight of ashes of righteously burned wolves."
A second voice. "And what do you propose?"
"Remove him. The Council can vote. We'll have the Beta on our side if we can time it right."
Kaia's breath hitched. They were about to overthrow him. And they didn't know she was eavesdropping.
Heart pounding, she sneaked back to her room. Should she tell Ronan? Would he believe her? Would he believe she was attempting to gain his confidence?
She curled up and looked at the ceiling until dawn.
She didn't say anything in the morning. Ronan came as usual. He didn't inquire why she was this disheveled. He simply gave her the training sword and told her, "Again."
And so she fought. And this time, she didn't think twice.
- Writer
