Chapter 5

SYLARI

I woke up with a heavy ache in my skull, my body still full of deep bruises and cuts from last night's beating.

But they didn’t wait for me to heal, not even a day.

Chains bit into my wrists, but I didn’t care, each clink was a countdown to freedom, as the guards led me through the winding stone corridor, past grand arches and sneering nobles, I held my head high.

Because this was it, this was my way out.

Crescent Fang was behind me now, its halls soaked in my blood, the constant bruises, and a lifetime of cruelty. My father’s fists, and my brothers’ faces as they shattered my body, the sickening eyes of old men deciding what my worth was, all of it, was now behind me.

And nothing.... absolutely nothing....could be worse than that.

So when they dragged me onto the auction platform, I didn’t shrink back I stepped forward and allowed the cold wind to hit my blistered skin, I'm free from hell.

Gasps fluttered through the crowd like startled birds.

I knew what they saw: the Crescent Fang girl, the disgrace, the unshifted firstborn, The Curse, dressed in nothing more than a ceremonial wrap of black silk and gold thread, chained like a criminal, and yet....I looked at them.

I met every single gaze.

“She’s silent,” the auctioneer said, his voice was sharp and oily, like a hummingbird only more swollen.

“She's been so since birth, crescent Fang’s shame, virgin, untouched, and unclaimed, the firstborn of Alpha Aldrich, bidding starts at five hundred thousand....”

"Well if you want to sell me at least get the description right, I'm not untouched, been fucked by every thing out there with manhood, firstborn of Aldrich, doubt it, I'm just unfortunately of crescent fang but not their daughter and not their first born".

“Oh and I am certainly not silent.”

The crowd froze, so did the auctioneer, I heard a goblet fall and shatter somewhere in the crowd.

“I only kept quiet,” I continued, my voice was cracked but steady, “Because no one in Crescent Fang was worth speaking to.”

The auctioneer turned to me like I had just grown horns, “She speaks?”

“Oh I can do more than speak, just let me out of these chains and I'll give you a taste.”

Then laughter echoed from the private balcony above, slow and low.

Kael.

Even before I saw him, I knew it was him. The prince of Ravaryn, the Thorned Heir, his beauty was unnatural and flawless, his skin pale and glowing like moonlight, his hair silver with black strands braided through, and eyes that seemed carved from frozen jade, there was no warmth in them. The Unseelie fae with war and deceit in his blood.

He stepped forward from the shadows,"Well, well, you do have a tongue after all."

The auctioneer stumbled over himself, “Y-Your Highness, she’s....she’s docile, truly. Whatever this outburst is, I assure you she’ll be....”

“She’ll be mine,” Kael cut in, his voice like a quiet thunder, he took slow and purposeful steps towards me, his eyes never leaving mine, “And I like her voice, so don’t try to sell me silence.”

His presence wrapped around me like a second skin, it felt suffocating, cold, and beautiful in a dangerous way. He looked at me the way men look at beasts they want to tame.

“And what would you do with freedom, little wolf?” he asked.

“Whatever I want,” I replied with no hesitation.

He smiled, not cruel or kind, just... amused, “Double the price, and deliver her before moonrise.”

Then he turned to me one last time. “You’ll never be silent again, I’ll see to it.”

************************************

They transported me in a carriage of obsidian and dark velvet, the royal was seal etched into every surface. The guards wouldn’t look at me, maybe out of fear or maybe because they had heard what Kael did to people who disobeyed, but that didn't bother me, nowhere could be worse than the hell I was coming from.

I stared out the window, watching the Crescent Fang borders vanish into the distance, I didn’t cry but I didn't smile either, I just breathed.

The Ravaryn palace rose like a dream sculpted from nightmares with twisted towers, and black roses curling up its walls, glowing crystals embedded in stone.

Kael met me at the gates, alone.

“Walk,” he said.

I did.

He didn’t speak again until we reached a small garden, walled by shadows and perfumed with strange flowers.

“You’re calm,” he noted.

“You expected tears?”

“I expected silence.”

“Well, I’ve disappointed better men.”

Kael laughed again, genuinely this time , “You think I’m a man?”

“No, I think you're less worse than a lunarian .”

We stood in silence for a beat, then he reached forward for my face and brushed his knuckles along my cheeks, not gently, just curious.

“You speak like someone who’s already died.”

“Oh but I have, many times.”

He looked intrigued, “Tell me your name.”

“Sylari.”

“That’s not what they called you.”

“It’s what I call me.”

His smile faded, "Very well, Sylari, tomorrow, you begin training. You’re not a prisoner here but you belong to me and I always, always collect what’s mine."

I didn’t respond.

He leaned closer, "Be sure of this, little wolf, whatever freedom you think you have, it only exists because I allow it."

That night, I lay on a bed of silk, staring at the ceiling carved with ancient runes and for the first time in my life, I wasn’t afraid of the dark.

But I knew better than to trust the calmness.

Especially in Ravaryn and just as I began to drift, the door creaked open and a shadow slipped inside.

It wasn't Kael....no.

It had wings that were not his and eyes too sharp for a fae, it was smiling....at me.

“You’re prettier than they said,” the stranger murmured, “No wonder he paid so much, but do you think he’ll notice if someone gets to you first?”

My heart stilled, no....not again, never again this time, I would'nt be silent.

“I dare you,” I whispered.

His smile widened and then the door slammed shut.