Chapter 10

The red lights burned through my eyelids, searing the shape of my prison into my mind. Kael’s voice still echoed through the intercom, a ghost sliding down my spine. My body trembled—not with fear this time, but with something deeper. Power. It pulsed beneath my skin like a living thing, whispering for release.

I opened my eyes. The walls around me shimmered, etched with sigils that hummed with faint energy. Glass, steel, and magic intertwined. Kael had learned from the last time. I pressed my palm against the wall, and static raced through me. My vision blurred for a second—then cleared. There, in the reflection, I saw what I had become. Shadows coiled around my body, faint golden veins pulsing through my arms like cracks of sunlight. I looked half-human, half-something else entirely.

“You can’t cage what you don’t understand,” I whispered.

The speakers hissed to life. “I understand enough,” Kael’s voice drawled. “Your blood is the missing piece, Aria. Do you even know what you are?”

My throat tightened. “You think you do?”

He chuckled, low and cold. “I created you, little wolf. Every cell in your body is proof of my design.”

“Liar.” My fists slammed against the wall. The energy bit into my skin, but I didn’t care. “You can’t create what you fear.”

Silence stretched for a beat, then his tone shifted—amused, dangerous. “Fear? No. I worship power, Aria. And you are power incarnate.”

The lights flickered. I felt the walls tightening, the air growing thin. He was testing me—pushing me to react. But I had learned. I closed my eyes, letting the memories of my freedom guide me: the rain, the city, the taste of wind. I felt the energy hum through my veins. Instead of fighting it, I drew it inward, controlled it.

The hum stopped. Kael’s voice faltered. “What are you doing?”

I smiled faintly. “Learning.”

The glass cracked.

A shockwave pulsed outward, rattling the chamber. I fell to my knees, the strain tearing through my muscles. The glass didn’t break completely, but I saw Kael’s silhouette appear beyond the fog. He was watching, calm and calculated. His face was unchanged—handsome, cruel, and familiar enough to hurt.

“You’re adapting faster than I expected,” he murmured. “That’s... concerning.”

“Let me out, Kael. You can’t keep me in here.”

He tilted his head. “You mistake me for someone who cares about your comfort.”

Then he pressed a button. Pain shot through every nerve in my body. I screamed, collapsing to the floor. The walls glowed red-hot, searing my skin with marks that looked like runes. Every instinct told me to fight back—but the agony was too much.

“This is mercy,” Kael’s voice said softly. “You could burn the world if left unchecked. I’m giving you purpose.”

“My purpose,” I gasped, “is not yours to define.”

Another pulse of power. This time, instead of breaking me, it fueled me. The pain transformed into heat, into hunger. My power responded—not to Kael, but to me. The red faded to gold.

Kael stepped back, his expression finally cracking. “Impossible.”

“You should’ve killed me when you had the chance.”

I raised my hand. The glass screamed. Lines of light spiderwebbed across the surface, and with a deafening shatter, the barrier exploded outward. Kael shielded himself, but I was already moving—free, alive, burning.

The corridor outside was chaos. Sirens blared. Guards ran toward me, weapons raised, but the power within me reacted faster. Their bullets dissolved midair. I moved like lightning, my body guided by instinct I didn’t understand. Each guard that touched me fell unconscious, energy drawn from them like mist.

Kael followed, unhurried, his voice echoing through the burning halls. “You still don’t understand what you carry. That bloodline you cling to—it’s older than the packs. Older than wolves.”

I turned. “Then tell me.”

He smiled. “You’re the last of the Lost. A union of two ancient lines—the human and the divine. You were never meant to survive, yet here you are. A paradox.”

His words hit like a storm. My power flickered, uncertain. For a moment, I saw flashes—visions—of a temple in flames, voices chanting my name, a woman with my eyes screaming as soldiers dragged her away. Memories that weren’t mine.

Kael saw the confusion and pressed his advantage. “You think you’re free, but you were born for this. To finish what she couldn’t.”

“Who?” I whispered.

“Your mother.”

The world tilted. For years, I had believed she was just human—fragile, powerless. But if Kael was telling the truth... then everything I had fought for was built on a lie.

He stepped closer, his tone almost gentle. “Join me, Aria. Together we can build something new. No more cages. No more masters.”

I stared at him, heart pounding, torn between rage and despair. “You killed everyone I loved.”

“I saved you.”

“You broke me.”

The walls groaned as another surge of power coursed through me. Kael’s expression shifted—something like sorrow passing through before the coldness returned. He raised his hand, summoning dark energy that twisted through the air like smoke. I mirrored him, golden light meeting his darkness. When our powers collided, the explosion tore through the corridor.

When the dust cleared, he was gone. Only his voice lingered, soft and dangerous: “You’ll come back to me. You always do.”

I staggered forward, breath ragged, searching for escape. The facility was collapsing, alarms screaming in every direction. I reached a stairwell leading to the surface—light glimmering above—but then a figure appeared at the top.

Riven.

His eyes met mine. For a second, relief bloomed—then died as I saw the gun in his hand. The weapon hummed with the same energy Kael used.

“I’m sorry,” he said quietly. “He was right. You’re too dangerous to live.”

Before I could move, he pulled the trigger.

The world erupted in gold and red.