Chapter 33: Glass Cage

The chain lunged for her throat. Camela screamed in terror and she recoiled, but Vincent pulled her close, positioning himself in front of her protectively. The molten links of the chain crashed against his chestplate with a sound like snapping bones, sending sparks flying.

“Vincent!” she shouted.

He pushed her away, baring his teeth. “Run!”

But the chamber offered no path for escape. The walls loomed too closely, the wolves were too close at hand, and the council watched like statues carved from shadow.

The chain hissed like it had a mind of its own. Its links twisted and clinked against the marble floor as it wrapped around them both.

Camela pressed her back against Vincent’s. “It’s moving like it can think.”

“It can,” Vincent replied darkly. “It craves blood.”

The red-tied man leaned forward from his chair, his voice calm yet cutting through the chaos. “One chain. One cage. One keeper.”

Her heart raced. “What does that mean?”

He smiled faintly. “It will determine who stays locked up and who gets to be free.”

The chain lashed out again, striking at her wrist. Vincent pulled her arm high up and twisted along with her. The metal narrowly missed by inches, smashing into the stone and cracking the marble floor beneath them.

Camela gasped, “It’s choosing me…”

“No,” Vincent growled back. “It’s testing you.”

The chain slithered across the floor, creating sparks as it moved. It rose again like a snake, its intense heat illuminating the dark corners of the room.

Camela whispered, “What if it chooses you instead?”

Vincent's jaw clenched tightly. “Then I’ll accept it. I've faced worse terror before.”

She grabbed his hand firmly. “Not this. Not again.”

Suddenly, the chain hissed and pounced toward them both. Vincent pushed her to the side just in time, but the links split apart in two, shooting off in opposite directions—one after Camela and one after Vincent.

They stumbled away from each other.

The council’s voices echoed: “Two hands. Two fates. But one cage.”

A chill ran through Camela's veins.

The chain closest to her struck. She impulsively raised her hands—

And it coiled around her wrists.

Camela screamed as the heat burned her skin. She tried to pull away, but the chain pulled tight, dragging her across the floor. She clawed at the marble floor, her nails breaking in the process.

“Camela!” Vincent shouted.

He pounced forward and grabbed the links, but as soon as he touched them, the chain split again. A piece of molten iron snapped back and hit his arm, knocking him and he stumbled back.

The red-tied man grinned with satisfaction as he spoke. “The chosen.”

The chain lifted Camela off the floor into the air, making her kick out frantically, screaming.

“Vincent! Help me!”

Glass erupted around her like a blooming flower. Shards rose sharply, shaping themselves into a cage around her. The chains let go, dropping and trapping her inside, locking the structure tight.

She fell to her knees, gasping for breath, surrounded by glimmering glass walls that reflected her terrified eyes at her.

“Vincent!” Her cries echoed within the cage, bouncing off the walls.

Vincent pounded on the outside with his fists. “Camela, hang on!” His knuckles were bleeding, but the glass didn't crack; it remained unbroken.

The red-tied man whispered from across the chamber. “Glass cannot be shattered from outside; it can only break from within.”

Camela jumped to her feet, pressing her palms against the glass wall, sobbing. “I can’t…Vincent, I can’t get out.”

“You can,” he replied, his voice strained. “You’re stronger than this cage.”

Her reflection stared back at her, distorted in the glass. Her lips moved in sync with hers, but her eyes seemed wrong—cold and smiling.

The reflection whispered, “Why leave, Camela? Why not stay where it’s safe?”

She took a step back in shock. “Did you hear that?”

Vincent raised a furrowed brow. “Hear what?”

The reflection leaned closer to the inside of the glass, even though Camela hadn’t moved. “Out there, you’ll only bleed for him. In here, you’ll never be hurt.”

“No,” she murmured.

The council’s voices overlapped, weaving through her reflection’s words.

“Stay, bride. Stay where you belong. The glass will love you. The glass will protect you.”

“Vincent growled, “Don’t listen to them!”

Camela covered her ears, trembling, and shook her head furiously against the whispers as she screamed out.

“Make it stop!”

Vincent slammed his bloodied hand against the glass. “Break it, Camela! Do it now!”

Her voice trembled. “I don’t know how!”

“Yes, you do!” His gaze was intense as it locked onto hers. “Remember the oath. Remember your blood. Use it.”

She looked at her palm, scarred from the cut she had made for the oath. The blood bond. The whisper that had sworn to kill him.

Her reflection smiled slyly. “Use it on him. That’s what it wants.”

“No!” She replied as she pressed both palms against the glass. “I won’t hurt him.”

Vincent clenched his jaw. He raised his dagger, its blade glinting in the dim torchlight. “Then I’ll break it myself.”

“Vincent, no…”

He plunged the dagger into the glass.

The sound was thunderous and deafening—a scream of metal and crystal echoed through the chamber. The blade shattered upon impact, pieces scattering across the marble floor while the glass remained unbroken.

Vincent staggered back, his hand bleeding from the force of the strike.

The red-tied man chuckled, his voice echoing through the hall. “Strike her cage again, fox, and you’ll only bleed more.”

Vincent turned toward them, his voice fierce like fire. “Then I’ll bleed until you drown in it.”

Laughter from the council rose like a storm around them.

Inside the cage, Camela leaned her forehead against the cold glass, murmuring, “I can’t let him bleed for me. Not again.”

Her reflection tilted its head, speaking softly. “Then stay here, and he’ll live. Step outside…and he will die.”

Her hands trembled. “That’s a lie.”

“Is it?” the reflection replied with an even wider smile. “Look at him. He’s already breaking himself against these walls. Wouldn’t you rather be the one shattered?”

She closed her eyes tightly, hoping this was all just a dream as she yelled, “No!”

When she opened them again, Vincent was staring at her, his chest heaving rapidly and his fists stained with blood.

“Camela,” he rasped, “listen to me. You’re stronger than their whispers. Stronger than I am.”

Her throat tightened. “What if I’m not?”

“Then I’ll carry you through this. But you’re not staying in there for long.” His voice wavered. “Not while I’m still breathing.”

Her reflection whispered, its lips curling upward into a sly smile that wasn’t hers. “Then kill him. Break your bond with him, and the cage will open.”

Camela’s stomach twisted at the thought of her words.

She pressed her bloodied palm harder against the glass as heat surged beneath her skin, her blood igniting like fire lighting her veins.

The glass walls shook slightly under her touch.

Vincent’s eyes grew wide with hope. “Yes! That’s it! Do it again!”

Her reflection screamed back, its smile morphing into a snarl. “Don’t you dare!”

Camela clenched her jaw tight, slammed both palms against the wall, and shouted, “I choose me!”

With that declaration, the glass cracked; a thin line of red light split across its surface.

The council members stood up at once, their robes flowing like waves. The wolves growled, their claws clicking against the marble floor.

The red-tied man's voice pierced through the commotion. “She defies the cage.”

Another council member whispered, “She isn't permitted to do that.”

The crack in the glass grew larger, and light streamed through.

Camela screamed as she pushed harder, her palms burning against the hot wall.

“Vincent!” she shouted.

“I’m here!” he replied, pressing his bleeding hands against the same spot from the outside. Their palms connected through the wall—blood meeting blood.

Suddenly, the crack exploded outward.

Glass shards shot across the chamber, slicing through the air. The wolves leapt back while the council shielded their faces.

Camela fell forward into Vincent’s arms. He caught her tightly, his chest trembling with every shaky breath.

“You did it,” he whispered.

But his words were drowned out by the council’s uproar.

“She broke free from her cage!”

“She is no longer bound!”

“Take her name! Take his blood!”

Wolves surrounded them from every side, their eyes shining brightly.

Vincent pulled Camela behind him, positioning himself in front of her protectively, his arm steady despite his bleeding.

“Stay close to me,” he muttered.

The red-tied man stepped forward, crunching glass under his shoe. His smile was faint but his eyes blazed with intensity as he spoke.

“You’ve freed yourself from the glass cage, bride. But chains don't disappear; they simply transform”

Camela's heart sank at his words.

“What do you mean?” she asked.

His whisper drifted like smoke. “Another cage awaits.”

The marble floor broke apart beneath them, with marble splitting and sharp cracks spreading out.

A loud rumble echoed through the chamber.

Camela held on tightly to Vincent’s arm. “What’s going on?” she asked.

The red-tied man smiled even more broadly. “The next cage has opened.”

Suddenly, the ground crumbled beneath her feet.

Camela screamed as darkness swallowed her whole—

Leaving Vincent hand reaching out, and his fingers grasping at empty air.