All Chapters of The Alpha's dragon Flame : Chapter 171 - Chapter 180

The voice came from the open doorway. It was sharp, female, and calm. My head snapped toward the sound immediately and a girl stood there in the frame like she belonged in this place. She was tall and radiating confidence, Her hair was a deep black, pulled into a tight braid that fell over one shoulder. Her eyes were dark and the more she looked across the room the more it felt like she was seeing everything. She looked at us, narrowing her eyes as if to tell us that she's missing nothing in this place. The cloth she wore was worn at the edges but kept clean, molded to her frame like a second skin. Her posture was relaxed, but there was nothing vulnerable about the way she stood. She was dangerous. My eyes darted quickly over to Sam. Samantha stood just a few inches behind the newcomer. Sam was the opposite of the woman in the doorway. Where Chloe was sharp and jagged, Sam was soft and rounded. She looked younger. Gentler. Human in a way that Chloe simply didn't. “Is she…”

Kahlan's POV “They all decided to stay?” I asked, the words shocking me as I looked up from the heavy ledgers scattered across the oak desk.The sheer weight of that number felt like a physical pressure against my chest, making it hard to process the reality of our situation.“Pretty much,” Freya said, leaning against the doorframe with her arms crossed over her chest. “By my accounting, you still have seven thousand men under your command, despite the fact that you officially released them from their oaths.”She paused, a small, knowing smirk playing on her lips as she watched my reaction to the news.“They want to fight for you willingly, Kay,” she added, her voice softening. “They aren’t staying because of a contract; they’re staying because of you.”I turned my attention back to the finances, my stomach churning as I read the line items that detailed the true horror of this place.These people were selling human lives as if they were nothing more than livestock or sacks of grain.

KahlanThere was absolutely no way this was real.I pinched the sensitive skin of my arm hard, desperately trying to tell me if I was dreaming or if I finally ran mad because of this journey.I stared at the child standing in front of us, my brain stubbornly refusing to connect the fragmented pieces in any way that made actual sense.She was small.Tiny.Barely tall enough to reach the curve of Freya’s waist.Her smile was wide and innocent, appearing completely unaware of the thick, suffocating tension currently filling the room.My heart thudded harder in my chest, a frantic rhythm against my ribs.“What’s going on…?” I asked, my voice coming out much quieter and more breathless than I had intended.I wasn’t even sure who I was asking anymore.Chloe.Soren.Or perhaps just myself.“I’d like to know too what’s going on.”The voice came from directly behind us, sharp and unexpected.We all jumped, our nerves already frayed to the breaking point.I turned so fast my breath caught in my

Soren“I told you I’m spending the night alone—”I started the sentence with a firm edge, my voice echoing slightly against the stone walls of the corridor, but Kahlan cut me off before I could even finish the thought.“I don’t care what you want,” she snapped. She didn't turn around. She didn't even break her stride. “If you don’t want to spend time alone with me then we might as well bring Tyler. While you soak in the pool, we’ll be on opposite ends of the room. We don’t need to speak. We don’t even need to look at each other.”She just kept walking. Her shoulders were stiff, her steps sharp and rhythmic against the floor. Of course I followed. I followed because the silence between us was filled with a tension that felt like it might snap my ribs.We reached the bottom of the wide stone steps where Chloe was waiting. She looked exhausted, her usual sharp demeanor softened by events of this evening.“I’m sorry,” Chloe said, running a hand through her messy hair and sighing deeply.

KahlanI hug him just as tightly as he’s holding me, my face pressed against the rough cotton of his shirt and the hard heat of his chest. I close my eyes for a second, listening to the steady, rhythmic thrum of his heartbeat—a grounding sound that pulls me back from the edge of my own exhaustion. Then, a thin, sharp streak of light catches the corner of my eye. It reflects off something ahead, a silver needle piercing through the thick, oppressive dark of the cavern.“Hey. I think I found your pool. Come on.”Soren follows the line of my gaze, his body tensing with a new sort of curiosity. He lets go just enough for us to stand, though the absence of his warmth is immediate. He stoops to gather our things from the backpack, then reaches back to lace our fingers together, his grip firm and possessive. We follow the silver glow until the narrow path suddenly yields, opening up into a hidden chamber where the air feels like it’s been filtered through silk.The pool sits directly ben