The chamber was darker now, the torches burning low, their weak flames barely illuminating the corners of the stone room. Elyra sat motionless, her wrists throbbing beneath the ropes, though the pain had faded into a dull ache compared to the storm raging inside her.
Kael's words lingered, circling her mind like vultures. Do you even believe in what you're fighting for?
She hated that it stung. She hated that he'd seen through her so easily, as though her defiance was little more than a mask he could strip away at will.
But she hated most of all the part of her that wondered if he was right.
A faint sound at the door jolted her from her thoughts. The latch clicked, and the heavy wooden door groaned as it swung open. Elyra's spine straightened instinctively, her eyes narrowing as Kael entered, followed by a second figure.
This one was unfamiliar—a slender man dressed in the dark uniform of the Crimson Guard. His sharp features and cold eyes made her uneasy.
Kael didn't look at her as he crossed the room, his movements brisk and deliberate. The other man lingered by the door, his gaze raking over Elyra like she was a curiosity on display.
"So this is the famous rebel," the man drawled, his voice oozing with disdain. "She doesn't look like much."
Elyra's jaw clenched. "And you look exactly like the type to serve a tyrant."
The man's lips twisted into a cruel smile. "Fiery. I like that."
"That's enough, Darion," Kael said sharply, his tone leaving no room for argument.
Darion raised an eyebrow but said nothing further. Kael turned his attention to Elyra, his expression unreadable.
"You have one chance to make this easy," he said. "Tell me what I need to know."
Elyra glared at him, her voice steady despite the rapid beat of her heart. "I have nothing to say to you."
Kael sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "I figured as much."
Darion chuckled, the sound grating in the silence. "If you're not going to play nice, I suppose we'll have to persuade you."
Elyra's stomach tightened. "Persuasion" in their hands could mean anything, and none of it would be good.
Kael shot Darion a warning look. "I'll handle this."
Darion frowned but didn't protest. "Fine. But don't take too long. The king won't wait forever."
With one last sneer in Elyra's direction, he turned and left, the door slamming shut behind him.
Kael stood there for a moment, his back to her, his shoulders tense. When he finally turned to face her, his expression had softened, though the steel in his eyes remained.
"You don't have to protect them," he said quietly.
Elyra laughed bitterly. "Protect them? You think this is loyalty? You really don't understand."
"Then explain it to me," Kael pressed, his voice firm but not unkind.
Her anger flared, a welcome shield against the vulnerability threatening to surface. "Why would I? So you can twist my words? Use them against me?"
Kael's jaw tightened, but he didn't rise to the bait. Instead, he stepped closer, his gaze locking onto hers.
"I'm not your enemy, Elyra," he said softly.
The sound of her name on his lips sent a shiver through her, though she quickly masked it with a glare. "You have a strange way of showing it."
Kael crouched in front of her, his face level with hers. His proximity was suffocating, his storm-gray eyes unrelenting. "If I wanted to hurt you, I would have already."
"And I'm supposed to thank you for that?" she spat.
Kael's lips twitched, though it wasn't quite a smile. "No. But I need you to understand that this isn't just about you. There's more at stake here than your pride or your rebellion."
Elyra's eyes narrowed. "You sound like someone who thinks they're on the right side of history."
Kael's expression darkened, the flicker of something raw flashing across his face. "There are no right sides. Just survival."
For a moment, the weight of his words pressed against her, suffocating in their truth. She searched his face for cruelty, for arrogance, for the cold detachment she'd expected.
Instead, she found something else.
A fracture.
It was small, almost imperceptible, but it was there—the faintest hint of conflict hidden beneath the hardened exterior.
Elyra's voice softened despite herself. "Why do you care?"
Kael hesitated, his gaze flickering away before returning to hers. "Because you're not like them. And if you keep pretending you are, it'll get you killed."
The words struck her like a blow, the force of their truth leaving her breathless.
"I don't need your protection," she said, though the tremor in her voice betrayed her.
Kael straightened, his expression hardening once more. "Maybe not. But I'm offering it anyway."
He turned to leave, his steps heavy against the stone floor.
"Why?" Elyra called after him, the word escaping before she could stop it.
Kael paused at the door, his hand resting on the latch. He didn't look back.
"Because someone has to," he said quietly.
And then he was gone, leaving Elyra alone with her thoughts, her defenses cracking under the weight of his words.
She didn't trust him. She couldn't.
But for the first time, she wondered if there was more to Kael than the enemy she'd been taught to hate.