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Chapter 21 - Chapter 21

The glow on her wrists flickered like dying embers.

Victoria's breath came shallow, her shoulders trembling from the effort of channeling what little mana she could summon. The iron cuffs hissed faintly under her touch, cracks whispering across their surface.

She was close.

So close.

And then the shadow fell.

Her eyes snapped open. Damien loomed over her, half-hidden in the fire's glow, his expression carved in stone. The faint light clung to his armor, catching on the hard lines of his jaw and the cold fire in his eyes.

Her mana sputtered out, leaving only the smell of scorched metal.

Neither spoke for a moment. The world seemed to still around them—soldiers snoring, fire crackling, river rushing in the distance—yet all of it faded to silence under his gaze.

"Do you never learn?" Damien's voice was low, almost calm, but edged like a blade unsheathed.

Victoria's throat tightened, but she forced her chin high. "I will not be your prisoner forever."

The faintest twitch passed across his mouth. Not quite a smile. Not quite anger. Something colder.

Without a word, he reached down, fisting the chain between her shackles and yanking her forward. She stumbled onto her knees in front of him, dirt grinding into her skin. His grip was unyielding, pulling her close until her face hovered inches from his armor.

"You think you can defy me with this?" he said, shaking the chain, the iron rattling like a death knell. "You think your little glow will save you?"

Her heart pounded, but she refused to look away. "It already has. More than once."

His eyes narrowed. For an instant, she saw the boy she once knew—hurt, betrayed, furious—but it vanished beneath the mask of the tyrant.

"Then let me teach you how fragile your salvation is."

He lifted his hand.

The strike came hard and fast. His gauntlet slammed across her wrist, crushing the cuff deeper into her skin. Pain flared white-hot, the metal biting so viciously she cried out. The glow that had flickered moments before vanished utterly, snuffed like a candle.

Her knees buckled, but his grip on the chain yanked her upright again.

"Do you feel that?" His voice was a whisper now, sharp as ice. "That is the truth of your power. Beautiful, yes. Blinding, yes. But fragile. Weak."

He struck the chain again, a crack reverberating through her bones. She bit her lip so hard she tasted blood, refusing to scream a second time.

Damien leaned close, his breath hot against her ear. "The goddess may have given you her blessing. But I am the one who decides if you use it… or if you bleed for it."

Her whole body shook, but not only from pain. Rage burned in her chest, stronger than the agony, stronger than the chains.

"You can break my body," she hissed, her voice trembling, "but you will never break me."

For the first time, his mask slipped. His jaw clenched, his eyes flashed—not with anger, but with something more dangerous. Something raw.

Possession.

He released the chain suddenly, and she collapsed back into the dirt. His shadow loomed over her, but he didn't strike again. Instead, he crouched low, his hand gripping her chin, forcing her to meet his gaze.

"You don't understand, Victoria," he murmured, voice quiet but heavy with menace. "I am not trying to break you. I am trying to keep you."

Her breath hitched, horror twisting in her chest.

He stared at her, and for a fleeting heartbeat, his grip softened—as though the tyrant cracked, and the boy who had once held her in gentle arms tried to claw his way out.

But then his hand fell away.

He stood, towering over her once more. "Chain her tighter," he ordered flatly.

Two soldiers approached immediately, dragging heavier iron from the supply wagon. They avoided her eyes as they worked, wrapping the reinforced cuffs around her wrists and ankles, securing them with bolts that groaned under strain.

Victoria bit back her tears, her jaw set.

The soldiers finished, stepping back with nervous glances at Damien.

He studied her for a long, silent moment. Then he turned, his cloak sweeping the dirt.

"Try again," he said softly, almost to himself. "Try again, and I will show you just how merciless I can be."

And with that, he disappeared into the night.

Victoria lay trembling in the dirt, her wrists raw, her heart pounding so hard she thought it might burst. The new chains were impossibly heavy, her arms weighed down until she could barely lift them.

Her throat ached where she had bitten back her scream, but her spirit blazed hotter than ever.

He thought he could chain her power. Chain her will.

But all he had done was prove how much he feared it.

She stared at the dying embers of the fire, whispering a vow to herself.

"I will master this. I will break these chains. And when I do, Damien… i will save you."

The goddess's light stirred faintly inside her chest, as if answering her vow. Weak, fragile, but alive.

And no matter how heavy the chains, Victoria knew this truth:

Damien could punish her, torment her, cage her.

But he would never own her soul.

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