THE CURSE OF ALTVALL : CHAPTER 11 – 20

THE CURSE OF ALTVALL : CHAPTER 11 – 20

Fire Beneath the Chains 2

Surganah raised a hand to halt him.
“No. She will scream—before the sun touches the center of the sky.”
He turned to the gathered crowd, extending his arms. “Let her pain be your lesson. Let her cries remind you: None defy the One and live.”

With a flick of his fingers, Lyara was hoisted into the air by enchanted chains. The links sizzled against her skin as they wrapped around her wrists and ankles, spreading her midair like a crucifix.

The first lash came from Rador’s whip—a vicious, spiked tail of iron. It tore through her back, and the crowd winced.

The second, she did not cry.
The third, she laughed.
That laugh—raw, defiant, almost unhinged—echoed across the black stone square.

It broke the fear, even for a moment. It reached the ears of a small girl hiding behind her mother’s skirt.

It reached the heart of a boy who had watched his father be killed by the One last harvest. It reached the soul of every chained beast yearning to roar.

And deep within the Western Caves, it reached the ears of the young werewolves planning rebellion. The leader among them, Kael, stood frozen.

“She lives.”

Beside him, a sharp-eyed female werewolf named Reina nodded. “And she fights. We can’t let her die in vain.”

Back at the grounds, blood dripped from Lyara’s toes onto the stone stage.

Surganah walked forward, his face now composed, almost serene. He dipped a silver chalice into her pooled blood and lifted it to his lips.

“Strength is born from dominance,” he intoned. “Her pain feeds my power.”

But even as he drank, the pot beside his throne hissed, louder now, almost screaming:

“The girl was not alone. Others rise. The blood you spilled is kindling.”

Surganah paused, lips still stained red.

He threw the chalice to the ground and turned to Rador. “Find them. The caves. The hills. The forests. Burn everything. Bring me every pup with fire in their eyes.”

Rador bowed. “And the girl?”

“Not yet. She dies when I say. Strip her. Break her. But keep her alive.”
Surganah turned and ascended his throne again, the flames of his fury barely hidden beneath the surface.
He could feel it.

The air had changed. The people were still afraid—but now, fear was no longer all they felt.

They had something else now.
Hope.

And hope, he knew, was a dangerous thing.

THE CURSE OF ALTVALL : CHAPTER 11 – 20

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