Chains and Broken Magic
Copyright© 2026 by Rachael Jane
Chapter 21: Lyralyn: A Fate Decided
The darkness has weight now. It presses against my skin, settles in my lungs, curls around my thoughts. I have stopped trying to count the days. Time is a blur of cold stone, stale air, and the relentless slow drip of water from the ceiling.
My body aches constantly. My stomach twists with hunger. My hands shake even when I try to hold them still. But I am still alive.
The guards come to my cell as usual. Their boots echo down the corridor ... heavy, purposeful. I scramble to my feet, heart pounding. The door unlocks with a groan. Two guards enter. One carries shackles.
My breath catches. “What’s happening?”
The older guard avoids my eyes. “Bofur has decided.”
The younger one snorts. “Humans want you. Bofur has decided to let them have you.”
My blood turns to ice. “Humans...?”
The older guard sighs. “You’re to be sold. Taken to the human capital.”
Sold. The word hits me like a blow.
Sold. Like an object. Like a thing.
My knees wobble. “Please...”
“Save your breath,” the younger guard mutters. “You brought this upon yourself.”
They fasten the shackles around my wrists. The metal is cold, biting into my skin.
I swallow hard. “Aelwyn ... is she...?”
The older guard hesitates. “Still at large, but it’s only a matter of time before she is caught.”
A spark ignites in my chest. Aelwyn is still free. Aelwyn is alive. The knowledge steadies me. Even as fear claws at my throat, even as the guards drag me from the cell, I cling to that spark.
I helped her escape. I did something brave. And I would do it again given the chance.
They lead me up through the different levels of the caverns ... past the forges, past the storerooms, past the carved pillars and glowing runes. Dwarves stop to stare. Some whisper. Some scowl. Some look away. I keep my head high. If I am to be sold, I will not go trembling.
We pass through the kitchen and reach the metal grill door that has barred my passage since I arrived here. The air is warmer near the kitchens, filled with the scent of smoke, metal and food. A door guards open the grill and place a metal object against the rune on my collar. Whatever the object does, it allows me to pass through the grill door unharmed. The door guard removes the object once I’m safely through the grill. My escort continues to lead me towards the outside.
The main doors are open, and heavily guarded. I can see a prison wagon waiting beyond it. An escort of guards stand by its side. The small number of guards suggests that once I’m locked in the cage on the wagon, I’ll be prevented from escaping or being rescued by the rune on my collar.
My breath shudders. This is it. The moment I disappear into human lands forever. I whisper Aelwyn’s name under my breath. Then Elenora’s. Then Mother’s. I repeat my mantra: I am small. I am scared. But I am not broken.
As we cross the entrance hall the guards tighten their grip on my arms. And then a gust of wind rushes through the hall. The torches flicker. The air hums with magic.
The older guard frowns. “What the...?”
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