Chained to old wounds

CH35

Morgan

Keiji’s head exploded in a fountain of blood, hot and gushing over me. His body crumpled on top of me.

I screamed. “Get off me! Get off me!”

The two Elders holding me down crumpled in unison, their lifeless bodies collapsing onto the cold stone floor. A scream, sharp and shrill, pierced the sudden silence. More screams followed, panicked and confused. Shadows danced in the flickering glow of the light coming from overhead. Fleeting glimpses of figures clad in black materializing out of the darkness. The other guards who had been here were nearby. Disoriented and gasping for breath, I scrambled back, my body screamed in pain. My eyes darted around the cavern, searching for the source of the attack, for a weapon, anything to defend myself. People screamed in the darkness. I heard blood sloshing across the ground. Bodies twisted and ripped apart in the shadows.

What the hell was it? Where was it coming from? My mind reeled, unable to comprehend what was happening, other than the fact that I was naked and covered in blood. The scent of mildew and blood mingled, filling my nose. The air got colder and colder around me. I tried to breathe and get my mind in order.

One moment I was fighting against Keiji, the next he was dead. I didn’t dare myself to hope. It was probably some horrifying creature from deep within the lake or something.

I had to get out of here if I could.

Gripping the damp rock for support, I clambered to my feet, my movements ragged and uncoordinated. The metallic tang of blood filled my mouth, and a throbbing ache pulsed behind my left eye and all through my body.

The screams died down as abruptly as they had begun, leaving behind an unsettling quiet punctuated only by the rhythmic dripping of water somewhere deep within the cavern and the lapping of the lake against the shore. Tentatively, I looked around. Nothing moved. My gaze darted to the nearest body. My heart hammered with fear. it was too far to chance it. I had to get

out.

Then, the darkness and shadow parted with a pair of glowing, red, opalescent eyes. I bit back a scream and searched for somewhere to run.

I was going to die here.

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I crouched down, bracing myself for the pain and terror, trembling in the cold. Then, the darkness shifted and formed into the shape of a man. He was tall and broad. I shut my o

eyes, c

curling into the wall, praying that he didn’t see me, praying that he would be after me the way Keiji had been. My eyes burned. I could barely smother my panicked breathing. Then, a hand clamped roughly on my shoulder. I shrieked, a primal fear gripping me, I swung blindly at him. But before I could react, I was pulled against a warm body, my scream muffled against a broad chest. A familiar scent filled my nostrils.

“Morgan, it’s me,” Tsuneo murmured, his voice a soothing balm to my panicked state. “Don’t be afraid.”

Tears streamed down my cheeks. I could barely breath around my disbelief and hope.

“Tsuneo?” I croaked, my voice hoarse and my mouth dry.

“I’m here. I’m sorry it took so long. I’m sorry that you’ve been caught up in this… nonsense with Keiji.”

“I… I didn’t think you’d come.”

He held me tighter, his grasp a reassuring anchor in the storm of emotions churning within me.

“You are my wife,” he replied, his voice firm and unwavering. “How could I not?”

The simple declaration, the way he said it, the conviction behind his words – it broke the dam. My whole ordeal, the fear, the betrayal, the desperate fight for survival- all of it hit me with the force of a tidal wave. Tears streamed down my face, sobs wracking my body. I clung to him. Tsuneo didn’t try to stop me. He held me close, his strong arms felt like a haven in the chaos. He rocked me gently, whispering soothing words that I didn’t quite understand, but the sound of his voice was enough. It was a lifeline, pulling me back from the abyss of terror.

Tsuneo

Relief washed over me in tidal waves, threatening to pull me under. The coppery tang of blood still clung to my senses. She trembled. The scent of her fear irritated me and made me wished that I had taken my time killing Keiji. I held her closer, shuddering at the thought of what would have happened if I had been even a bit later. Her sobs, each one a ragged tear in the fabric of the night. I looked over at Keiji’s body, his robe was open and he’d pushed aside his underwear. The son of a bitch had been about to rape my wife. I should have tortured him.

Glancing around at the carnage that surrounded us, I growled. A cold satisfaction settled in my gut. The power coursing through my veins, the lingering echo of the transformation, felt almost alien beside the fragile warmth of Morgan pressed against my chest. I hushed her, rubbing her

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back, feeling shaken as I realized that the dragon prince was no more. Tonight, I was just Tsuneo, Morgan’s husband and protector.

“I’m so sorry.

The dull ache in my bones reminded me that it had been a long time since I’d transformed, but it seemed insignificant tonight. I summoned the cleaned robe from the corpses to wrap around her. I took the bloodiest for myself, the one that Keiji had been wearing. Picking Morgan up with a care that belied my strength, I winced as a fresh pang of pain shot through my shoulder from the still healing injury. She was impossibly light, her once strong body limp and trembling. I summoned her sword from the lake and the scabbard and used its light to guide us out of the cave.

The damp cavern walls were a blur as I retraced my path. My footsteps echoed in the oppressive silence. Each step took us further away from the scent of blood. The journey out of the cave. seemed to stretch on forever, the darkness pressing in like a suffocating shroud.

Finally, a faint golden glow peeked through the opening ahead. The surface world. It was midday still. The moment we emerged from the cave entrance, I took a deep breath of the clean air and kept walking.

Morgan had dozed off in my arms, curled into my chest. The cool air of the day dried my sweat and kept the sun from burning.

The closer we got to the palace, the louder the piercing wail of the palace alarm sounded. The sound struck like a physical blow and made my ears ring. Morgan stirred in my arms. I covered her ears and kept walking. The image of frantic guards and terrified courtiers searching for Morgan filled the area.

I stepped into the courtyard and the alarm went silent. I braced myself for whatever reaction awaited us. Stunned silence greeted me. The frantic movements of the guards, the panicked shouts, all came to an abrupt halt. Eyes widened as they took in the sight before them.

“T–The prince…”