Page 10 of Chains of Nightshade

The door to my tiny room creaks shut behind me, and I sink onto my thin mattress. My muscles ache from the day's work, but it's not the physical pain that keeps me from lying down. Those green eyes flash in my memory again, burning with an intensity that makes my breath catch.

"Power." I stretch out my fingers in the dim light, studying their trembling weakness. "He said I had power."

The word feels foreign on my tongue. Power has always belonged to others - to the dark elves with their cruel smiles and glowing eyes, to the human overseers with their heavy hands and sharp words. Never to me.

I press my palms against my chest, searching for something, anything that might feel different. But there's only the familiar flutter of my weak heart, the constant wheeze in my lungs.

"Where?" I whisper to the shadows. "Where is this strength you saw?"

My fingers curl into fists. I've never felt powerful. Not when Lady Morana's daughter made me scrub the same floor three times today. Not when the guards spat in my food. Not even when I managed that tiny act of rebellion.

But Aurel had looked at me like... like he could see something I couldn't. Something valuable. Worth saving.

"It was just a dream," I tell myself again, but the words ring hollow. Dreams fade by morning, becoming hazy and distant. This one stays sharp, every detail crystal clear. The way his massive form moved through shadow, the echo of his voice inmy mind, those piercing eyes that seemed to see right through me.

I lie back, staring up at the ceiling. "What did you see in me?" My whisper disappears into the darkness. "What secrets do you know?"

The silence offers no answers, but for the first time in my life, I find myself hoping to dream again. Hoping to see those green eyes, to hear that voice tell me once more that I'm worth something.

My heart pounds at the thought. Hope is dangerous. Hope hurts. But I can't seem to push it away.

6

AUREL

Through the dreamscape, I coil my massive form around her fragile presence, keeping enough distance to not overwhelm her completely. The shadows dance around us, obscuring parts of my serpentine body while revealing others. Perfect for maintaining an air of mystery.

"You're beginning to see, aren't you? That you are not as weak as they've made you believe."

Her small frame tenses, and I catch the slight tremble in her hands. Such a delicate thing, yet there's something about her that draws me in. The way her energy pulses, untapped and raw.

"I don't know... I've never been strong."

I lean closer, my upper body casting a shadow over her hunched form. "But you did something today, didn't you? A small act of defiance." My lips curl into a knowing smile. "Tell me how it felt."

Her cheeks flush pink. "You... you know about that?"

"The spitting?" I chuckle, the sound echoing in the vast dreamscape. "Of course I do. I see everything about you, Vera. That tiny spark of rebellion... it felt good, didn't it?"

She wraps her arms around herself, but I notice the ghost of a smile playing at her lips. "It did."

"That's strength," I whisper, circling closer. "That's the power they fear. The power they've tried to crush." Every word is calculated, designed to stoke that ember of rebellion. This broken little human might be my key to freedom, but she needs to believe she's more than she is.

"But I'm just?—"

"You're just what they told you to be," I cut her off, my voice firm but gentle. "Nothing more than what they allowed you to believe."

I glide around her in the dreamscape, my serpentine body casting rippling shadows across the misty ground. Her fragile form stands in stark contrast to my massive coils, yet there's something captivating about her vulnerability. Perfect for molding into what I need.

"Strength isn't just about physical power." I keep my voice smooth, measured. "You're smarter than they know. More capable than they realize."

The magic stones scattered throughout my prison pulse with energy. Even from here, in this dream state, I can feel them. Such fools, these dark elves, to think mere distance would limit my power. I extend my hand, drawing the energy toward me. Shadowy tendrils of magic dance between my fingers, weaving intricate patterns in the air.

Vera's eyes widen, following the display. "How are you doing that?"

"Magic flows differently for beings like me." I let the shadows swirl closer to her, watching as she reaches out tentatively to touch them. "I can teach you more, Vera. You have potential beyond what they've let you see."

The shadows coalesce into shapes – birds, flowers, dancing figures – each more intricate than the last. Her breath catches, and I see that spark of wonder I've been waiting for.

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