Page 45 of Chains of Nightshade

He moves closer, and despite everything, my heart races at his proximity. "Name it. Anything."

"The dark elves who kept me as a slave." The words taste bitter on my tongue. "The ones who called me worthless. Make them pay."

A slow, predatory smile spreads across his face.

The golden threads of his oath pulse between us, and I feel the truth in his words. The connection thrums with anticipation, with promise. My newfound power responds to his darkness, to his willingness to destroy for me.

"Together," I say, and his eyes light up with a mix of relief and savage joy. "But remember - you're mine now. My weapon. My slave."

"Yours," he agrees, and the word carries the weight of his ancient oath. "Always yours."

20

AUREL

Ifollow behind Vera, my serpentine body gliding silently across the ground as we approach the dark elf mansion. The place that imprisoned me for centuries now feels different - smaller, less imposing. But the hatred still burns.

Vera's power crackles around her like lightning, her newfound strength radiating in waves that make my scales tingle. She's transformed from that frail slave I first manipulated into something magnificent and terrifying. The thought fills me with both pride and shame.

"The eastern wall has the weakest defenses," I say, keeping my voice low. "They never bothered reinforcing it because of the cliff face."

She doesn't respond, but I see her shoulders tense. The silence between us feels heavier than any chains I bore in that dungeon. I deserve her coldness after what I did, but it still cuts deep.

"I can clear a path through their guards," I offer, desperate to be useful, to prove my worth to her. "Let me?—"

"No." Her voice is sharp as steel. "I don't need your protection anymore, Aurel. I need your obedience."

The words sting, but I bow my head. "As you wish."

Magic swirls around her fingers as we draw closer, and I catch glimpses of the dark elf sentries moving along the walls. They have no idea what's coming for them. What she's become.

"Stay close," she commands, not looking back at me. "I want them to see who serves me now before they die."

"Yes, mistress." The title feels right on my tongue. I am hers now, bound by oath and love, ready to help her burn this place to ash.

The air grows thick with power as Vera raises her hand, her eyes gleaming with righteous fury. I coil myself, ready to strike at her command. The mansion looms before us, and for the first time, I look at it not as my prison, but as the first target of her vengeance.

I slither beside Vera, my serpentine body coiled tight with tension. Her power radiates off her in waves, making the air crackle with electricity. The dark elf mansion looms ahead, but my eyes keep drifting to her. She's changed so much from the frail slave I first manipulated - now she walks with purpose, her head held high, magic dancing at her fingertips.

A dark elf guard passes on the wall above. My muscles tense, ready to strike, but Vera raises her hand slightly. A silent command to stay put. I obey instantly, though every instinct screams to protect her.

"There's movement in the eastern tower," I whisper, keeping my voice low. My tongue flicks out, tasting the air. "Three guards, maybe four."

She doesn't acknowledge my warning. The silence between us cuts deeper than any blade, but I've earned this coldness. I deserve far worse for what I did to her.

A twig snaps in the darkness. Before I can move, Vera's magic lashes out, wrapping around a hidden scout's throat. The dark elf drops silently, dead before hitting the ground. Her power hasgrown so much, yet I still position myself between her and any potential threat.

"I told you," she says, her voice sharp with irritation, "I don't need your protection."

"I know." I lower my head in submission. "But I swore an oath. I'll keep it, whether you want me to or not."

She turns away, but not before I catch the flicker of emotion in her eyes. Pain? Anger? Whatever it is, I'll spend eternity trying to make it right. Even if she never forgives me, I'll guard her with my life.

I coil my body tightly, every muscle primed for violence as we face the dark elf noble and his guards. The moonlight catches their drawn weapons, but it's their sneering faces that make my blood boil. Centuries of imprisonment, of humiliation, flash through my mind.

"Such a touching reunion," the noble, Max, one of Lady Morana's sons says, his lips curling. "The defective slave returns with her pet snake."

My blood freezes as I spot Lady Morana behind her guards. Her white hair gleams like fresh snow, her regal posture a mockery of true nobility. The same cruel smile plays on her lips as it did centuries ago when she sealed me in that cursed dungeon.

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