Chapter 211: Prisoner

Drusilla’s POV

My head was pounding with a brutal intensity.

A dull, throbbing ache pulsed directly behind my eyes, making my skull feel entirely too small to contain my brain.

Every single beat of my heart sent a sharp wave of agony through my temples.

I groaned out loud, the sound rough and raspy in the quiet darkness, and forced myself to sit up slowly against the cold floor.

I brought my hand up to my forehead, pressing the heel of my palm hard against my skin in a desperate attempt to push the agonizing pressure away.

The sharp, metallic clink of heavy chains echoed loudly through the space.

I froze instantly, my breath catching tightly in my throat.

I lowered my eyes, my vision blurry as I looked down at my own limbs.

Heavy iron cuffs circled my wrists, biting into my skin with a cold, unforgiving weight.

Thick, rusted links connected the restraints directly to the solid stone wall behind me, keeping me anchored to the floor.

I touched my throbbing forehead with both of my hands this time, hoping the extra pressure would help soothe the pulsing pain.

It did absolutely nothing to ease the discomfort. The sharp ache stayed exactly where it was, making my vision swim.

I forced myself to blink through the haze, carefully looking around to take in my new surroundings.

Dark stone walls surrounded me on all four sides, covered in a slimy layer of damp moisture that glistened under the dim light.

The floor beneath my legs was freezing and wet.

A single, solitary torch flickered weakly inside a rusted iron bracket mounted near the heavy wooden door, casting long, dancing shadows across the room.

There were no windows to let in any sunlight, no outside noise filtering through the stone, and no signs of any guards standing watch.

It was a cell. A dungeon somewhere deep underground.

I had absolutely no idea how long I had been lying unconscious on the cold ground before waking up in this miserable state.

I slowly forced my shaky legs to straighten, standing up from the damp floor.

The moment I tried to take a step forward, the heavy chains pulled incredibly tight with a harsh metal jerk.

The length of the links was short, meaning I could only move a mere few feet away from the stone wall before being violently snapped backward.

I frowned deeply, a wave of pure annoyance washing over me.

Were these pathetic pack people genuinely stupid enough to leave me alone in a room?

Did they honestly not know the true depth of what I was capable of doing to them?

I closed my eyes tightly, shutting out the dim light of the torch.

I focused every single ounce of my inner energy, drawing it up from the depths of my core.

I parted my lips and whispered the ancient words under my breath.

But absolutely nothing happened.

I clamped my jaw shut and tried the spell a second time, pushing my mind harder against the invisible barrier.

A faint, pathetic blue shimmer appeared in the empty air right in front of my face.

It flickered weakly once. It flickered twice. Then, with a quiet pop, it disappeared back into nothingness.

I tried a third time, pouring even more focus into the words.

The same thing happened. A tiny spark of magic would flicker, fade away, and go completely gone before it could form a solid shape.

My frown deepened into a dark scowl. I shifted my focus away from the portals and tried a completely different spell, one designed to shatter iron and break the heavy chains binding my wrists.

Still, nothing happened.

I grunted, physically pulling my arms forward against the iron cuffs with all my raw strength.

The rusted metal did not budge a single inch against my wrists.

That was the exact moment when the terrifying truth finally clicked inside my brain.

Either this entire underground room was heavily enchanted with a barrier to block all external magic, or the iron chains themselves were forged from a special material designed to suppress my powers.

And the only real way to know which of those two things was causing the problem was to somehow get these miserable chains off my body.

I let my shoulders drop and sat back down on the damp stone floor, resting my back against the wall.

I forced myself to be patient and waited.

Someone would eventually come down those stairs to check on me. They would surely do.

The heavy wooden door finally creaked open, the loud groan of the rusted hinges breaking the long silence of the dungeon.

A woman walked calmly into the dim cell.

She had exceptionally long blonde hair that caught the weak light of the torch, and her sharp green eyes scanned the room with complete calculation.

She was dressed in a very simple, modest blue dress that swept across the dirty floor as she moved.

In her hands, she carefully carried a small wooden tray holding a cup of water and a small plate of plain food.

She walked straight into the center of the cell without showing a single ounce of fear or hesitation.

She slowly bent down and set the wooden tray down on the damp floor, making sure to place it far enough away from my body so that I could not reach it even if I stretched my chains to the limit.

Once the food was down, she turned her back on me, preparing to walk right back out the door.

"Hey," I called out, my voice sounding rough and gravelly against the stone walls.

She paused in her tracks, her boots freezing on the damp floor.

She slowly turned her head back to look at me over her shoulder.

Her beautiful face showed no expression, and she didn’t offer a single word in response to my call.

"You are Azura’s aunt, aren’t you?" I continued, tilting my head to the side as I studied her familiar features.

She still did not answer my question. She kept her lips pressed into a tight, thin line.

Living with the alpha King for years made me know who she was, but the last time I saw her, he was younger than this.

She fully turned her body back toward the open doorway, preparing to leave me alone in the once again.

"She is going to die," I said, raising my voice so it boomed loudly against the stone.

That statement made her stop completely.

She turned back around very slowly, her entire posture stiffening as her sharp green eyes narrowed into dangerous slits.

"Your precious niece," I said, letting a slow, mocking smile spread across my face as I saw her reaction.

"Azura. She is going to die a horrible death very soon. But I happen to know the exact way to stop it from happening."

The blonde woman turned her entire body to face me fully now, her hands clenching into tight fists at her sides.

"What on earth makes you think I would ever believe a single word coming out of your mouth?" she asked, her voice incredibly cold and flat.

"I already know you will not believe me right away," I replied smoothly, keeping my tone perfectly calm and relaxed.

"But I have seen the future. I know exactly what is coming for this pack, and I am the only one who knows how to stop what is about to happen to her."

I leaned my body forward slightly, letting the heavy iron chains clink softly against the stone floor between us.

"The only way to make that survival possible... is if you help me get out of this miserable place," I said, dropping my voice into a whisper.

The woman’s face remained completely flat and unreadable.

"What makes you think I would ever help a monster like you? My niece was the very person who brought you down here to this cell."

I tilted my head back, a small smirk playing on my lips.

"Would you honestly want your own niece to die just to keep me locked in a basement?"

The woman’s jaw tightened visibly, a small muscle twitching in her cheek as my words hit a nerve.

"Like I just told you, I am the only person with a real solution to this problem," I continued, pushing the advantage.

"Just get me out of these chains. I don’t care about your pack; I just want to return to the place where I originally came from. If you let me go, I will gladly tell you exactly how to save her life."

I held her intense green gaze, refusing to look away for even a fraction of a second.

"Trust me," I murmured, trying to make my voice sound as genuine as possible.

"If I truly wanted to kill Azura, I would have ended her life a very long time ago when she was helpless."

The blonde woman let out a long, slow exhale through her nose.

It was clear that her mind was spinning, thinking through the dangerous options laid out in front of her.

"Why do you not simply tell me the solution first?" she asked carefully, her eyes searching my face for any signs of a trap.

"Tell me how to save her, and then I will gladly release you from the wall."

I shook my head from side to side, letting out a small, mocking chuckle.

"Come on now. I am not stupid. I can only tell you the final part of the solution if you actually release one of my hands first."

I lifted my shackled wrists slightly, letting the heavy iron links rattle loudly in the quiet cell to emphasize my point.

"With one of my hands free from the chain, I can’t properly use my magic; you’re still safe," I explained, keeping my tone reasonable.

"You will still have my other hand completely chained to the stone, so I will still be your prisoner. But I need some kind of proof to believe that you will actually release the rest of me after I finish telling you the truth."

The woman stood perfectly still, staring down at me with an intense focus.

Her green eyes searched every single line of my face, trying to see if I was lying to her.

Slowly, she reached her hand deep into the folds of her blue dress.

Her slender fingers closed around something small, hard, and distinctly metal.

She pulled her hand out, revealing a heavy silver key glinting in the torchlight.

She took a slow, deliberate step closer to my position on the floor.

I watched her come, my eyes tracking her movements like a hawk watching its prey.

My heart began to beat significantly faster against my ribs, a rush of pure adrenaline flooding my veins.

But I kept my facial expression completely calm, still, and blank.

I waited patiently, refusing to give away my excitement.

She finally stopped right in front of me, the silver key held firmly in her trembling fingers.

I looked down at the key, and then I looked back up into her eyes, holding my breath.

Come on, open it, you fool.