Chapter 277
Elara’s POV
“Open the gate and show me who I am fighting.”
The inner door shuddered. Chains rattled. Wind pushed ash across the stone. Vessa stood on my right with her blades low. Mira raised her shield and set her feet. Ilia crouched on the arch above, rope ready. Serena and Zara waited behind with the girls, counting breaths. We had the core hall in our hands. Ruvan had fled into a side run that smelled like damp iron. The citadel listened.
Boots struck the far floor. The door lifted one plank at a time until a slice of night showed. A figure walked through in a white cloak that dragged across the grit. Miela. Bareheaded. Hair pinned with two black sticks. No crown. No mask. Her eyes found me at once.
“Alpha,” she said. “You came dressed as yourself.”
“Always,” I said.
She stopped ten paces away. Her hands hung loose. No ring. No rope. A small knife rested at the back of her belt. She made no move for it.
“You sent boys at my gate,” I said. “And jars into barns.”
“I sent lessons,” she said. “You kept failing them.”
Vessa shifted her weight. “I can cut her fast.”
“Not yet,” I said.
Miela tipped her head. “You always liked a crowd.”
“Step away from the blue bowls,” I said. “Talk where the air is clean.”
She smiled without heat and moved to the darker tile. “How kind. You do not want my lungs to burn before you can listen.”
“I want no more girls to choke while men play at power,” I said.
She looked past me to the freed ones under Serena’s arm. Her mouth changed shape. Not a smile. Not grief. Something tight. “You took my levers. Clever.”
“Your levers were children,” I said.
She met my stare and did not blink. “Mine were. Yours once were too.”
Mira’s shield tightened. I lifted a hand and left it.
“Why did you run from a chair,” I asked. “You wanted it since the day you learned how to bow.”
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Chapter 277
Her jaw moved. “You think I wanted a chair. I wanted a door.”
“Into what.” I said.
“Out,” she said. “Out of a name that bought nothing.”
“Your name bought fire,” I said. “It bought graves.”
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“My name bought orders that were written long before I had a knife,” she said. She took one step closer. Vessa’s blade rose a finger. Miela stopped. “You think I wanted to be the girl who broke your life. I wanted not to be the girl who got sold to fix someone else’s.”
“Sold by who,” I asked.
She laughed once. It had no light in it. “Pick from the list. My mother. Her friends. The exiled you are so eager to crush. The Alphas who sent honey and paper. They paid me to hate you before I knew your face.”
“They told you I took something from you,” I said.
“They told me I was nothing until I made you nothing,” she said.
Ilia’s rope rubbed against the arch with a soft lick. I lifted one finger. Wait.
“You choose every day,” I said. “Orders do not hold your hand. You hold your knife.”
She showed her empty palms. “I put it down.”
Vessa snorted. “After you lit the house.”
Miela’s eyes cut to Vessa. “I did not pour the oil. I held the bucket. I do not lie about that.” Her gaze returned to me. “You want to hate me for jealousy. It is easier. Hate me for training. Hate me for being a good student.”
“Under who,” I asked.
Her mouth hardened. “Ruvan taught me the math. Corla brought the pen. The exiled paid the ink. The rest of your Alphas stayed quiet as long as bread reached their tables. I was the knife because I was small enough to hide.”
I moved one step. The floor’s seam creaked. Her eyes tracked my left hand. She had learned to watch.
“You still killed for it,” I said.
“And you duty.”
killed for less,” she said. “Do not look holy in my face. We both left bodies on a field and called it
My jaw worked once. “I do not call this holy. I call it clean. When I do it right.”
She laughed again. Softer. “There it is. Your poison. Clean.”
Mira’s shield edged forward. “Enough talk.”
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“Not yet,” I said. “Say the rest, Miela. Say the line under your breath.”
Her eyes went to the freed girls again. Kaia’s mouth flattened. Serena kept her hand on the girl’s shoulder and kept her eyes on me.
Miela spoke like each word pulled a thread out of her throat. “If I cut you, I get to be full. If I do not, I stay! hungry. That is what they taught me. That is the story.”
I nodded once. “There it is.”
Her fingers twitched at her belt. She did not take the knife. “You think not killing me makes you holy. It just makes you proud.”
“I am not proud,” I said. “I am tired of men cutting girls into shapes. It is over.”
She tilted her face. “So kill me and finish your speech.”
Vessa looked at me like she wanted permission she knew she would not get. Mira did not look at me at all. She looked at Miela’s shoulder and the angle of her foot and planned every way the next ten heartbeats could tear.
“Let her take the first swing,” Ilia whispered above, rope taut. “Then the line is clean.”
“Come on then,” Miela said. She reached for the knife so fast that the air hissed.
I moved to meet her. Steel flashed. She cut for my throat. I turned and let the tip scrape my torque. Sparks popped. She stepped in, low. I caught her wrist, twisted, and felt the knife kiss my palm. She tried to kick my knee. I blocked with shin and pain. Mira shifted to deny her the side. Vessa faded left to give me a lane. We had danced this pattern a hundred times in other bodies.
“Stop aiming for the crown,” I said through my teeth. “Aim for the breath.”
“Everything is breath to you,” she said. She ripped free and slashed for my ribs. I stepped past it and hit her forearm with my elbow. The knife clattered across stone. She did not chase it. She jumped back and pulled a second blade from her boot. Always plan for two.
“You learned to keep a spare,” I said.
“You taught me that,” she said.
We moved again. She tried to feint high and go for my belly. I let her think she was early. When she committed, I caught her wrist and drove her arm down so hard her shoulder popped. She grunted and did not scream. She punched with her other hand and hit my cheekbone. My eye flashed white, then cleared. I answered with a headbutt that sent her back two steps.
“You fight like a wall,” she said. Blood ran from her nose.
“You fight like a story,” I said. “It does not fit the room.”
She spat and smiled. “Make a new room for me then.”
She came at me again, desperate now. The knife drew a narrow line across my thigh. My leg went hot and wet.
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EZES
I hooked her ankle. She fell and rolled, fast, fast. When she came up, Vessa was there. They pounded steel in a string of sparks. Miela tried to break Vessa’s line and reach me. Vessa kept her in a square where I could see her breath.
“On your left,” Mira warned. Two rogues tried to crash the hall. Mira dashed forward and broke the first with a shield edge to collarbone. She shoved the second into a blue bowl and then into the floor. The bowl guttered. Serena hissed and dragged the girls back two more paces.
“Hold your lane,” I shouted.
“We hold,” Serena said. “Six plus one.”
Miela ducked under Vessa’s blade and lunged at my throat again. Enough. I stepped in and took her wrist with both hands. I turned so my shoulder locked her elbow. Then I put her face to the stone and pinned her arm until the joint begged. She thrashed. She did not cry.
“Yield,” I said.
“Never,” she said.
I pressed. The joint gave a small sick pop. She gasped and went still.
“Yield,” I said again.
She laughed into the floor. “I was never allowed to surrender where you could see it.”
I kept her pinned and looked at the ring of rogues in the doorway. Their faces were thin. Some had bond scars. Some had nothing but bad luck in their eyes. Ruvan had taught them to look at me like I was the weather. I wanted them to look at me like a door.
“Listen,” I said, voice hard and even. “This woman will not sit on your bones. Not today. Not again.”
One of the older rogues lifted his chin. “You will kill her then.”
“No,” I said. “You strip her.”
Miela’s fingers twitched. “Coward.”
I ignored her. I stared at the rogues. “Take her blades. Take her name. Take her right to command. Take her right to speak orders. Let her live and carry water for the ones she hurt. Every day. Every season. In front of the girls she used as locks. If any child speaks her name, you silence the air until it forgets that sound.”
A murmur moved through them. Not joy. Relief like a bone set into place. The older rogue stepped forward. He had a scar across his scalp and tired hands. “By alliance law,” he said, eyes on me, “a leader who breaks pack for coin loses rights. We do not grant death. We grant work.”
“Do it,” I said.
He nodded once. Two women moved from the group. They took Miela’s knives. They cut the pins from her hair. It fell into her face. They pulled the white cloak off her shoulders and tossed it into a corner. One brought rope. She tied Miela’s wrists with steady fingers.
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I hooked her ankle. She fell and rolled, fast, fast. When she came up, Vessa was there. They pounded steel in a string of sparks. Miela tried to break Vessa’s line and reach me. Vessa kept her in a square where I could see her breath.
“On your left,” Mira warned. Two rogues tried to crash the hall. Mira dashed forward and broke the first with a shield edge to collarbone. She shoved the second into a blue bowl and then into the floor. The bowl guttered. Serena hissed and dragged the girls back two more paces.
“Hold your lane,” I shouted.
“We hold,” Serena said. “Six plus one.”
Miela ducked under Vessa’s blade and lunged at my throat again. Enough. I stepped in and took her wrist with both hands. I turned so my shoulder locked her elbow. Then I put her face to the stone and pinned her arm until the joint begged. She thrashed. She did not cry.
“Yield,” I said.
“Never,” she said.
I pressed. The joint gave a small sick pop. She gasped and went still.
“Yield,” I said again.
She laughed into the floor. “I was never allowed to surrender where you could see it.”
I kept her pinned and looked at the ring of rogues in the doorway. Their faces were thin. Some had bond scars. Some had nothing but bad luck in their eyes. Ruvan had taught them to look at me like I was the weather. I wanted them to look at me like a door.
“Listen,” I said, voice hard and even. “This woman will not sit on your bones. Not today. Not again.”
One of the older rogues lifted his chin. “You will kill her then.”
“No,” I said. “You strip her.”
Miela’s fingers twitched. “Coward.”
I ignored her. I stared at the rogues. “Take her blades. Take her name. Take her right to command. Take her right to speak orders. Let her live and carry water for the ones she hurt. Every day. Every season. In front of the girls she used as locks. If any child speaks her name, you silence the air until it forgets that sound.”
A murmur moved through them. Not joy. Relief like a bone set into place. The older rogue stepped forward. He had a scar across his scalp and tired hands. “By alliance law,” he said, eyes on me, “a leader who breaks pack for coin loses rights. We do not grant death. We grant work.”
“Do it,” I said.
He nodded once. Two women moved from the group. They took Miela’s knives. They cut the pins from her hair. It fell into her face. They pulled the white cloak off her shoulders and tossed it into a corner. One brought rope. She tied Miela’s wrists with steady fingers.
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Chapter 277
Miela’s voice turned hoarse. “You think work hurts me more than death.”
“Yes,” I said.
She lifted her head with effort. Blood smeared her cheek. “Kill me then. Be clean.”
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“I am done being clean for men who make mess and then call it fate,” I said. “I am done being clean for you.”
Her eyes found some last sharp thing. “This is not mercy,” she said.
“No,” I said. “It is judgment.”
She stared at the girls again. Kaia did not look away. Miela swallowed and spoke almost softly. “I learned to hate you before I knew you. They made sure the first time I saw your face, I wanted to cut it.”
“You can stop learning that now,” I said.
Her mouth trembled and then steadied. “They will kill me anyway,” she said.
“Then they will do it outside my circle,” I said. “Not with my hand.”
The older rogue looked at me. “We follow your order. She lives. She works.” His gaze slid past me. “But your fight is not finished.”
“I know,” I said. “Ruvan runs.”
From the far corridor came the thin ring of iron on stone. That smug little sound. Vessa looked at me. Ilia looked down from the arch. Mira adjusted her shield. Serena squeezed Kaia’s shoulder.
“Get her out,” I told the rogues. “If she runs, she dies by your law, not mine.”
They moved Miela toward the door. She did not fight. She kept her chin level. When she reached the threshold she turned her head and spoke the one honest line I had ever heard from her.
“I wanted to be full,” she said. “They fed me salt.”
“Then drink water and carry it,” I said. “Start now.”
She stepped into the dark with her escorts. The door shut on the white cloth dragging in the grit. The hall went quiet except for boot steps and my pulse.
Vessa let out a long breath. “You sure.”
“Yes,” I said. “Now we finish the one who writes the rules.”
Ilia dropped from the arch and landed light. “He took the low run. It smells like old iron. He thinks he can drown us with levers.”
I touched the torque at my throat. It felt heavy and right. “He can try.”
Mira rolled her shoulder. “We bring the wall.”
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S vouchers
Serena counted the girls again and looked up. “We hold six plus one. Go make it seven plus none scared.”
I nodded. “Eden,” I said into the bead. “Seal the upper yard. Do not let the exiled colors enter. If they push, you break them before the drain.”
“Copy,” Eden said. “Signals ready.”
Vessa tapped the side door with her blade. “You want first or second.”
“Second,” I said. “I want him to think he gets a choice.”
She grinned. “I can do that.”
I took one step and then another. The iron scent grew. Water moved somewhere ahead. The dark felt narrow. Ruvan’s ring did not glow. His voice did.
“Do you know what your mother begged for when I wrote her last letter,” he called.
I did not answer him. I kept walking until the floor changed from stone to steel. Then I spoke only two words.
“Open your throat.”
F
