Chapter 103: The Breaking Point
The original Alpha’s chains sparked with dying power. Each crack sent shivers through the cave floor. "You feel it too, don’t you?" he whispered to Elara. "The baby knows I’m here.
It wants to meet its ancestor." Elara’s stomach twisted with another growth spurt. Her shirt stretched tight across her growing belly. "Stay away from us." "I don’t need to come closer." His red eyes gleamed.
"My blood calls to the child. Soon it will answer." Suddenly, the cave filled with bright white light. When it faded, twelve figures in silver robes stood between them and the chained Alpha. "The High Council," Tobias breathed.
"They’re here." The tallest figure removed her hood, showing an ancient woman with pure white hair. "We are too late. The acceleration has begun." "Council Elder Vera," Kael stepped forward. "We need your help." "Help?" Elder Vera’s voice was cold as winter. "You have doomed us all.
The prophecy child grows uncontrolled." Another Council member pointed at Elara. "She carries death itself. The end of our secret world." "That’s not true!" Darian’s shadows flared around him. "The baby could save everyone."
"Or destroy everything," a third Council member said. "We cannot take that risk." Elder Vera raised her staff. "By order of the High Council, the vessel must be contained." "Vessel?" Elara’s voice shook with anger.
"I have a name!" "Names don’t matter now," Elder Vera said. "Only preventing catastrophe matters." The Council members began singing in an ancient language. Magic circles emerged around each person in the cave. "What are you doing?" Kael demanded.
"Separating you," Elder Vera announced. "Each of you will face a trial alone. If you survive, perhaps the child can be saved. If not..." "If not, what?" Tobias stepped protectively near Elara. "Then we end this bloodline forever." The magic circles began to glow brighter.
Elara reached for Kael’s hand, but her fingers passed through empty air. "No!" she screamed as the rings pulled them apart. "Don’t split us up!" "The bonds between you are too strong," Elder Vera explained. "They corrupt the child’s growth.