THE UNBROKEN

(For this chapter, I highly recommend playing "My Body Is A Cage" by Arcade Fire)

The cards had spoken. Elena followed their pull, her gait steady, her eyes stormy. After their violent and mystical night, she led Niegal beyond the outer wards of Port Clairy, into the overgrown outskirts where ruin met wilderness. No words. Just thunder.

The skies rolled above them like angry drums, clouds thick with the scent of wet stone and divine judgment. Elena didn't speak often, and when she did, it was in short, sharp tones, or silent glances that held more weight than any blade.

Niegal followed behind her like a penitent. His heart was heavy with the taste of shame. The events of that night refused to leave him. He remembered the kiss… the hunger… her voice trembling beneath him. The bite.

The bite.

He felt sick.

They arrived at a vine-choked ruin, a structure overtaken by the jungle, its stones cracked and warm with moonlight. Mana vines coiled up the crumbling arches. Pale flowers bloomed in silence. Elena turned to him at the threshold and finally spoke:

"We need to stay here tonight."

Her voice strained at the edges.

Niegal nodded and set down their gear. He wanted to apologize. He wanted to tell her that he didn't know what came over him. That it wasn't him, not really. But what excuse could ever make up for the pain in her eyes?

What could he say that wouldn't sound hollow?

He looked at her. She was leaning against a broken pillar, arms crossed. Watching him.

And then she approached.

Not with softness. Not with fire. With intention.

She strode up and seized his collar, her magic humming just beneath her skin. Niegal didn't resist. He welcomed whatever she needed to do. A slap. A spell. Retribution.

But instead…

She began to undress.

One glove. Then the other. Her boots. Her traveling coat. Her blouse. The skirt. She stood before him, naked in the flickering firelight, beneath storm-soaked stone, and spoke:

"This… is what you did last night."

The lightning cracked behind her. He could see it now. Claw marks across her hips and ribs, red and raw. A deep bite on her shoulder, ragged and wide. And worse… along the line of an old scar on her back, a crack. Like shattered porcelain. The pain of her past mingled with the savagery of the present.

He staggered back, breath caught in his throat. "Elena…"

She held his gaze with a solemn, almost sacred intensity. "I love you, Niegal. With all my heart."

Then she punched him. Right in the jaw.

He barely moved, too stunned. Her eyes spilled over, violet light flickering around her irises. Outside, the wind screamed in harmony with her rage. Lightening hit the roof, plaster and vines falling around her.

She turned to get dressed, her movements sharp. Over her shoulder she said quietly:

"You are my lion. My life. My heart. I am nothing without you. But if you ever do this to me again…" She turned. Her blade sparked at her side. "…I won't hesitate to defend myself."

Niegal opened his mouth, breath shallow. "Elena-"

She raised a hand. "I thought I lost you." Her voice broke. "First Esperanza, now this… I thought you'd given in to the beast."

He didn't respond with more words. He kissed her. Gently. Reverently. Like a man who was afraid he no longer had the right. His lips trembled. "I'm so sorry. Mi Doña… I love you. That wasn't me. I swear it wasn't."

She let him kiss her, but then she took a step back, unable to meet his eyes. 

Niegal looked away now, the guilt, the shame was overwhelming. 

Then she grabbed him by the collar again, eyes glowing with her magic once more. 

Her face was calm, however. She simply said, "Show me the beast." 

Niegal shook his head, terrified. "I-I can't, don't ask me that, my love." 

Thunder cracked from the sky above as Elena pulled him closer. 

"I said, show me the beast, Niegal." 

Tears streamed down her face. 

"You hurt me. I need to see for myself what made you lose yourself for this to happen." Her voice cracked. "Please. Make me feel safe again." 

He didn't think he could ever forgive himself for this.

Niegal shuddered. He felt it again. That hunger, that power swelling beneath his skin. But this time… it came with clarity.

His eyes turned silver. His teeth elongated. His bones shifted beneath his skin as the lion emerged once more.

This time, he was awake inside the beast.

She reached out, her hand shaking, and stroked the thick mane that grew along his massive shoulders.

The werelion towered over her- ten feet of fur, muscle, and glinting eyes. His claws hovered over her hips but didn't strike. His tail curled, his chest rose and fell. 

But his eyes? Consumed by guilt and longing.

"Sit." She insisted, he quietly obeyed. 

Their eyes locked before she began circling around him, her face unreadable. 

The silence killed him. 

She came back to face him, sitting down herself now. She took one of his massive clawed hands and held them with both of hers, tears falling freely. 

"I… don't know what else to say." She squeezed his clawed hand tightly with both of hers. It took all his willpower to not squeeze back. She could feel it. 

They sit like that for a while, both quietly weeping. 

She laid down, still holding his clawed hand in hers. He laid beside her. Careful. Quiet. 

They fell asleep like that. 

As Elena drifted off to sleep, her eyes half lidded with exhaustion, she whispered. "Never again… or I'll kill you." 

Tomorrow, they would find Esperanza.

But tonight, they processed the grief of hurting, and being hurt.