Chapter 76 || BOUND AND TORN BY PROPHECIES

 

The Cage of Silk and Shadow

 

Jungkook woke to softness. A velvet canopy loomed overhead, gold threads glinting like frozen starlight. The bed beneath him was silken and warm, and for a dizzying second, Jungkook thought it had all been a nightmare. That he was safe, that Taehyung's arms were still around him.

But then the weight of the silence settled.

No dragon song. No castle wind. No scent of charred magic.

He sat up fast. The chamber was opulent—a cage dressed in finery. Curtains of wine-red velvet trailed across tall archways, but none opened to windows. Golden-framed mirrors lined the walls, each one warping his reflection subtly, eerily. There were no visible locks, no chains. Yet his skin tingled—an uncomfortable prickling beneath his bones.

 

Looking down, he saw the source: a thin ring of runes carved into the marble floor beneath the bed. Ancient Neravan sigils meant to suppress magic and dampen dragon-linked bonds. They’d thought of everything.

A soft knock, and a Neravan servant entered with a plate of food. Pale robes. Painted smile. Voice like honey drowned in poison. Jungkook didn’t speak. He only stared, jaw tight, eyes colder than steel. The servant hesitated, unnerved by his silence, then curtsied and left. It wasn’t a prison. Not on the surface. But it was far worse. They were grooming him—psychologically shaving his edges until he’d be a pliant tool. Something to wave in front of Taehyung like a leash.

He paced. Searched for a crack, a weakness, anything. But the walls were thick, the ceiling too high, and magic... silenced. Hours passed. Or maybe days. Time bled oddly in this place.

 

Then—another knock. But this time, it wasn’t a servant. A cloaked figure stepped inside. Tall. Hooded. Wrapped in shadows like smoke.

“You look smaller in here," the voice rasped—familiar, wrong.

Jungkook rose. "Who are you?"

The figure didn’t answer, but stepped closer.

“You were the heart of his storm," he said. "Let’s see what the dragon becomes without his tether.”

And then he vanished into the mist.

 

Taehyung hadn't slept.

Not since the battle. Not since that moment when the battlefield fell silent and Jungkook's presence vanished like wind pulled from his lungs.

Taehyung stood at the edge of the ritual fire chamber, his hair loose, his eyes hollow. The veins beneath his skin glowed faintly gold—unstable, simmering.

The dragon inside him was screaming.

The High Council muttered warnings. Advisories. Commands.

He ignored them all.

He turned to Mili, who stood bravely despite her young age, eyes wide but steady.

“I need to connect. His signature. Now.”

 

Mili nodded and stepped forward. Together, they carved open the ancient fire basin, filling it with dragon blood and ash. Taehyung slit his palm and let his blood drip into the flame.

The fire flared violet. And in the coiling smoke, an image flickered.

Jungkook.

Trapped. Still. His energy dimmed, his bond muted. A room of mirrors and velvet. And a seal of runes.

Taehyung's roar shook the chamber.

“No more delays.”

 

The Council blocked his path.

“You cannot go to war without sanction—”

But the King stepped forward, voice grim.

“Let my son go. If you stop him now, we lose more than a queen—we lose our prince.”

Taehyung didn’t wait for approval. He stormed out, fire trailing behind his heels.

 

Yoongi watched Taehyung leave, fury barely leashed. But someone had to think beyond the fire. He grabbed Nyla by the wrist.

“We need a shadow team. Fast, quiet, no explosions.”

She blinked.

“You think we can sneak into Nerava?”

“I think we have one shot while the dragons are storming the skies. While they’re looking at Taehyung, we look where he doesn’t.”

 

Niki and Spark joined them—eager, crackling with energy.

“I can shift. Take a priestess’s face. Maybe even a high one, if I see her long enough.”

Yoongi smiled grimly.

“Perfect. You’re our key in.”

They assembled the team. Chose gear. Mapped routes. The King gave a nod in secret.

 

And as Taehyung prepared to burn Nerava to ash, Yoongi prepared to cut its heart from the shadows.

 

The doors opened.

Princess Iravelle glided in like a swan on dark water. Gowned in silver, diadem gleaming, she looked every inch a ruler. A queen crowned in arrogance.

Jungkook didn’t stand.

“You finally came to preen in front of your hostage?”

Iravelle smiled.

“Oh no, Jungkook. I came to explain.”

She sat across from him, crossing her legs.

“I love him. Truly. Deeply. And I will rule both Nerava and the Dragon Throne. He just doesn’t realize it yet. But I will help him see.”

 

Jungkook’s jaw twitched.

“You mean you’ll manipulate him. Break him. And parade me in front of him like some bargaining chip.”

Iravelle’s gaze turned steel-sharp.

“No. I will free him. From you. The Council is too blind to see your bond—but I’m not. He is yours. And you are his guardian. Until I break that bond... I cannot be queen.”

She rose, slowly, with a satisfied smirk.

“And don’t think his arrival will change anything. He may roar and rage, but he will never find you unless I let him. Our realm is sealed, magically protected, veiled from every known detection spell. Not even Taehyung can pierce it.”

She stepped closer, voice low.

“But don’t worry. We’re already breaking your bond. Soon, he will be free. You’ll watch him kneel for me and marry me. And when he does, I’ll let him kiss me in front of you, one last time before your existence is finished.”

 

Jungkook rose as well, chin high.

“You’ll burn before that ever happens.”

 

The walls shook.

A dragon's roar—low, furious, endless—rolled through the stones.

Taehyung was coming.

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