Ryne, who was about to move, became rooted to his spot. He visibly swallowed as he watched me intently. For an instant, I saw only him. In the crimson light, I noticed the smallest changes in his body. 

I saw the dilating of his pupils. I saw the tightening of the muscles under his shirt. I saw his breath becoming jagged and I saw him lick his lip. I wanted to defy him, but somehow it had turned into a strip show and, in my head, a very private one. I removed the last button and the thin, delicate material underneath became visible. I shrugged off the cardigan and let it drop to the ground.

The reverberating cries of the crowd brought me back from the intimate space I shared with him. I took a deep breath and looked at the werewolf. When I glanced back at Ryne, I saw him shaking his head as if to get rid of the effect of the moon.

"I'm sorry," I told Arlan about what I had just done as well as what I was about to do. Then, straightening my back, I climbed down the stairs with as much poise as I could muster. The crowd parted for me and I took slow deliberate steps towards the wolf waiting to devour me. 

As his form became bigger and bigger, fear gripped my heart. Tears threatened to fall as I realized that I was going to let this vile creature touch me and that too in front of all these people. He smirked and checked me out like I was an object. Just as I was nearing him, he bounded down the platform and approached me.

I froze in my spot as he came closer and closer. In a sweeping motion, he picked me up bridal style and carried me to the podium. I realized that while just the sight of fully-clothed Ryne was maddening sometimes, being in the arms of a naked werewolf did nothing but nauseate me. As soon as the scent of his sweat mixed with blood hit me, I held my breath and clutched my arms tighter around his neck. 

Believing my actions to be out of desire, he chuckled as he gripped me tighter and leaped up to the platform. He dropped me down and roared victoriously at the onlookers. Before I could chance a look at Ryne, the werewolf shoved me onto my knees. The coarse stone floor scraped my skin and I hissed in pain. He clasped my hair and pulled it back roughly.

"I hear this is your punishment. I can't make it very easy for you then, can I?" he said, his razor-sharp fangs glistening.

My scalp throbbed, but it was no match for the searing pain in my heart. I took a deep breath. I hadn't reached my limit yet. I told myself that I was stronger than this when he touched me everywhere with his dirty hands. I told myself that I could bear it when handled me like he would a tramp. 

I told myself I had a bigger cause when he made a show out of my humiliation for the cheering onlookers. When he grabbed my face and slapped me, however, my heart felt like a cloth being wrung. I, the queen of dragons, finally wanted to give up. It had only begun, but I couldn't do this anymore. I just couldn't.

All of the sudden, the crimson light of the moon disappeared. While the rest of the crowd noticed it and wondered what had happened, the werewolf pulled me up and began to kiss my neck sloppily. Something had changed. I ignored his touch and looked up at the sky. Eyes wide, I realized what had. Thick chains ran around the surface of the moon, limiting its power.

I pushed the werewolf away and turned to Ryne. He stared back at me, first in confusion, then in recognition and finally with so much anger that I wanted to shrink away from him even though he was nowhere near me. Although I didn't understand the reason for his reaction, I knew for sure that he was the one behind the shackling of the moon.

No one else would believe that he was capable of something so colossal. But I had heard Lord Dragomitus himself say that he was the most powerful magic-kind in existence. If anyone could pull off such an act, it was him. But he had helped me... I couldn't understand why.

After a moment of confusion, Ryne, Arlan, Gyrod and Keelin walked towards us. The combined energy of all of them together had everyone watching silently. Even the wolf stopped touching me. Ryne muttered something and Arlan tried to hold him back as if to stop him. What the hell was happening?

"The blood moon has been disrupted. We don't know exactly what happened or how. But it cannot be a one-man act. I shall find the people responsible for it and personally hand them over to the ti-eglor. Meanwhile, we cannot continue the Moon Festival. I request all the wolves to return to their dorms while we uncover what happened.

The crowd booed and the wolf beside me jerked my arm. "This isn't over, bitch. I earned you fair and square," he said. He clasped my neck and was about to kiss me when he was sent flying.

"Show's over," Ryne said in a booming voice as he climbed up the platform. Wait, why was he coming towards me?

He stalked up to me, pinched my chin and yanked my face up to him. "Who are you?" he asked.

I pulled away from him and glanced at Arlan who looked at me worriedly.

"What do you mean?" I asked with a nervous chuckle. Had he figured me out? 'No way!' I refrained from touching the bracelet. But I knew it was there. He couldn't have sensed my energy.

"Look up and tell me what you see," he said.

Confused, I scanned the sky, "The moon has chains around it?" I said unsure.

Everyone began muttering at once while peering up. I wondered what they were saying. I stared at Ryne and saw his lips pull into a lazy smile. My eyes widened. No, he couldn't have. But his expression was a confirmation that I had messed up. I had messed up, big time.

"Those are Perwaldian chains," he said with a chuckle, "Visible only to the most powerful beings. I noticed how everyone else seemed confused as to what happened but you looked up at the moon and instantly knew what was wrong. So, I will ask again and this time you better not kid around. Who the fuck are you?"

'Oh, Lord Dragomitus, help me!' I prayed. Just as I expected, the great god didn't answer me when I most needed him. I looked around at the number of people around me. I couldn't believe that I would be the first queen to give away the existence of dragons in a thousand years and that too in front of a warlock.

I took a step back. What if I ran away? He would hunt me down. What if I made up a lie? But what would I say?

"That's an interesting bracelet," he said and took a step closer to me. I inched away from him, my heart in my mouth. "Camouflaging spells only work until there's no suspicion of their existence. Did you not know that?" he asked. He knew that he had me cornered. He was a picture of confidence.

I held my bracelet tightly and took another step back as he came closer to me. He reached out and grabbed my arm. I tried to pry it off but his grip was monstrous.

"I bet you believed your fiancé to be just another human, Arlan," he said aloud with a laugh. He held my arm with one hand and clutched the bracelet with another.

"No, please don't. Wait," I pleaded, as I continued to fight against his grip.

"Oh, now you beg me?" he asked amused.

"Please," I said, my voice cracking.

He bent forward, brushed his cheek against mine and whispered into my ear, "Too late."

With one yank, the bracelet tore off. All the energy that I had suppressed within me for so long, exploded like an unleashed spring. While it mostly shot outward, the pain of the sudden release was unbearable. I let out a loud, guttural scream and for the first time today let the tears fall, not from the pain but, from the knowledge that I had failed. I had failed miserably.