Chapter 696: THE CAVE

Jasmine landed hard.

The fall ended abruptly with a jolt that knocked the breath straight out of her lungs, her body slamming down onto solid ground with a sharp, bruising impact.

“Oof-!”

Pain shot up her spine as she landed squarely on her bum. For a second, all she could do was sit there, stunned, the air wheezing painfully from her chest. The darkness around her felt thick, pressing in, and the only sound was her own ragged breathing.

She groaned softly and forced herself to move.

“I am never doing that again,” she muttered under her breath.

Carefully, she pushed herself up, wincing as her back protested.

Fine dust coated her palms and the hem of her robe.

She brushed herself off quickly, heart still racing, then immediately checked for the dagger she had hidden under her robe.

Her baby kicked.

“I know,” she whispered, rubbing her belly. “I know. That was… not graceful.”

She straightened slowly.

And froze.

The space around her wasn’t just a cave.

It was massive.

The ceiling stretched high above her, supported by thick natural pillars of stone veined with glowing minerals that cast a soft, eerie light across the cavern.

The walls curved outward, opening into wide chambers connected by tunnels and carved archways.

Torches burned in numbers, their flames steady and warm, revealing sections upon sections of activity.

Beds made from furs and stone.

Cooking fires crackling quietly.

Weapons stacked neatly against walls.

Unshifted wolves walking among shifted ones without fear.

It looked like an underground pack house.

A hidden city beneath the forest.

Her breath caught.

There were dozens no, hundreds of wolves.

And they were all looking at her.

Jasmine took an involuntary step back.

Her foot struck something solid behind her.

Clatter.

The sound echoed far too loudly in the cavern.

Every head snapped toward her.

Silence fell.

Then a growl came and another followed.

Then another.

Shifted wolves stepped forward first, hackles raised, teeth bared, eyes glowing faintly in the dim light.

Unshifted wolves moved too, hands clenching, weapons appearing seemingly from nowhere. The air thickened instantly with hostility.

Jasmine’s heart slammed violently against her ribs.

“Oh no,” she whispered.

They were closing in.

Snapping.

Growling.

Snarling.

Fear flooded her system so fast it made her dizzy. Her instincts screamed at her to run, but there was nowhere to go. Her back hit cold stone as she retreated another step, palms raised uselessly.

Her thoughts spiraled.

This was a mistake.

A terrible, stupid mistake.

Her father had warned her.

She should have listened.

She should have stayed in her room.

She should have trusted him.

Hot regret burned behind her eyes as the wolves drew closer, their anger palpable, vibrating through the cavern.

“Monster,” someone spat.

“Usurper’s blood,” another growled.

“She shouldn’t be here.”

“Kill her.”

The words hit her like blows.

Her hand flew protectively to her stomach as panic clawed up her throat. Her baby kicked again, harder this time, distressed.

“I just wanted to understand,” she whispered desperately. “Please-

She bumped into someone behind her.

Jasmine spun around instinctively, fear turning into raw reflex. She lifted her arms, ready to fight, ready to scream then it stopped.

It was Sofia.

Sofia’s hands were already on her shoulders, firm but gentle.

“It’s okay,” Sofia said quickly, leaning close. “I’ve got you.”

Jasmine’s legs nearly gave out in relief.

Sofia stepped past her, deliberately placing herself between Jasmine and the crowd. She stood tall, shoulders squared, chin lifted.

“Enough!” Sofia shouted.

The growling didn’t stop.

“You brought her?” someone roared. “You brought her here?”

Sofia didn’t flinch.

“Yes,” she said clearly. “I did.”

A ripple of outrage spread through the crowd.

“You brought the usurper’s daughter into our home?” a voice snarled. “That was not the agreement!”

“How dare you!”

“She’s a curse!”

“She’s his blood!”

Wolves howled in fury, the sound echoing off the cavern walls, vibrating through Jasmine’s bones. She shrank back, her heart hammering so violently she thought she might faint.

“She will doom us!”

“She should bleed for what her family has done!”

Sofia turned, her voice fierce. “You don’t understand this is exactly why she needs to be here!”

But they weren’t listening.

They were out for blood.

The crowd parted.

Not violently.

Not abruptly.

But with sudden, reverent silence.

A woman stepped forward.

She had silver hair pulled back into a long, elegant braid, strands catching the torchlight like moonlit steel.

Her face bore the calm lines of someone who had lived, endured, and survived. She looked to be in her late forties, her posture straight, her presence commanding without effort.

The cavern went utterly quiet.

Even the wolves lowered their heads slightly.

Jasmine felt something shift.

The woman’s gaze landed on Sofia first.

“What is going on here?” she asked calmly.

Sofia exhaled, tension flooding out of her shoulders. “Elder Maelis… I can explain.”

Maelis’s eyes moved then.

They landed on Jasmine.

And stayed there.

Jasmine braced herself.

But instead of hatred, what she saw was… curiosity.

Assessment.

Something softer.

“You brought an enemy into our refuge,” Maelis said evenly. “Explain.”

Sofia turned fully toward her. “She is not our enemy,” she said urgently. “She is our savior. The one we’ve been waiting for all these years.”

Gasps rippled through the crowd.

“That’s madness.”

“You’ve lost your mind.”

Maelis raised one hand.

Silence fell instantly.

Her gaze never left Jasmine.

“Is this true?” Maelis asked gently. “Is that who you are?”

Every eye turned to Jasmine.

Her mouth went dry.

“I… I don’t even know what she’s talking about,” Jasmine said honestly, her voice shaking. “I swear. I don’t even know why I’m here.”

An uproar exploded.

“She lies!”

“Of course she does!”

“Look at her royal blood reeks of deceit!”

Jasmine swallowed hard and forced herself to speak louder.

“I followed the fireflies,” she said, desperation spilling out. “Sofia told me to. That’s it. That’s the only reason I came.”

Maelis tilted her head slightly. “And why would you follow them?”

Jasmine hesitated, then took a breath.

“Because I was told my massager Lydia was a rebel,” she said. “That she enlisted her son and was arrested. And that didn’t feel right to me.”

A murmur spread through the cavern.

Maelis’s lips curved.

She laughed.

It was soft.

Warm.

Almost amused.

“Yes,” Maelis said gently. “We are rebels.”

The word echoed.

“But not the kind you’ve been told,” she continued. “We rebel because the world above has been built on lies. On blood spilled in the name of order. On children drafted to die so kings can sleep peacefully.”

Jasmine’s chest tightened.

“We are rebels,” Maelis repeated, “for a just cause.”

She stepped closer, stopping a few feet from Jasmine. Her presence was oddly comforting, grounding.

“You are frightened,” Maelis observed. “And you have every reason to be.”

Jasmine nodded, tears stinging her eyes. “I didn’t come to fight,” she whispered. “I just wanted the truth.”

Maelis studied her for a long moment.

Then she smiled.

“Then you’ve come to the right place.”

The cavern remained silent.

And for the first time since Jasmine had slipped out into the night, she realized something terrifying and undeniable:

Whatever her father had been protecting her from it didn’t seem like this place.

It was the truth waiting beneath it.