Episode 6
1332 Words
I didn’t cry for the scout who died.
I’d seen too many losses to waste tears on a body that already belonged to the earth.
But the symbol he carried—the torn cloth with the fang split down the middle—left a different weight in my chest.
Blackveil wasn’t supposed to exist anymore.
They were monsters in bedtime stories. A rogue faction that disappeared after the Southern War, known for burning everything and leaving no survivors.
But now they were moving again.
And they had seen us.
⸻
Ryker didn’t speak as we buried the body.
The ground was cold. It felt hard. I shoved my hands into the soil anyway, like it would remind me that I was still here.
Still breathing.
Still fighting.
“He died fast,” I said softly.
Ryker placed a stone over the shallow grave. “At least he didn’t die alone.”
I stood and wiped my hands on my pants. “We need to move camp.”
“Tonight?”
“They already know we’re near. If we stay, we invite them to finish what they started.”
He nodded. “Where?”
“The northern cliffs. There’s an old watchtower—broken, but still standing. We’ll see them before they see us.”
Ryker hesitated. “What about Kael?”
I looked toward the ridge, where the flicker of torches still danced from Nightfang territory.
“He’s not the threat right now.”
Ryker’s jaw clenched hard, but he didn’t argue.
⸻
We left just before dawn.
The air was sharp. Wind howling through the trees like it was giving a warning.
I moved first, and I moved fast, with Ryker guarding us from behind.
It wasn’t the first time we had to disappear overnight. It wouldn’t be the last.
Still, something felt different this time.
Like the land itself was holding its breath.
*****
By midday, we reached the cliffs. The tower stood crooked, a spine of stone and wood jutting into the sky. Inside, dust covered the floor and vines curled around the walls.
But it would work.
We set traps around the base, sharpened old weapons, and secured a path for retreat.
I didn’t plan on running.
But I had learned not to rule it out.
As we worked, Ryker stayed close—closer than usual.
Not in a protective way. In a quiet one.
Like he had something to say.
And I wasn’t sure I was ready to hear it.
*****
“You haven’t said much,” I finally said as I fixed the second floor window.
He didn’t look up. “Didn’t think I needed to.”
“You don’t. But it’s loud when you’re quiet.”
He paused, then said, “I saw the way he looked at you.”
I didn’t answer.
“You said you don’t love him anymore.”
“I don’t.”
“But you feel something.”
I sighed. “I feel… history. Ghosts and Wounds.”
Ryker stepped toward me. His voice low.
“And me?”
I froze.
He was standing too close now. Not threatening. Just real. Present.
“Do you feel anything when you look at me?” he asked.
I turned to him. “Yes.”
He nodded. “Then let me say this once.”
I held my breath.
“I’m not Kael. I didn’t leave you. I didn’t reject you. I didn’t mourn you while crowning another.”
His eyes searched mine.
I could feel the ground opening beneath me but I gave him a straight look
“I don’t want to be your second chance. I want to be your first choice.”
The air between us felt heavy.
I didn’t even know what to say.
So I didn’t say anything.
And that silence felt like the beginning of something… or maybe the end of everything.
*****
That night, I stood on the roof of the tower, watching the forest.
Below, the wind moved through the trees in waves.
It felt like a warning.
I kept the moonstone Ryker gave me tucked close to my chest.
Not for safety.
For memory.
My heart felt split.
Kael haunted the part of me that used to believe in fate.
Ryker held the part that survived without it.
⸻
By morning, our traps had been sprung.
Not all. Just one.
But it was enough.
I knelt beside the fallen wire. The trigger had snapped, but there was no blood. Just a faint trace of ash.
“They tested us,” Ryker said from behind me.
“They wanted to see how prepared we were.”
I picked up a piece of burnt cloth left behind. Same mark.
Blackveil.
“They’re getting close.”
Ryker handed me a map. “There’s a meeting near the border tonight. A few rogue leaders. They’re scared.”
“Of what?”
“Of whoever’s been picking their people off without leaving tracks.”
I folded the map. “It’s not Kael’s warriors.”
“They think it’s someone worse.”
I looked at him. “Then, Let’s find out.”
*****
The meeting took place in the ruins of a temple—half-buried in vines, roof collapsed. Four rogues waited by a broken altar, each armed, eyes flicking toward the shadows.
We approached slowly, cloaked.
I showed my face first.
One of the rogues stiffened. “You’re her.”
I didn’t answer.
He nodded to the others. “Told you she wasn’t dead.”
“What do you know about Blackveil?” I asked.
The tallest one stepped forward. His voice shook. “They’re not like us. They don’t hunt. They erase.”
“Erase?”
“No trace. No noise. No mercy.”
“They used to follow bloodlines,” I said. “Luna lines.”
He looked up. “Still do.”
Something cold pressed into my spine.
“They’re not just coming for packs,” he whispered. “They’re coming for you.”
⸻
We left at dusk, moving fast.
My thoughts spiraled.
Blackveil didn’t want territory.
They wanted legacy. Blood. Lineage.
And mine was royal.
Which meant I wasn’t just a threat to Sariah or Kael—
I was a target for something far dangerous and darker than I thought.
*****
Back at the tower, we found the door open.
It didn't seem like it was broken or forced.
Just… open.
I drew my blade.
Ryker took the left side. I took the right.
Inside, nothing was missing.
Nothing out of place.
Except for one thing.
A mark burned into the wood of the floor, Again
Not carved.
Just branded.
A crescent moon, cracked through the middle.
Ryker’s voice was barely a whisper.
“Elara… what is that?”
I stared at it, shivers crawling down my spine.
“I’ve seen it before,” I said.
He waited.
“In the old books. The forbidden ones.”
He frowned. “What does it mean?”
I touched the edge of the mark.
“It means someone betrayed the Moonborn.”
****
We didn’t sleep that night.
Not with that symbol burned into our floor.
It was more than a message.
It was a promise.
That they were close.
That they knew who I was.
And they were watching.
******
Just before dawn, Kael arrived.
No warning or guards. It was just him
Blood on his sleeve.
Eyes raging like a storm.
Ryker stepped in front of me instantly.
Kael didn’t blink.
“I’m not here for a fight,” he said.
“Then why are you here?” I asked, stepping beside Ryker.
Kael looked at me. Straight into me.
“They took someone.”
“Who?”
“One of my scouts.”
I hissed. “Rogues take scouts all the time.”
“No,” Kael said. “This wasn’t rogues.”
He reached into his coat and pulled out something small.
He dropped it at my feet.
A moonstone.
It was mine.
- Writer
