After We Said Goodbye

WRONG FOREST2

Adrian's eyes shifted toward her.

Before either could say more, Cruz called from farther down the trail.

"Sir!"

Adrian turned.

Cruz stood beside a large tree.

Something had been tied around one of its lower branches.

A strip of dark cloth.

Beneath it was a symbol carved into the bark.

Maya stopped breathing.

She knew that mark.

The old resistance symbol.

The same symbol she had seen near the eastern trail.

The same symbol that had appeared before the attacks.

Adrian walked toward it.

Maya remained where she was.

Reyes studied the carving.

"Same symbol from the eastern trail?"

Adrian nodded.

"Looks like it."

Cruz touched the edge of the cloth.

"Someone left it recently."

Maya's eyes remained fixed on the carving.

She knew what it represented.

Not the current faction.

Not exactly.

It belonged to an older generation.

An older war.

Memories she had spent years trying to bury.

Adrian looked at her.

"You know what that means."

Maya finally met his eyes.

"I know the symbol."

"That's not what I asked."

"I don't have anything to tell you."

Adrian studied her for another second.

Then his attention shifted back to the tree.

Maya's gaze moved lower.

Something caught her eye.

A small scratch in the bark.

Then another.

She stepped closer.

There was something behind the tree.

A thin piece of cloth had been wedged into a c***k between the roots.

Her heart skipped.

She knew immediately that it hadn't been placed there by accident.

She moved toward it.

Adrian caught her arm.

Maya looked down at his hand.

"Let go."

"Stay here."

"There's something there."

"I can see that."

"Then let me look."

"No."

She pulled against his grip.

"Why?"

"Because we don't know if it's a trap."

"It's a piece of cloth."

"It could be anything."

"I've lived in these mountains for years. I know what—"

"And I know what happens when people walk toward something they don't understand."

Maya's eyes hardened.

"You're talking about me as if I'm reckless."

"You almost fell ten minutes ago."

Her mouth dropped open.

"You cannot seriously be using that against me."

"You ignored a warning."

"It was a rock!"

"And now you're ignoring another one."

"This isn't the same thing."

"Exactly. This one could get you killed."

Maya stared at him.

For a moment, neither spoke.

Then she lowered her voice.

"You don't get to order me around just because you still think you can protect me."

Something shifted in Adrian's expression.

"You think this is about what happened between us?"

"Isn't it?"

"No."

"Then why are you acting like it?"

"I'm acting like a soldier."

"You're always acting like a soldier."

The words landed harder than she intended.

Adrian's face became still.

Maya looked away.

She hated that their arguments could still find the same old wounds.

Five years apart, and somehow they still knew exactly where to strike.

Adrian released her arm.

"Reyes."

"Sir?"

"Get it."

Reyes stepped forward.

Maya immediately turned toward him.

"Be careful."

Reyes crouched beside the roots.

He carefully pulled the cloth free.

Something small was wrapped inside it.

Paper.

Adrian took it from him.

The paper was folded twice.

He opened it.

His eyes moved across the writing.

Maya watched his expression change.

"What does it say?"

Adrian didn't answer.

"Adrian."

He handed the paper to Reyes.

Reyes read it.

His eyebrows lifted.

Cruz leaned over his shoulder.

"What?"

Reyes read aloud.

"'You keep searching the wrong forest.'"

Silence.

Maya frowned.

"That's it?"

Reyes turned the paper over.

"There's more."

A second line had been written on the back.

"'Ask the golden daughter where the road ends.'"

Maya's blood ran cold.

Adrian looked at her.

She didn't move.

The words were not a threat.

Not exactly.

They were a message.

A message meant for her.

And whoever had written it knew exactly what they called her.

Golden daughter.

Adrian folded the paper.

"We're going back."

Maya shook her head.

"I need to see—"

"You're not going anywhere alone."

"I didn't say alone."

"You were about to walk into the forest without telling anyone."

"I saw the message."

"I saw it too."

"Then you know it concerns me."

"Which is exactly why you're staying close."

Maya glared at him.

"I don't need a guard."

"Today you do."

"I've survived without you for five years."

Adrian's expression tightened.

"And I spent five years not knowing if you were alive."

The words came out before he could stop them.

Maya went still.

So did Adrian.

Cruz and Reyes exchanged a brief look before suddenly becoming very interested in the surrounding trees.

Maya swallowed.

"That's not my problem."

Adrian's jaw tightened.

"I know."

He turned away.

"Let's go."

The walk back was worse than the walk in.

Maya stayed beside him, but the argument between them never really ended.

"You didn't have to grab me."

"You were walking toward an unknown object."

"I was investigating it."

"Without protection."

"I've done things without protection before."

Adrian glanced at her.

"That's exactly the problem."

She stopped walking.

"Excuse me?"

He stopped too.

"You don't think about what happens after."

"I think plenty about what happens after."

"Then why do you keep putting yourself in danger?"

"Because someone has to."

"That isn't an answer."

"It is when everyone else is too afraid to move."

Adrian stared at her.

"And you think you're responsible for everyone?"

Maya's expression softened slightly.

"Someone has to care about them."

"I care."

"You care about protecting them."

"What's the difference?"

She looked at him.

"You tell me."

Adrian had no immediate answer.

Maya continued walking.

He followed.

For several minutes, neither spoke.

The soldiers behind them remained unusually quiet.

Even Cruz seemed to understand that now wasn't the time for another joke.

Finally, Adrian broke the silence.

"You shouldn't have followed us."

"I live here."

"You were specifically targeted."

"Which means I need to know why."

"It means you need to stay alive long enough to find out."

Maya looked at him.

"And if staying alive means hiding behind soldiers?"

"No."

"Then what?"

Adrian met her gaze.

"You stay close enough that I can protect you."

She gave a bitter laugh.

"There it is again."

"What?"

"Protection."

His eyes narrowed.

"What is wrong with protecting you?"

"Nothing."

"Then why do you sound angry?"

"Because you always think protection is enough."

Adrian went silent.

Maya looked ahead.

The settlement was beginning to appear through the trees.

"We've had this conversation before," she said quietly.

"Not this one."

"Maybe not with these exact words."

They reached the edge of the settlement.

Maya stopped.

Adrian turned toward her.

For one brief moment, they simply looked at each other.

Five years.

A marriage.

A child they never got to raise.

A divorce neither of them had truly wanted.

And now a message hidden beneath a tree, carrying words from a past neither had completely escaped.

Maya looked toward the mountains.

"They're watching us."

Adrian followed her gaze.

"Yes."

"And they know me."

"Yes."

She looked back at him.

"Then we're not dealing with a random faction."

Adrian's expression hardened.

"No."

He glanced down at the folded message in his hand.

"Someone wanted us to find that."

Maya's eyes narrowed.

"And they wanted me to read it."

Adrian nodded.

"Which means our next move is exactly what they expect."

Maya looked at him.

"Then maybe we shouldn't make it."

For the first time that day, Adrian almost smiled.

Almost.

"On that, at least, we agree."

But as they walked into the settlement, Maya couldn't shake the feeling that the message had already accomplished what its sender wanted.

It had brought the past back into the middle of their lives.

And somewhere beyond the trees, someone was still watching.