chapter 7
937 Words
Chapter Seven: The Red Thorns
The road leading to the Red Thorns' safety position through the mountain forests of Raven Hollow. Old trees standing in a threatening form, their roots catching the attention of the soil like claws. Riven was showing the way, Ayla was close behind him, while Lucien was following in silence.
The three had not spoken much since the conflict in the passageway. Nervousness wasted away to the air like thick cloud. Ayla she could sense the disturbing state of the atmosphere rising inside her, and between them.
“Are you sure this is the right way?” Ayla finally asked.
Riven nodded. “this is not a place you find. This place that lets you in.”
She looked at Lucien and asked . “How sure are you to know if the Red Thorns will help us?”
“he replied, I don't know. “But they owe your bloodline. The Duskborn once saved them from extinction.”
Ayla shivered. “They must’ve been desperate.”
“They were,” Riven muttered. “Cassian slaughtered their Alpha and half their young.”
Lucien did not disputed the fact.
As they submitted the back of an animal, a wall of thorn-covered trees blocked the path. They were unnatural—growing in it
“We’re here,” Riven said. “be still untill they askl you to.”
Before Ayla could understand what he meant, the thorns gave way on their own. A whisper passed through the air ancient and inhuman.
Then they stepped into the sanctuary.
The clearing inside was alive with energy. Low bonfires burned blue, their flames dancing without smoke. Wolves moved between the shadows—half-shifted, glowing-eyed, watching.
A woman emerged from the circle. She was tall,looking fierce,and her body was filled with scars. Her hair was in a braided form, her look cold and intelligent.
“Elira,” Riven greeted with a slight bow.
“You bring strangers into our circle, rogue?” the woman asked, her voice edged with threat.
“She’s Duskborn.”
Elira’s eyes fixed on Ayla. She inhaled slowly, then blinked. “You carry the mark.”
“I don’t know about any mark,” Ayla replied her with caution.
“That’s because the mark is in in your blood,” Elira said. “Buried until it’s needed.”
Lucien stepped forward. “We need your help to stop Cassian from claiming her.”
Elira’s expression sharpened. “The Alpha seeks the Moon Marking?”
Riven nodded. “She doesn’t want it.”
“No one does,” Elira growled. “But refusing a Blackmoor comes with a price.”
Ayla stepped forward. “Can you teach me to resist it?”
The silence that followed was heavy.
Finally, Elira said, “Yes. But it will hurt.”
“I don’t care.”
“You will.”
Later that night, Ayla sat alone near a small fire. Her body ached from the first lesson—Elira had forced her to relive memories she didn’t know she had. Visions of a man in shadows. A woman crying. A symbol glowing on her skin.
“Your body remembers what your mind forgot,” Elira had said.
Lucien approached quietly, sitting beside her.
“I stil can't believe they are alive,” he said.
“Who?”
“The Red Thorns. I thought Cassian wiped them out.”
“He tried,” Ayla said. “But we don’t die easy.”
Lucien chuckled softly. “That sounds like something your mother would’ve said.”
Ayla turned sharply. “You knew her?”
He hesitated. “Not well. But she came to the Blackmoors once. With you. You were just a baby.”
“That’s not possible. My father said we were in hiding.”
“Because she made a deal with Cassian. She promised your power would never awaken… in exchange for protection.”
Ayla stood abruptly, heart racing. “You're lying.”
“No. She begged him to spare you. To let you live without the curse.”
“And he agreed?”
Lucien’s face darkened. “Until she broke the deal. She ran with you. Hid you from all of us. Cassian never forgave her for that.”
Ayla’s throat tightened. “And you?”
“I looked for you. Even after he gave up.”
She looked at him, her anger was battling the pain in her chest. “Why?”
“Because I always love you even when I don't understand what love was.”
She didn’t reply. Couldn’t.
Because behind her, Riven had been listening the whole time.
Later, after the fire died, Riven confronted her beneath the ancient tree at the sanctuary’s edge.
“And you believe him just like that?” he asked.
“I am not sure,” she answered. “But part of me remembers him. I just can’t explain it.”
“He’s dangerous, Ayla.”
“So are you.”
Riven stepped closer, his scent warm and sharp. “But I would never lie to you. I’d never use your past to bind you.”
“Even if it meant saving me from Cassian?”
He flinched. “Even then.”
Ayla’s heart thudded. “Why?”
“Because you’re not mine to save. You’re yours.”
His words melted something inside her.
She used her fingers brushing his jaw. Their lips met—tentative, electric, and hungry for truth. For something real.
But before the kiss could deepen, a howl split the air.
Not just any howl—one filled with rage.
Cassian had found them.
- Writer
