CHAPTER FOUR: THE SECRET BENEATH THE RAIN
1123 Words
CHAPTER FOUR: The Secret Beneath the Rain
POV:Mark Garrett
I rode through the storm like a man fleeing his own execution.
The moment I left the palace gates, rain crashed violently against my face, soaking through my cloak as thunder shook the skies above Velmora.
But none of it mattered.
Only one thought existed inside my mind.
Seraphina.
My father’s words still echoed in my head like a curse.
> If I discover that my own son is protecting witch blood,
I pushed my horse faster through the muddy forest path.
Branches clawed against my coat while cold wind tore through the trees. The deeper I rode into the eastern forest, the heavier the fear inside my chest became.
Because for the first time since meeting her,
I understood the truth.
I could not lose her.
The realization terrified me.
I had spent my entire life controlling every emotion I possessed. Kings were not raised to love freely. We were taught duty before desire. Power before attachment.
Weakness was dangerous.
And love?
Love was the deadliest weakness of all.
Yet somehow, a witch hidden inside the forest had become the only place where I felt human.
By the time I reached the cottage, night had fully fallen.
The lantern outside was dark.
No firelight glowed through the windows.
A terrible feeling twisted inside me instantly.
“Seraphina?”
No answer.
I dismounted quickly and moved toward the cottage, my hand instinctively reaching for the sword at my waist.
The door stood slightly open.
My heartbeat quickened.
“Seraphina.”
Still nothing.
I pushed the door open carefully.
The cottage was empty.
Cold.
Silent.
Panic surged through me immediately.
The books scattered across the wooden table remained untouched. Herbs still hung drying near the fireplace. A half-filled cup rested near the window as though she had left suddenly.
Or been taken suddenly.
“No”
I turned sharply toward the back of the cottage.
Then I saw blood.
Dark red stains spread across the wooden floor near the doorway leading outside.
My chest tightened violently.
I followed the blood trail into the forest behind the cottage, ignoring the rain soaking through my clothes.
“Seraphina!”
The storm swallowed my voice.
Branches snapped beneath my boots as I searched deeper into the woods.
Then suddenly,
A scream echoed through the darkness.
Her scream.
I ran.
The forest blurred around me until I burst into another clearing hidden between twisted trees.
And froze.
Seraphina stood surrounded by six royal soldiers.
Velmoran soldiers.
My father’s men.
Two already lay unconscious on the ground while shadows twisted violently around Seraphina’s body like living smoke.
The remaining soldiers looked terrified.
One raised his sword shakily.
“She’s a witch!”
“I said stay back!” Seraphina shouted.
Blood ran down her arm.
Her magic pulsed wildly around her, cracking the ground beneath her feet.
She looked terrified.
One soldier lunged toward her.
Everything happened too fast.
The shadows exploded outward violently.
The soldier was thrown backward across the clearing, crashing into a tree hard enough to snap the trunk.
Silence followed.
Then horror spread across every face.
Because the man did not move again.
Seraphina stared at him with shaking hands.
“I…” Her voice broke. “I didn’t mean”
“Monster!” another soldier screamed.
I stepped forward instantly.
“Enough!”
Every head turned toward me.
Relief flooded Seraphina’s face the moment she saw me.
And that single expression sealed our fate more completely than any confession ever could.
The soldiers noticed it too.
Their eyes widened slowly.
“Your Highness” one of them whispered carefully.
I forced my voice to remain calm.
“What happened here?”
The oldest soldier stepped forward nervously.
“We tracked signs of witchcraft to this area.” His eyes darted fearfully toward Seraphina. “She attacked us.”
“No,” Seraphina whispered immediately. “You tried to kill me.”
“She murdered Darren!”
The dead soldier remained motionless beneath the rain.
I looked toward Seraphina again.
Tears mixed with rain across her face.
“She was defending herself,” I said firmly.
The clearing became silent.
One soldier stared at me in disbelief.
“Your Highness, she’s a witch.”
“I can see that.”
“She killed one of our men.”
I stepped closer toward them slowly.
“And yet five of you still stand alive.”
None of them spoke.
Because they understood what I understood immediately.
If Seraphina truly wanted them dead,
None of them would have survived.
The soldiers exchanged nervous glances.
Then finally, the oldest one lowered his sword slightly.
“We must report this to the king.”
Fear flashed across Seraphina’s face instantly.
I saw it.
And without thinking, I made the worst decision of my life.
“No.”
The soldier blinked. “Your Highness?”
“You found nothing here.”
The silence that followed felt endless.
Then:
“What?”
My jaw tightened.
“You will return to the palace and report that the forest was empty.”
The men stared at me in shock.
One stepped backward slowly.
“You’re protecting her.”
The accusation cut through the storm like a blade.
I said nothing.
I did not need to.
Because the truth was already standing between us.
The soldiers looked horrified.
Not at Seraphina.
At me.
At their future king standing beside a witch.
“You would betray Velmora for this creature?” one of them asked bitterly.
Something dangerous moved inside me instantly.
Creature.
The way he spat the word filled me with rage.
Before I realized what I was doing, I grabbed the soldier by the front of his armor and slammed him violently against a tree.
“Do not speak about her that way.”
The entire clearing froze.
Even Seraphina looked shocked.
The soldier stared at me in fear.
And suddenly I realized how far I had already fallen.
I was threatening my own kingdom’s men for her.
Gods help me,
I loved her.
The truth hit me with terrifying clarity, I was I love with a witch.
I released the soldier immediately and stepped back.
The rain poured harder around us.
No one moved.
Then quietly, the oldest soldier spoke.
“The king will find out eventually.”
Yes.
He would.
Kings always discovered the truth eventually.
And when my father learned about Seraphina,
Everything would burn.
I looked toward her again.
She stood trembling beneath the storm, completely alone against an entire kingdom that wanted her dead.
And somehow,
I already knew what choice I would make.
Even if it destroyed me.
Even if it destroyed Velmora itself.
I would choose her.
- Writer
