Chapter 43: Where Fate Refused to Look Away
748 Words
The forest had always been unforgiving.
Dense. Silent. Alive in ways most could not understand.
Diana stood at the edge of the council chamber, her mind no longer fully present. The story had pulled her in deeper than she expected—far beyond simple history.
It felt… personal.
“What happened next?” she asked quietly.
Theon didn’t speak immediately this time.
It was Dylan.
“He should have died.”
Diana’s gaze shifted to him.
“But he didn’t,” she said.
Dylan held her eyes for a moment. “No.”
Silence settled before he continued.
“He wandered deeper into the forbidden forest, already injured. Whatever attacked him… left him barely alive.”
Diana’s chest tightened slightly.
“Days passed,” Theon added. “No one went after him. To the palace, he was already as good as gone.”
Kaelen’s voice was lower now. “Forgotten before he even disappeared.”
Diana exhaled slowly.
“…And then?”
A pause.
Then—
“She found him.”
The words landed softly.
But heavily.
Diana’s fingers curled slightly. “Tatiana.”
Dylan nodded once.
“She wasn’t searching for him,” he said. “She was hunting.”
Diana blinked. “Hunting?”
Theon nodded. “Tatiana was not just royalty. She was a warrior.”
That… made sense.
More than it should have.
“She moved through the forest without fear,” Kaelen added. “Most creatures avoided her.”
Diana frowned slightly. “Most?”
Dylan’s voice came again, quieter now.
“Not all.”
Silence.
Then—
“She found him at the edge of a clearing,” he continued. “Collapsed. Bleeding. Unconscious.”
Diana could see it.
Too clearly.
The image forming in her mind without effort.
“…Why didn’t she leave him?” she asked.
Theon answered this time.
“Because she felt it.”
Diana’s brows pulled together. “Felt what?”
“A presence,” he said. “Power. Hidden—but undeniable.”
Diana’s heart beat slightly faster.
Dylan stepped a little closer, his voice steady.
“He was dying,” he said. “But whatever he was… refused to disappear.”
The words settled into her.
Deep.
Diana swallowed slightly. “…So she saved him.”
“Yes,” Dylan said.
“How?”
“With difficulty.”
A faint shift passed through the room.
“His condition was severe,” Theon explained. “Even with her abilities, stabilizing him required more than basic healing.”
Kaelen crossed his arms. “She stayed.”
Diana blinked. “Stayed?”
“For days,” he replied.
Something in Diana’s chest tightened again.
“She didn’t know who he was,” Theon added. “Only that he mattered.”
Diana’s gaze dropped slightly.
“…And when he woke up?”
Silence.
Then—
“He didn’t trust her.”
Diana looked up again.
Kaelen gave a faint huff. “Of course he didn’t. The last place he had been safe was nowhere.”
Dylan’s expression didn’t change.
“He expected betrayal,” he said. “Even from the one who saved him.”
Diana’s voice softened slightly. “…Did she care?”
“No,” Dylan replied simply.
That caught her attention.
“No?” she repeated.
“She stayed anyway.”
The simplicity of it made something shift inside her.
Not loud.
But real.
Diana’s gaze lingered on the table, her thoughts moving through the story differently now.
Not as a listener.
But as someone… connected.
“…So what changed?” she asked.
Theon answered.
“Time.”
Kaelen added, “And truth.”
Dylan’s voice followed.
“He stopped pretending.”
Diana’s head lifted slightly. “Pretending?”
“He could no longer maintain the illusion of weakness,” Dylan said. “Not in that state.”
The room felt quieter now.
“He revealed himself,” Theon said.
“And Tatiana saw it,” Kaelen finished.
Diana’s breath slowed.
“…And she didn’t run.”
“No,” Dylan said.
A pause.
Then—
“She chose him.”
The words settled into the air.
Soft.
Final.
Diana’s chest tightened again.
Not painfully.
But enough to make her aware of it.
Her voice came quieter this time.
“…Even knowing what he was?”
Dylan’s gaze held hers.
“Because of it.”
Silence followed.
Deep.
Unshaken.
And for reasons Diana couldn’t fully explain—
That answer stayed with her longer than anything else.
- Writer
