The Roots of Silence

Chapter 5: The Price of Silence

The ledger felt like lead in my hands. Outside, the heavy footsteps of the night watch echoed against the stone walls of the Town Hall. They were getting closer.

​"If they find you here with that, Julian won't be able to save you," Julian said, his voice a low vibration that seemed to pull at the very air. He didn't move toward the door; he moved toward me.

​"Save me?" I hissed, my stoic mask finally cracking. "You gave me the key! You led me right into this nightmare. Are you one of them? Are you the one who collects the payment?"

​Julian reached out, his hand covering mine on the edge of the table. His touch was cold, but his eyes were burning with an intensity that made my breath catch. This was the Opposite Attraction I feared—a man who belonged to the darkness, drawing me away from the only life I had ever known.

​"I am the one who keeps the forest from crossing the walls, Evelyn," he whispered. "But the Elders have grown greedy. They provide more than the forest asks for, and they pocket the difference."

​The door handle rattled.

​Julian didn't hesitate. He grabbed my waist and pulled me flush against him. Before I could protest, he kicked the hidden drawer shut and hauled me toward the narrow window I had climbed through.

​"Jump," he commanded.

​"It’s a twenty-foot drop!"

​"Then I suppose I’ll have to catch you," he said with a dark, daring smirk.

​He leaped first, landing silently like a predator. I followed, my heart in my throat, feeling the rush of night air before his strong arms broke my fall. For a heartbeat, he didn't let go. He held me close, the scent of rain and iron wrapping around me.

​"Run to the northern thicket," he ordered, releasing me as torches flickered in the windows above. "The Agents will check the houses first. They won't expect a Harvester to go back into the deep woods at night."

​"Why are you helping me?" I asked, clutching the stolen ledger to my chest.

​He paused, looking at me with a gaze that felt like a brand. "Because you're the first thing in Oakhaven worth more than the silence."

​I turned and ran, my boots pounding the dirt. I was no longer just a Harvester of roots. I was a Harvester of secrets, and the hunt had officially begun.