The Exile
1417 Words
The carriage ride back was shorter than I remembered.
Or maybe I was just tired. The kind of tired that settles into your bones and refuses to leave. Damon's hand stayed on my knee the whole time. Warm. Grounding.
"You're quiet," he said.
"I'm thinking."
"About?"
"Selene. Liam. The map. My mother." I leaned my head against the carriage wall. "All of it."
Damon pulled me toward him. I didn't resist. His arm wrapped around my shoulders, and I let myself feel small for a moment.
"We'll get the map tomorrow," he said. "Then we find Silas. Then we end this."
"And Selene?"
"She's a distraction. We deal with her tonight."
"You sound confident."
"I am confident." He tilted my chin up. "I have you."
I wanted to argue. Tell him that confidence didn't kill monsters. But his eyes were steady, and for the first time in two lives, I believed someone.
"Fine," I said. "Tonight. Selene."
"Tonight."
The fortress was quiet when we returned.
Too quiet.
Rina met us at the gate, her rust-colored eyes sharper than usual.
"She's here," Rina said.
"Selene?"
"Came an hour ago. Demanded to see you. When I said no, she tried to claw my eyes out."
Damon sighed. "Where is she now?"
"The great hall. Tied to a chair."
I raised an eyebrow. "You tied her to a chair?"
"I got tired of her screaming." Rina smiled. It wasn't friendly. "She's louder than she is dangerous."
Damon looked at me. "You want to handle this?"
"Together."
He nodded. We walked inside.
Selene was exactly where Rina said she'd be.
Tied to a wooden chair in the center of the great hall. Her blonde hair was wild. Her green eyes were wilder. The silk dress she wore was torn at the shoulder.
"You," she hissed when she saw me.
"Me."
"You think you've won? You think he'll keep you?" She laughed. It was brittle. "Damon Vane doesn't keep anyone. He uses them. Then he discards them."
"Is that what he did to you?"
"I never let him close enough."
"Then you don't know anything about him."
Selene strained against the ropes. "You're a fool. You walked away from Liam for this? For a monster?"
"I walked away from Liam for me." I stepped closer. "You were never the reason I left. You were just the symptom."
"Symptom?"
"Liam was weak. You exploited that. But the weakness was his, not yours." I crouched in front of her. "I don't blame you for wanting what you couldn't have. I blame you for helping him put me in that cell."
Her eyes widened. "What cell?"
"The one you visited every day. The one where you laughed while I froze." I stood. "You remember now?"
Selene's face went pale.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"Yes, you do." I pulled the locket from under my shirt. "You're going to leave Liam's territory. Tonight. You're going to pack your things, and you're going to disappear."
"Or what?"
"Or I'll make sure everyone knows what you did. Not just to me. To every wolf who crossed your path. The poison. The lies. The betrayals."
Selene's jaw tightened. "You have no proof."
"I have something better." I smiled. "I have Damon Vane. And he has wolves who would love to practice on a target."
She looked at Damon. He didn't smile. Didn't speak. Just watched.
"Fine," Selene whispered. "I'll go."
"Good." I turned to Rina. "Cut her loose. Escort her to the border. If she comes back, kill her."
Rina grinned. "With pleasure."
Selene was gone within the hour.
I watched from the window as Rina led her through the gates. The moonlight caught Selene's blonde hair, turning it silver. She didn't look back.
"She won't survive long out there," Damon said behind me.
"I don't care."
"You should. Exiled wolves have a way of coming back."
"Then I'll kill her when she does."
Damon's arms wrapped around my waist. His chin rested on my shoulder.
"You're getting colder," he said.
"I'm getting smarter."
"Same thing."
I leaned back against him. His chest was warm. His heartbeat was steady.
"The map comes tomorrow," I said.
"It comes tomorrow."
"And then we hunt."
"And then we hunt." He turned me around. His hands cupped my face. "But tonight, you rest. You eat. You let me take care of you."
"I don't need taking care of."
"Maybe not. But I need to take care of you." His thumb traced my lower lip. "Humor me."
I kissed his thumb. "Fine."
He smiled. "That's my girl."
Dinner was quiet.
The great hall was mostly empty. Most of the pack had already retreated to their rooms. Only Rina and a few guards remained.
"You did well today," Rina said, sitting across from me.
"Which part?"
"All of it. The border. Selene. You didn't flinch."
"I've done worse."
Rina studied me. "You're not what I expected."
"What did you expect?"
"A victim." She leaned back. "You're not that."
"No. I'm not."
Rina nodded. "Good. Victims don't survive in this pack."
"I'm not planning to just survive."
"What are you planning?"
I looked at Damon. He was watching me, a small smile on his lips.
"I'm planning to win."
Later, in his room, Damon undressed me slowly.
Not rushed. Not hungry. Just deliberate. Every button. Every clasp. Every inch of skin revealed like he was unwrapping something precious.
"You're staring," I said.
"I'm admiring."
"Same thing."
"No." His fingers traced my collarbone. "Staring is passive. Admiring is active. I'm choosing to look at you."
"You're choosing to undress me."
"That too." He pulled my shirt over my head. "Any complaints?"
"No."
"Good."
He laid me on the bed. His body covered mine. Warm. Heavy. Perfect.
"Tomorrow," he said, "everything changes."
"I know."
"The map. Silas. The war." He kissed my forehead. "Are you ready?"
"I've been ready for three years."
"Then show me."
I pulled him down.
Morning came too fast.
Sunlight poured through the window. Damon was already dressed. Black shirt. Dark jeans. The dagger strapped to his thigh.
"Liam's messenger arrived," he said.
"The map?"
"Rolled in a tube. Sealed with his mark."
I sat up. The sheet fell. I didn't bother covering myself.
"Where is it?"
"On the table. I didn't open it."
"Why not?"
"Because it's yours." He walked to the table. Picked up the tube. Handed it to me. "Open it."
I broke the seal. Pulled out the map.
It was old. Yellowed. Drawn in shaky handwriting that I recognized as my mother's.
Here lies the fortress of Silas Blackwood.
Arrows. Notes. Warnings. A path through the mountains that only she knew.
"She drew this before he took her," I whispered.
"She knew you'd come looking."
"She knew someone would."
Damon stood behind me. His hand on my shoulder.
"Can you read it?"
"Yes." I traced the lines. "The entrance is hidden behind a waterfall. The veil is weakest at midnight. There's a tunnel that leads to the dungeons."
"Where your mother is."
"Where my mother is." I rolled the map. "We leave tonight."
"Tonight?"
"Every hour we wait is another hour he has to hurt her."
Damon was quiet for a moment. Then he nodded.
"Tonight."
I spent the day preparing.
Weapons. Supplies. A small team of wolves Damon trusted with his life. Rina insisted on coming.
"Someone has to watch your back," she said.
"I have Damon."
"Damon will be too busy watching you." She strapped a knife to her thigh. "You need someone who's watching everyone else."
I didn't argue.
By sunset, we were ready.
The carriage waited at the gate. Smaller this time. Lighter. Built for speed.
"You're sure about this?" Damon asked.
"No."
"Good. Certainty gets people killed."
He helped me into the carriage. Climbed in beside me. Rina took the reins.
The gates opened.
We rode into the dark.
The mountains loomed ahead. Black against the purple sky.
"The fortress is three hours from here," I said, studying the map.
"Then we'll be there by midnight."
"And then?"
Damon took my hand. Kissed my knuckles.
"And then we end him."
I wanted to believe him. Wanted to feel the same certainty in his voice.
But the map had one more line. Small. Written in the corner. Words I hadn't noticed until now.
He's not alone.
I looked at Damon.
"There's something else."
"What?"
"Silas has help. Someone inside. Someone who knows the fortress."
"Who?"
The map didn't say.
But I had a guess.
- Writer
