Chapter 14
1063 Words
My heart pounded as the footsteps approached. Each step echoed off the tunnel walls, growing louder, closer—too close. Elias, Jax, and Miri froze beside me, breath caught in our throats. The distance between life and death had narrowed to the span of a dagger’s blade.
A torchlight bobbed around the bend. I pressed my back against the cold stone, trying to make myself smaller, vanish into the shadows. The damp air felt thick in my lungs, my palms slick on the hilt of my sword.
A man’s voice cut through the darkness. Low, authoritative. “Check the supply crates. If it’s empty, come back.”
A Council scout.
My stomach knotted. This was no ordinary patrol. They’d sent their own wolves—trained trackers—to root out our refuge. And they were here, inside the tunnel.
Elias shook. “We’re dead.”
I swallowed down the fear. “Not if we don’t stay.” I gestured to Jax, who slipped behind the nearest crate with the others.
The scout stepped into view—a tall figure in black armor, his lamplight reflecting off his breastplate. He carried a long spear, its tip sharp as a fang. He paused beside a stack of wooden crates stamped with the resistance emblem.
He raised an eyebrow. “Supplies should be here. Move or I report back.”
He tapped the crates with his spear, and a mumbled shout answered from deeper inside the bunker.
I pressed a finger to my lips. Then, gathering courage, I slipped forward, blade hidden at my side. The scout didn’t see me come, didn’t hear my steps over his own shifting armor.
When he swiped a crate aside and peered inside, I lashed out—swift, silent. My sword struck his spear arm. The metal blade bit deep, and he staggered, eyes burning. He dropped the lantern with a crash, plunging us into flickering shadows.
“Now!” I hissed.
We bolted past him, bodies low, scrambling into the wide cavern beyond the tunnel. The bunker entrance yawned before us—iron doors swung open to a firelit room where Rhea’s fighters had gathered.
“Aria!” Rhea cried, relief flooding her voice. Kael and Riven turned at the noise, hands on their weapons.
I skidded to a halt. The scout had followed, limp and bleeding, right into our camp. He limped forward, raising one bloody hand as if to plead.
“Stop!” Riven roared. He planted his sword point at the scout’s chest.
The resistance fighters encircled us—shields raised, eyes hard. Even Miri looked fierce, her lip curled in a snarl.
Rhea glared at me. “Explain.”
I drew a breath. “They followed us. There’s a spy here—Council wolves in the tunnel. This one attacked us.”
The scout spat blood. “You can’t run. The Council will burn this place down—again.”
Kael’s jaw clenched. “Let’s see if that’s true.”
He stepped forward, lightly kicked the scout.
The man staggered but stayed standing. “Search them,” Kael ordered. “Every last one.”
Two fighters moved forward, patting us down until weapons and maps were accounted for. When they reached the scout, they found a rolled parchment in his belt—a battle plan for our fallback bunker under Stonefall Ridge.
Rhea snatched it, tears of fury in her eyes. “They know everything. Every plan.”
I felt the weight of fresh betrayal settle in my chest. The Council hadn’t just sent wolves—they’d infiltrated our plans, stolen our secrets. That meant they had eyes and ears among us.
“How?” I whispered.
Rhea’s pale face tightened. “A traitor. Someone in our ranks.”
Treachery cut deeper than any blade. I turned, seeing nothing but suspicion in every face—especially in Riven’s, where doubt never lingered before.
Jax tapped the scout’s gauntlet. “He speaks the truth.”
Miri spat. “Kill him or use him as bait.”
Riven shook his head. “We need information.” He grabbed the scout by the collar. “Talk. Who’s turning on us?”
The man’s eyes roamed the circle, panicked. “Not me… not me. It’s someone they trust—someone close to Rhea.”
Gasps rippled. Rhea’s eyes burned. She throttled her breath.
“Me?” she whispered, voice broken.
Riven released the scout with a shove. “Find the traitor—or we lose everything. This place. Our lives. Aria’s life.”
Hope and fear tangled in my gut. Trust was a fragile thing shattered by a single lie. I looked at each fighter—loyal faces, battle-worn, but any one of them could be the worm in our heart.
Kael stepped beside me. His gaze swept the crowd. “Focus,” he said quietly. “We can’t fall apart now.”
He nodded to Rhea. “We move camp. Now.”
Rhea’s voice trembled but firmed. “Everyone grab what you can. We leave through the eastern hatch.”
She pointed to a concealed door behind a tapestry. I pressed it—cold stone ground shifted—and a narrow stairway beckoned upward. Light glowed from above.
We herded the group up the steps, Riven shutting the door behind us.
The passage ended in a cave mouth overlooking a moonlit valley, the path out etched in white rock.
We fell into line, flowing out into the night. The scout stumbled behind, handcuffed.
Out in the open, I hesitated, heart pounding.
Kael caught my arm. “You good?”
I swallowed. “We’re in deeper than ever.”
He didn’t answer—just guided me forward. The group trailed past us in uneasy silence.
Ahead, I glimpsed the first light of dawn painting the distant peaks. Safety—or the next trap—lay beyond.
Rhea broke the quiet. “All right. We head for Stonefall Ridge. Then we figure out who betrayed us.”
I exhaled a breath I hadn’t known I held. “We’ll find them.”
Only half of me believed it.
The other half wondered if trust would ever be safe again.
A harsh caw echoed from the ridge above.
I looked up.
And saw a lone hawk circle over the Council’s campfires—the first sign that the enemy was ready for us.
- Writer
