Chapter 13: “The First Night”
1158 Words
The fire was too small for 11 people.
But nobody complained.
We’d spent the whole day working. New walls, bigger fire pit, stretching the tents, Kael and I had to sleep under the stars. Now everyone was sitting in a circle, passing around bowls of stew.
It wasn’t much. Rabbit, roots, and the last of the bread from the market.
But 11 people were eating it. Together.
Jace sat next to Toren, copying how he held the bowl.
Mara was talking quietly with Lina about mending clothes.
Dell, the old cook, was already asking me about the kitchen.
“Tomorrow,” I said. “We build a real kitchen tomorrow.”
He nodded, serious. “Good. A Pack eats together.”
My chest did something weird. Warm. Tight.
Kael was across the fire from me. He wasn’t eating. He was watching the tree line. Like he always did.
“Stop,” I said softly. “They’re safe tonight.”
He glanced at me. “I know. I’m just... not used to this many people.”
I smiled. “Neither am I.”
The staff was leaning against the log beside me. It hadn’t cooled down since we got back. Like it was happy.
The white wolf in my head was too. She was lying by the fire in my mind, watching everyone.
“This is what it’s supposed to feel like,” she said.
I believed her.
After dinner, people started pairing off to sleep. Tents went up. Bedrolls came out.
Nina and Sera, the sisters, whispered in the corner. Rhea leaned on her bad leg and looked at the walls like she couldn’t believe they were real.
Jace didn’t move. He just sat there, staring at the fire.
“Tired?” I asked him.
He shook his head. “Can I... can I ask you something?”
“Yeah.”
“Toren said you... woke him.” He wouldn’t look at me. “Do you think you could do that? For me?”
The fire popped.
Lina stopped mending. Kael’s head turned. Everyone heard.
I’d been waiting for this question.
“I don’t know,” I said honestly. “I don’t know how I did it with Toren. Or why it worked.”
Jace’s face fell a little.
“But,” I said. “I can try. If you want me to.”
He looked up fast. “Yes. Please.”
Kael stood. “Ella. Are you sure? It took a lot out of you last time.”
“It took less with Toren than with me,” I said. “And we have time. 5 days until Council. If I can wake even one more...”
“We look less like a charity case,” Kael finished. He sighed. “Okay. But I’m right here.”
We moved away from the fire. Just me, Jace, and the staff.
Everyone else pretended not to watch.
Jace sat in the dirt. He was shaking. “What do I do?”
“Close your eyes,” I said. “Think about the wolf. The one you’ve never met. But you’ve felt. Right?”
He nodded.
“Call to it,” I said. “Not with words. With wanting.”
I put my hand on the staff. It was warm. Waiting.
I closed my eyes too. Reached out with whatever was inside me. The thing that found Toren. The thing that found Lina.
Hello? I thought. Is anyone there?
Silence.
I tried again. Pushed more. The mark on my neck burned.
Jace needs you, I thought. He’s been alone. Don’t leave him alone.
Nothing.
Jace made a small sound. Like he was trying not to cry.
I opened my eyes. “It’s okay. It didn’t work. Not tonight.”
“I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I’m useless.”
“No,” I said, sharp. “You’re not.” I grabbed his hand. “Toren didn’t shift the first time I tried either. This isn’t instant. And you’re not useless for trying.”
He nodded. But I could see he didn’t believe me.
Kael cleared his throat. “Come on, kid. Let’s get you to bed. Big day tomorrow.”
Jace stood and followed him. Head down.
I stayed by the fire a long time after. The staff in my lap.
I failed, I told the white wolf.
“No,” she said. “You showed him someone tried. That’s not failure.”
It didn’t feel like enough.
Sometime in the night, I woke up to noise.
Not yelling. Whispering. Urgent.
Kael was already up. Sword out. Lina had a knife. Toren was half-shifted, teeth bared.
At the wall.
A raven. Black as oil. Perched on the top stone.
And tied to its leg, a piece of black cloth.
“Message,” Kael said.
The raven didn’t fly away when we approached. It just stared at me with red eyes.
I reached up. Careful. Un tied the cloth.
The raven cawed once and vanished into the dark.
The cloth had words. Written in black ink.
`DARIUS KNOWS. 7 REJECTS TAKEN.
COUNCIL WILL DECIDE IF YOU’RE A LUNA
OR A THIEF.
BRING THE STAFF OR BRING YOUR DEATH.`
No signature. Didn’t need one.
Lina read it over my shoulder. “He knows about the market already.”
“Of course he does,” Kael said. “Ravens are faster than us.”
Toren growled low. “Is he threatening us?”
“He’s threatening me,” I said. My hands weren’t shaking. “The staff. Or else.”
Mara appeared from her tent. “What is it?”
I held up the cloth. “Darius sent a message. He knows we took people from the market.”
Silence.
Then Jace stepped forward. He’d heard everything. “Are we in trouble? Because of us?”
I looked at all of them. 11 faces. Tired. Scared. But here.
“No,” I said. “You’re not trouble. You’re Ashford.”
I crumpled the cloth in my hand. The mark burned. Hot.
“Let him know,” I said. “We’re not hiding. We’re not giving the staff back. And in 5 days we’re walking into that Council with our heads up.”
Kael nodded once. “Then we train tomorrow. Everyone. Walls and wolves.”
Dell stepped up. “And I’ll make breakfast. For 11.”
One by one, they nodded. Even Jace.
The fire had gone low. But no one looked cold.
Later, when everyone was asleep, I sat with the staff again.
“He’s scared,” the white wolf said.
“Of me?” I asked.
“Of what you’re building,” she said. “That’s why he threatens.”
I looked at the sleeping Pack. At the walls. At the stars above us.
“Then let him be scared,” I said.
Because 5 days ago we were 4.
Tonight we were 11.
And Darius was the one sending ravens.
- Writer
