CHAPTER 3 : THE SILENT WATCHER
907 Words
The feeling came back just before dawn.
Kaelira barely slept. Every time she closed her eyes, the dream returned—the woman under the black moon, her voice trailing through the dark: “Run before the moon finds you.”
Now, making her way along the narrow forest trail, empty basket in hand, Kaelira felt the hair on her neck rise. Someone watched her. Again.
She froze.
The forest went dead quiet. No birds. No insects. Not even a hint of wind.
Kaelira spun around, searching the tall pines. “Who’s there?” Her voice wobbled a little.
Nothing. Just silence pressing in.
She tried to calm herself, kept walking.
Crunch. A twig snapped behind her.
She whirled. Still nothing.
Her heartbeat sped up.
“I’m not afraid of you,” she called, but the lie sounded thin even to her.
Crunch. Another step. Another snap. Whoever was out there, they moved when she did.
Enough. She set the basket down, pulled her hunting knife from her belt. “If you’re going to kill me,” she shouted, “stop hiding!”
Then—nothing. Even the air stayed still.
She gripped the knife tighter. Okay. Time to end this. She carefully stepped off the trail, pushing through the thicket, following the faint sound of footsteps moving away.
“I know you’re here!”
No reply. Just her own voice swallowed up by leaves.
She pushed through to a small clearing, where pale morning light trickled through the trees. It was empty—no fresh tracks, no snapped branches, no sign of anyone.
Her breaths came faster. Was she imagining things?
Then she spotted it. A black cloak, slipping out of sight behind a massive oak.
“There!” She let out a breath and bolted after it, heart pounding. “You can’t keep running!”
She rounded the tree. Nothing. She spun, searching—no place to hide. The clearing stretched wide around her. It was like the stranger had melted into air.
“What…”
Her voice trailed off.
Something gleamed amid the leaves. She crouched, brushed them aside, and picked up a heavy silver pendant on a worn leather cord.
It was shaped like a wolf’s head, small crimson stones set in its eyes. The edges were covered in carvings she didn’t recognize—a crest in the center: a wolf under a crescent moon, surrounded by four stars.
She frowned. “I’ve never seen this before.”
The metal felt warm against her palm. Weirdly warm. Almost… familiar.
As soon as she wrapped her hand around it—
A jolt of energy shot through her. Her vision grayed at the edges, the forest vanished, and—
She stood in a ruined palace.
Cracked marble floors, pillars toppled, golden banners burning. The air thick with the stink of smoke and blood. Bodies were everywhere—warriors, servants, children. Blood flooded the stones like rivers.
Kaelira stumbled back, sick with horror. “No…”
At the foot of the shattered throne lay a woman in a silver crown, white dress soaked in red. She raised shaking fingers toward Kaelira.
“Protect…” her voice rasped, “...the heir…”
A roar ripped through the hall. Kaelira’s gaze snapped up.
A giant silver wolf crashed through the flames, its fur spattered with blood. It guarded a crying child bundled in scarlet. The child’s eyes were silver.
Just like Kaelira’s.
The wolf’s blazing gaze locked on her. It howled—and the vision shattered.
Kaelira crashed to her knees, the forest returning in a dizzy rush. She was shaking all over. The pendant slipped from her hand onto the ground.
“What… was that?”
She pressed her fist to her chest, heart rattling. That hadn’t felt like a dream. More like a memory.
But that was impossible. She’d never been inside a palace. Never worn anything fancy, never met anyone else with silver eyes. So why did it feel so real?
Her chest squeezed. She looked again at the pendant.
“What are you?”
Wind stirred the tree branches above. Kaelira sensed eyes on her again, somewhere out of sight.
High among the branches, hidden, the cloaked stranger watched. His silver eyes softened. “So the pendant remembers you.” He hadn’t expected the vision so soon. His hand gripped the bark, itching to go to her, to explain everything. But not yet. If she learned too much now, they’d find her.
Then a wave of killing intent swept through the forest. His face hardened. He looked west.
“They’re here already.”
He vanished.
Kaelira picked up the pendant and tucked it in her pocket. She needed answers. Maybe the village elder would recognize the crest. Maybe Mira had seen something like it in her old books. Anything was better than staying lost.
She turned toward the path.
A strange warmth gathered at the black crescent birthmark on her chest. It pulsed once, twice—then stopped.
Kaelira froze.
The air behind her felt heavy—as if someone stood inches away.
Slowly, she turned.
No one. The clearing was empty.
She let out a shaky laugh. “I’m losing my mind.”
Then, right behind her, a voice cold as ice whispered, “I’ve finally found you.”
Kaelira spun, knife ready—
No one there. Just the whispering trees.
And, deeper in the forest, a pair of crimson eyes blinked open again.
- Writer
