Episode 2
1185 Words
Moving through the forest was painful.
For three days, the forest bit into my skin, tore at my feet, and drew my blood. I hadn’t eaten since the night of the fire. My stomach hurt, my throat was dry, and my body trembled each time I tried to move.
But I kept walking. I didn’t know where I was going, only that the King’s men were behind me.
Every sound made me flinch. A crack of branches, the distant growl of wolves, the rustle of leaves. I pressed my back to the trees, my heart thudding so loud I thought they would hear it.
My arm still burned from the Oracle’s mark. Sometimes it glowed faintly, like the curse was alive beneath my skin. My wolf, the spirit that once whispered inside me, was silent. Empty. The silence inside my own mind frightened me more than the soldiers did.
When I could no longer stand, I crawled toward a river and drank until I choked. The cold water numbed me, but it gave me strength. I looked at my reflection, my pale face, torn dress, mud and blood everywhere. I didn’t look like Cyn Vale anymore.
I looked like a ghost.
But I wasn’t dead. Not yet.
The next morning, I heard voices through the trees. My first thought was to hide, but something in one of the voices sounded familiar. A woman. Soft, kind, a voice from my childhood.
“Cyn?”
I froze. Then I saw her, Mira, my father’s old friend. Her gray hair was tied back, her brown eyes wide with shock. She ran to me and caught me before I fell.
“Moon above… what happened to you, child?”
My lips trembled. “They’re gone… Mother, Father, Ryn. They killed them all.”
Mira’s eyes filled with tears. “Oh, Cyn…”
I broke down then, sobbing into her arms. She held me tightly, whispering words I barely heard. She took me to her small hut deep in the woods. It smelled of herbs and smoke, and for the first time in days, I felt warmth.
She gave me soup, bandaged my wounds, and let me rest. I slept for hours, but the nightmares didn’t stop; fire, blood, Drogo’s cold eyes.
When I woke, the sun was setting. Mira sat beside me, sharpening a blade.
“You can’t stay here long,” she said quietly. “The King’s soldiers are searching every forest.”
I sat up weakly. “I’ll keep running.”
She looked at me sadly. “You won’t make it alone, child. Your body’s broken, and your heart’s even worse.”
“I can’t die here,” I whispered. “Not until they pay for what they did.”
Mira’s jaw tightened. She understood.
“There’s a path to the border,” she said after a moment. “If we leave before dawn, I can get you there. There’s a trader who owes your father a favor, he can hide you on the other side.”
I nodded, though fear twisted in my chest. “Thank you, Mira.”
She smiled faintly. “You’re your father’s daughter. He once saved my family when no one else would. I’ll see you safe or die trying.”
I wished she hadn’t said those words.
****
By dawn, we were already on the move. The air was cold, and fog clung to the ground like a curse. My legs ached, but I followed Mira through the narrow forest paths, clutching the cloak she had given me.
We walked in silence until the trees began to thin. I could smell the border river, freedom was near. Just a little further.
Then the wind changed. That was when I smelt it, Iron and Blood.
Mira stopped suddenly. “Run,” she whispered.
Before I could ask why, an arrow struck the tree beside my head. I turned and saw them, the King’s men.
There were at least six, armored in black, their eyes glowing faintly under the morning light. I ran, my heart pounding. Mira followed, throwing knives behind her to slow them down.
But the forest was their hunting ground.
They surrounded us before we reached the river.
“Go, Cyn!” Mira shouted, pushing me toward the trees. “Don’t stop!”
“Mira!”
“Run!”
I tried. But before I could take another step, a sword flashed and Mira fell.
The world went silent again.
I screamed, but the soldiers dragged me back. I kicked, bit, fought with every bit of strength I had left, but it didn’t matter. Someone struck me across the face, and everything went black.
When I opened my eyes, I was on the ground. My hands were bound. My body ached all over. And standing above me was Kael.
“You should’ve died with the rest of your cursed blood,” he said coldly.
I glared at him through the pain. “You killed them. My mother. My brother.”
He smiled. “And I'd do the same to you, if not for Alpha’s orders.”
Alpha.
Drogo.
Even hearing his name made my stomach twist.
They tied my wrists and dragged me through the forest until the trees opened into a camp. Soldiers everywhere. Fires burning. In the center stood a tall black tent, and from it came a presence that made the air heavy.
Drogo Draven.
He stepped out of the shadows, his armor dark and gleaming. His face was expressionless, but his eyes… his eyes locked onto me like he knew me. Like something deep inside him recognized me.
“What is this?” his voice rumbled.
Kael shoved me forward. “The Vale girl. The one the King wanted dead. I found her at the border.”
Drogo’s gaze didn’t move. He walked closer, boots crunching against the dirt. I tried not to look at him, but I could feel something strange in my chest, a pull, faint but real. I felt his wolf stir; I saw it in a flash of silver in his eyes.
“She’s half-dead,” Kael muttered. “Want me to finish it?”
Drogo’s jaw tightened. “No.”
Kael frowned. “But…”
“I said no,” Drogo snapped. His voice dropped low. “She’s mine.”
Mine.
The word sent a chill through me.
He turned to his men. “Put her in the dungeon. She’ll stay there until I decide what to do with her.”
Kael hesitated but obeyed.
They dragged me through the camp and down into the stone cellar beneath Drogo’s quarters. The air was damp, cold. The chains clanged as they locked me inside.
When the footsteps faded, I sank to the floor, trembling.
I didn’t know why he had spared me.
I didn’t know why his eyes felt like they could see through my soul.
But as I lay there in the dark, I whispered to myself, voice shaking:
“I will not break. Not here. Not yet.”
Some
Where above, the moon hid behind clouds, and the forest howled again.
- Writer
