Chapter 13
1163 Words
Shadows behind the pines
Karen moved fast across the forest floor, his boots breaking the fallen twigs under his weight. His breath came out sharp, and smoky in the cold air. His wolf paced within, nervous, and worried.
“Where are you, Aria?” he whispered to himself, as his eyes scanned the dark line of trees. “You disappear at every little fright and father gets worried all the time, I cannot keep covering for you.”
The forest was thick with silence, and safe for the rustle of night creatures. Karen’s heart thumped harder with each step. He knew his sister’s ways. Whenever her mood grew heavy, she would slip away from the palace walls, hiding herself in the woods. Yet tonight the pull felt different…urgent.
He brushed past low branches, his eyes narrowed at the faintest mark on the soil. A light footprint, small, and delicate.
“Aria.”
He crouched, pressing his palm against the ground where her step had sunk. It was fresh, which means she is close.
But what Karen never saw was the shadow following his trail.
A cloaked figure moved behind the trunks, the steps were soundless, and breath was quiet. Hugo’s spy had spotted the young warrior leaving the palace, slipping into the forest without guards.
Curiosity had drawn him, and he patiently hid himself behind branches whenever Karen looked back. Now his sharp eyes traced Karen’s every move, eager to see what secret the Shadow heir carried.
Aria sat curled in her cabin, with her knees pulled towards her chest, the fire in the small pit burned quietly. Her hair fell around her face like a curtain. She had run to this place so many nights it felt more like home than the palace. Here she could breathe and pretend the world was quiet.
But tonight, her wolf was anxious. It clawed harder than ever, wanting the one who searched for her heart. She pressed her palms against her temples and forced her eyes shut.
Suddenly she lifted her head and felt the scent. A familiar presence moving closer.
Karen.
She rose to her feet, and the firelight cast her shadow long across the stone walls. She pulled her cloak tighter and moved to the cabin door.
Karen slowed down when the scent reached him. He can smell his sister very near. The air carried her fragrance of wild roses and pine smoke. His wolf growled softly in relief.
He pushed through a wall of branches and saw a faint glow of firelight burning deeper within the trees. His lips curved faintly.
“You never make it easy, Aria,” he whispered.
Behind him, the spy crouched low, his eyes as bright as torchlight monitoring Karen’s every step. As he got closer to the mountain, he noticed the soft glow of firelight in the woods and this can mean only one thing. Someone had made a home here.
Karen reached the clearing and froze.
There it was. A small cabin pressed against the foot of the mountain, smoke rising gently from its chimney. His brows pulled tight in surprise. She had built this, all by herself?
He stepped forward, his boots crunching the frost. “Aria,” he called softly.
The cabin door creaked open. Aria stood there, her cloak shadowing her face. Her eyes widened the moment they fell on him.
“Karen,” she breathed.
He crossed the distance quickly. “What are you doing out here? Do you want Father to have my head? I lied to him that you wanted to be alone when Hugo’s men came to fetch you, but if he eventually finds out you are missing again…”
Aria’s lips trembled, but she said nothing.
Karen caught her wrist gently, lowering his voice. “Tell me, sister. Why here? Why always in the woods?”
Aria shook her head, pulling back. “You would not understand.”
“Try me.”
Her eyes glistened in the firelight. “I come here because it is the only place I feel free.”
Karen’s chest gripped. He had always protected her, always shielded her from their father’s heavy rule. But freedom at such cost… he did not understand it.
Behind them, in the shadows, the spy’s smile grew.
The daughter of Draco, hiding alone in the mountains. This secret would burn like fire when his master heard it.
Karen’s grip stayed firm on her wrist. “Aria, you vanished for days. Do you know what people will say if they find this place?”
Her eyes darted away. “Let them say what they want. I cannot breathe inside those walls.”
“You think I can? You think I enjoy bowing to Hugo, watching Father shrink before him?” His voice shook. “But hiding here will not change anything.”
Her voice rose. “It changes everything for me. Out here I choose when to breathe, when to run, when to be myself.”
Karen searched her face. “Your wolf… it is nervous. Why?”
Aria’s lips parted, but no answer came.
He stepped closer. “Is this because of him?”
Her heart hammered. “Stop asking.”
“Aria…”
She pulled free and turned toward the fire. “If you love me, do not push me. Some truths will only destroy us both.”
The silence stretched for a minute, then Karen’s tone softened. “At least promise you will not come here alone again. If Hugo learns of this cabin, he will use it against us.”
Aria faced him, her eyes were already wet. “Swear to me, Karen. Swear you will not tell Father about this place.”
He hesitated at first, then he nodded slowly. “I swear.”
In the trees, the spy leaned back, his grin widening. He had heard enough. The Shadow princess had secrets, and Hugo loved secrets more than blood.
He slipped away into the night without a sound.
Karen touched Aria’s shoulder. “Come back with me. If Father wakes and finds your bed empty, I cannot shield you.”
Aria shook her head. “Not tonight. Tell him I needed silence. He will believe you.”
Karen’s jaw tightened, but he knew she would not bend. “Fine. But one day you will tell me what you are hiding.”
She held his gaze. “One day… maybe.”
He pulled his cloak tighter and left the clearing. When the sound of his steps faded, Aria sank against the cabin wall, her hands trembling.
She whispered into the dark. “How long before the walls close in?”
Far away, hooves struck the earth as the spy rode hard toward Bloodbone lands. The night air whipped against his face, his cloak snapping like wings. His mind replayed every word, every glance, every hidden truth he had stolen.
By dawn, Hugo would know.
And by dawn, Aria’s world would begin to burn.
- Writer
