chapter 20 Breaking point
1023 Words
Morning came with a cold bite that slipped through Aria’s thin cloak. She had barely slept. The stranger’s words from the night before—a girl with green eyes—echoed relentlessly in her mind. Each creak of the cottage, each rustle in the trees, made her flinch.
By the time she stepped into the main room, Selda was already awake. Her hands crushed herbs with a force that sent flecks of green powder into the air. The smell of crushed roots burned her nose, mixing with the metallic tang of Selda’s anger.
“Don’t just stand there,” Selda snapped, her voice sharp as flint. “Pack the orders for the northern traders. They’re coming early today.”
“Yes, Aunt Selda,” Aria murmured, carefully gathering the baskets and parchment.
Mira and Rae sat near the fire, whispering and giggling, not a trace of help offered. They never did.
As Aria labeled the packets, Rae’s voice cut through the room.
“Mira, did you hear? That stranger from last night was seen again near the old path.”
Aria’s hands stilled mid-motion, the ink from her brush trembling slightly.
Mira smirked knowingly. “Maybe he’s looking for a lost goat.”
“Or…” Rae dragged the word like a venomous thread, “…maybe for someone who has something to hide.”
Selda’s hands froze above the herbs. “Enough.”
The girls fell silent, though their eyes gleamed with amusement, sharp as knives.
Selda turned her gaze on Aria, piercing through her chest. “After the traders leave, you will go to the riverside and gather fresh water mint. The last batch you collected was bruised.”
Aria swallowed hard. The herbs had been fine. Selda simply needed an excuse to send her away again, to keep her isolated, to remind her that she was expendable.
“Yes, Aunt Selda,” she whispered, voice tight.
The Traders Arrive
Three men arrived an hour later—rough-looking but polite. Selda’s voice had softened for them, though it carried none of her warmth toward Aria.
While the men tested the herbs, one of them paused and looked at Aria.
“You,” he said, his tone deliberate.
Aria tensed. “Me?”
He stepped closer, studying her carefully. “Do you happen to know a traveler with silver eyes? Tall, quiet? He asked about you.”
Kael.
Her breath caught. Her chest tightened, and she felt the familiar pull in her magic.
Selda’s head snapped toward her, eyes sharper than any blade.
“No,” Aria forced out, her voice steady but strained. “I don’t.”
The trader studied her a moment longer, then shrugged and returned to his group.
But Selda… she didn’t look away.
The second the door closed behind the men, Selda seized Aria’s arm. Nails dug into her skin.
“Who is he?” she hissed.
“I don’t know!” Aria replied, voice cracking slightly.
“You think I’m stupid? Men asking for you at night. Traders asked again this morning. What have you done?”
Aria’s eyes burned with a mix of fear and frustration. “I haven’t done anything—I swear!”
Selda shoved her back against the table. Rae flinched, Mira looked on with a faint smirk she tried to hide.
Selda’s voice dropped to a dangerous whisper. “I don’t know what curse your mother left behind, but I won’t have you ruining my home. If anyone comes here again because of you—anyone—don’t bother coming back.”
The words sank into Aria like ice water down her spine. Don’t bother coming back.
She didn’t cry. She didn’t scream. She just held her breath and let the pieces of her heart fracture silently.
Selda pointed at the door. “Go and get the water mint. Now. And don’t return until you’ve filled the entire basket.”
“Yes, Aunt Selda,” Aria whispered, voice almost swallowed by the wind.
The Forest
She walked deeper into the trees, each step crunching the dry leaves beneath her worn shoes. The forest was silent—not peaceful this time, not welcoming. It pressed against her senses, full of expectation and tension.
Her hands shook as she plucked the mint leaves, gripping the basket tighter. The scent of the herbs was sharp in the cool morning air, almost bitter. Her chest felt tight, her thoughts racing.
Someone was searching for her.
Kael was watching her.
Selda was threatening to throw her out.
What had she done wrong? Why was everything closing in on her?
She crouched near the riverbank, the water reflecting pale shafts of sunlight through the branches. Her eyes stung with the tears she refused to let fall.
“Don’t bother coming back…”
The words repeated in her mind. Softer. Sharper. Heavier.
She pressed her palm to her forehead, taking uneven breaths. A twig snapped behind her.
She spun around—heart hammering.
Nothing. Only the forest.
And the unmistakable scent of wolf.
Her heart jumped.
“Kael?” she whispered, voice barely carrying.
Silence.
But the pull was stronger than ever. Warm. Familiar. A presence that wrapped around her like invisible arms.
For the first time, she didn’t feel afraid of being alone. She felt protected. Wanted.
But reality clawed back. Selda’s rage. The bruises. The insults. Years of loneliness and fear.
Her fingers trembled, brushing against the herbs. They seemed to pulse slightly, responding to her turmoil. A subtle glow shimmered where her emotions were strongest—green and faint, like a heartbeat made visible.
She pressed her eyes shut, letting herself feel the pull one moment longer before she forced it down. Control. She had to control it.
Her life was a balancing act between the mundane and the extraordinary—and she had been teetering too long on the edge.
The forest seemed to whisper around her, leaves quivering like tiny echoes of something ancient.
And in that whisper, she knew one thing with terrifying clarity: the world outside Selda’s oppressive walls was watching. And whatever came next… Aria would have to face it alone.
- Writer
