Chapter Sixteen — Parting Shadows
1202 Words
Selene’s POV
The fortress woke restless that morning.
Rumors drifted like cold air through the corridors—doors opening too softly, footsteps echoing too long. Servants whispered of a command, a border summons, a forced departure.
When I stepped out of my chambers, I didn’t need confirmation. The air itself told me what I already knew.
Kael was leaving.
I found Eryndor waiting near the hearth, his hood drawn low. He didn’t speak at first, and he didn’t need to.
“So it’s true,” I said quietly. “Malrik is sending him away.”
He inclined his head. “The old Alpha calls it a mission. But everyone knows what it is—exile dressed in orders.”
“Does Kael know?”
Eryndor’s eyes flickered with something like pity. “He’s never been blind to his father’s traps. He’ll go anyway.”
I crossed to the window, staring down into the courtyard. Soldiers moved like ants below, readying horses and gear. Kael stood among them, tall and steady, giving short, clipped orders that carried easily across the frost-bitten air.
He looked the same as always—controlled, disciplined, unshakable. But I saw what the others didn’t. The tension in his shoulders. The way his hand lingered on his sword hilt longer than necessary.
He was angry. Not at his father, not even at the command. Angry at himself—for caring that he was leaving me here.
The mate bond pulsed faintly, alive under my skin. It hummed like the memory of a heartbeat that wasn’t mine.
“I’ll speak to him,” I said.
Eryndor’s brow furrowed. “It may be better not to.”
“He’ll need to hear something before he goes.”
He didn’t stop me. He only said, “Be careful what you promise him, Selena. The heart has a way of rewriting plans we make in the dark.”
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The courtyard was colder than I remembered, the wind carrying the bite of snow from the northern peaks. The soldiers saluted when I passed, their eyes flicking away quickly. The Luna wasn’t supposed to wander among the warriors—but I’d long stopped caring about rules meant to cage me.
Kael looked up as I approached. His expression was unreadable, though something flickered behind it—surprise, perhaps, or restraint.
“Luna,” he greeted, formal and distant.
“Lord Kael,” I replied, matching his tone.
For a moment, neither of us spoke. The soldiers nearby continued their preparations, but the world felt smaller—drawn to the quiet space between us.
“So it’s true,” I said at last. “Your father sends you north.”
He nodded once. “A border inspection, he calls it.”
“A punishment, you mean.”
His mouth twitched faintly. “We’ve always had different words for the same thing.”
“You shouldn’t go.”
He glanced at me, brow raised. “Defying my Alpha would be a fine way to end my career—and my life.”
“Your father won’t kill you outright,” I said. “He’ll wait. He’ll let the mission do it for him.”
His eyes met mine. “You sound certain.”
“I’ve watched him do it before.”
The wind caught his cloak, lifting it slightly. “Then what do you suggest? That I hide behind your skirts while you play your quiet games here?”
His tone stung, though I knew it was defense, not cruelty.
“I’m suggesting you stay alive,” I said.
“I intend to.” He looked away toward the horizon. “Don’t start worrying now, Selene. It doesn’t suit you.”
“I’m not worried,” I lied. “But I don’t like seeing anyone walk into a trap with their eyes open.”
He turned back to me, something sharp and unguarded in his gaze. “You think I don’t see the trap? I do. I just don’t care.”
“Why?”
“Because if I don’t go, he’ll come for you next.”
I froze. “You think he would—?”
“I know he would.” His voice dropped lower. “He can’t touch you without breaking his own peace treaty, but if I disobey? He’ll make your death look like the price of my rebellion.”
For a moment, the cold bit deeper than the wind could reach.
“You’re a fool,” I whispered.
“Perhaps,” he said softly. “But at least I’m a living one.”
A heavy silence stretched between us. The soldiers kept moving, the horses snorting clouds into the air, but it all felt far away.
Finally, I said, “Then take this foolish advice before you go. Trust no messenger your father sends. No letter, no order, no escort. Not even one that bears his seal.”
His expression shifted slightly—acknowledgment, then something gentler. “You’re certain?”
“I’ve died once, Kael. Certainty is all I have left.”
He hesitated, then reached into his cloak and pulled out a folded piece of parchment, sealed with dark wax.
“If something happens while I’m gone,” he said quietly, “read this. But not before.”
“What is it?”
“Insurance.”
He didn’t wait for me to argue. He pressed it into my hand and stepped back, his armor catching the sunlight.
“Keep your witch close,” he said. “He’s one of the few in this fortress who doesn’t wear someone else’s leash.”
“I intend to.”
He nodded once to his men, and the courtyard stirred to life. The gates creaked open, the sound deep and final.
I watched him mount his horse, his black cloak whipping in the wind like the shadow of a storm.
“Kael!” I called.
He paused, looking back.
I forced a faint smile. “Don’t die before I finish what I started.”
A small, humorless smile touched his lips. “You’ll have to work faster then.”
And with that, he rode out through the gates, the soldiers following in his wake.
The sound of hooves faded into the distance, swallowed by the wind.
I stood there long after the courtyard emptied, the parchment heavy in my hand, the bond between us tugging faintly like a heartbeat pulled taut.
Eryndor appeared beside me without a sound.
“So he’s gone,” he said quietly.
“For now,” I murmured. “But Malrik doesn’t realize what he’s done.”
“And what is that?”
I looked toward the northern road, the silver line of snow vanishing into mist.
“He’s sent away the one man in this fortress who can stop him,” I said. “And left me behind with the witch who remembers.”
Eryndor’s smile was faint but knowing. “Then perhaps the goddess is finally giving you the advantage.”
“Perhaps,” I said softly, tucking Kael’s letter beneath my sleeve. “But the goddess never gives anything freely.”
I turned toward the castle, my voice low but steady.
“Now we begin.”
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- Writer
