The night passed in a blur. I didn't sleep. I lay flat on the rough cave floor, staring at the dying fire while the darkness pressed in from every side.
Eventually, the sky above the massive boulder began to shift.
Gold.
Rose.
A new morning.
The second time I'd felt grateful for sunlight since waking in this body. A reminder of how long I'd been trapped in the void. But I knew one thing: there wouldn't be a third time I relied on luck. I clenched my hands until my knuckles stung.
I wouldn't let fate drag me again.
A sharp scratching sound broke the quiet. Elijah was waking. He stretched like a man who'd slept better than he deserved, his mechanical arm clicking as he scratched his chest under his armor.
I pushed myself up, ignoring the dull ache running through my ribs, and walked toward him. I didn't say anything. My presence alone was the question.
Elijah didn't bother looking up at first.
"You're awake early for a kid," he muttered, voice rough with sleep but still carrying that signature irritation.
"Why?" I asked, cutting straight to the point. No room for hesitation. "Why did you save only me, and nobody else?"
He spat the bit of hay from his mouth and rubbed his jaw.
"Fuck, you're one persistent kid," he said, almost like a compliment. "Thought you'd sleep it off. Guess I was wrong about that."
He finally met my eyes. Something flickered there. Something old. Something that hurt.
"It's simple," he said quietly. "You met my gaze. And that look in your eyes… reminded me of myself. A weak bastard that didn't deserve to stand next to her."
Her.
A single word. Enough to tell me more than he intended.
Love.
The air felt colder for a moment. I looked at the trees. A pair of tiny birds perched together on a branch, chirping at the sunrise.
Was that love?
Two lives close enough to share warmth.
Something gentle. Something simple.
I didn't know. Everything I'd felt since arriving here was fear, confusion, pain. And now this man… this killer… acting on love?
Was love sacrifice?
Or an excuse for bloodshed?
Or something stronger than either?
Before I could ask, Elijah stood up in one smooth motion, towering over me.
THUD!
"Stop thinking so loud. It's irritating," he said. Then he tossed a leather pouch my way, as It hit the ground at my feet with a dull thud. "We move soon. Eat whatever's left."
Behind me, Seraphina's footsteps were silent, controlled. She secured her sheath with a quick pull of the strap.
"Ready, Lijah," she said. "But we'll need a distraction if we take the north road. Too many patrol markers went up at dawn."
Elijah walked past me, brushing by like a gust of cold wind. He didn't slow down. Didn't soften.
"Then we go deeper into the forest," he said, rolling his shoulder like the idea was nothing more than an annoying chore.
Seraphina's head snapped toward him.
"You can't be serious," she said. "That region's crawling with monsters. You know that."
I caught that one word and it stuck in my head like a hook.
Monsters.
Seriously?
There are monsters in this world?
The novel never mentioned them. At least not in the first thirty chapters. But then again, since magic is present, monsters shouldn't be a surprise. Still… hearing it out loud hits different.
I let out a slow breath.
Feels like this world is finally showing its real face.
Back in the palace, I was boxed in. A glorified servant drifting through polished halls, pretending I understood anything beyond the next chore. But out here, away from marble and etiquette, the world stretches wide. Wild. Alive. Dangerous.
And that reminder drags my thoughts right back to the one place I tried to avoid thinking about.
The palace.
I need answers.
I need t—
Her name stabbed through the haze.
Marcella Luminaries.
My fist tightened before I noticed.
Arthur's last moments, his terror, his fury, they all pulsed inside me like a bruise someone kept pressing.
She ended Arthur's journey.
But she didn't end mine.
Something cold settled in my chest, steady and sharp.
Revenge stirred further inside me.
Kill.
The word was silent but strong. It felt like a promise with every heartbeat.
Then, Ejiah's voice cut through the haze in my head and dragged me back to the present.
"You space out a lot for a kid."
"..."
Before he could say anything further, Seraphina stepped in, her tone clipped but practical.
"We can't ride the horses from here," she said, as she touched the hilt of her blade, her gaze sweeping the tree line. "The more we move through the forest it gets thicker, darker. This region is full of narrow paths and uneven ground. If we stay mounted, the horses won't see what's ahead until it's too late. A bad foothold, a sudden drop, or a monster rushing from the underbrush… we lose the horse first."
Seraphina turned away without another word. Her face said everything. She didn't trust the path Elijah chose, and honestly, I didn't blame her. Choosing monsters over soldiers sounded insane to me too.
But as I watched her disappear between the trees, guiding the horses with stiff, irritated movements, my head started spiraling again.
Why would he pick this route?
Why take the harder path when the other one was safer, predictable, controlled?
I tried to line up the logic, compare it to the stories I'd devoured in my old life, but the more I thought about Elijah, the less he fit into any pattern. Guys like him were usually simple to read: the gruff loner, the quietly loyal veteran, the reckless genius. But him? He felt carved from a different mold. Maybe that mystery was the exact reason someone like Seraphina stuck by him.
Or maybe I was just overthinking again.
NEIGH!
A sudden snort from one of the horses jolted me out of my thoughts. Seraphina tugged its reins and pushed deeper into the forest.
And me?
What was I even supposed to do next?
Elijah didn't seem interested in dragging me along. He didn't even pretend. His reason for saving me was flimsy at best, almost random. Saved because I met his gaze?
Pathetic
Saved by Fate again.
That stupid bitch kept tossing me around like a toy.
I glanced back toward the northern road. The Valorian soldiers who wiped out the Haldrins would be patrolling there, blades still warm from the slaughter. Walking into their path would be suicide.
So I exhaled, pushed down the frustration clawing up, and turned toward the forest.
Following Elijah might not be ideal.
I wasn't even sure it was smart.
But compared to the alternative?
It was the only move I had.
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[A/N:] After writing 20 chapters, I have to say, I'm enjoying the story progress.
So if you have any distain or any suggestion to make things implement better, I'm open to read them and go through it.