The room was quiet. Too quiet.
My leg still throbbed from the arrow wound, and my body ached as if it had been battered by stone and wind. I sat in the corner, the single oil lamp flickering on the wall. My hair was tangled, my dress ripped at the side, and my eyes were swollen from crying.
This wasn't a dream. I had been kidnapped. And no one even knew where I was.
I stared at the untouched tray of food the boy had left earlier. Hunger gnawed at me, but I couldn't bring myself to move. What if it was poisoned? What if this was all part of some sick ritual?
Still... the scent of the soup rose into the cold air, and my stomach growled. I reached for the spoon and ate quickly, swallowing the warmth like it was the last kindness the world would give me.
Then I noticed it the dusty window.
I hadn't paid attention to it before, but now that the hunger had eased slightly, my senses had returned. It was barely a window at all, more like a slit on the wall. I crawled toward it, dragging my wounded leg, and pressed my hand against the rusty metal.
Something sparked.
A blue light. Faint, like a heartbeat. It pulsed beneath my palm. My breath caught in my throat.
"What...?" I whispered.
The window creaked open on its own.
My heart raced. I didn't know how or why it opened, but I wasn't about to question it. I grabbed onto the edge and hoisted myself up, biting down the pain in my leg. The ground outside wasn't far. Bushes and twisted tree branches met my eyes.
Freedom.
I jumped.
Pain shot through my body as I landed awkwardly, but I didn't stop. I didn't care. I limped into the trees, leaves scratching my skin, my bare feet sinking into dirt. The forest wrapped around me like shadows with eyes, but I kept running.
I don't know how long I ran. Minutes? Hours?
Branches clawed at my arms. My breath burned in my chest. I could barely keep my balance. But I wasn't going to stop. I wasn't going to die in that place. Not without a fight.
I saw light ahead. A clearing. The edge of the forest.
Just a little more—
A blow hit me from behind.
I fell face-first into the ground, my forehead cracking against a sharp rock. Blood poured down my face, warm and fast. My vision spun. I blinked hard, pushing myself up with weak hands.
"No," I whimpered. "No, no..."
A hand grabbed me by the neck and yanked me up.
Jeremy.
He looked nothing like the elegant man from the castle. His red eyes burned with malice. Behind him stood two women tall, beautiful, and wrong. Witches. I could feel it in my bones.
"What... do you want from me?" I gasped, holding my bleeding head.
Jeremy smirked, brushing dirt from my cheek like I was some priceless object.
"Who would've thought the one destined to destroy the world would be so beautiful?" he sneered.
My blood boiled.
"I'm not your prophecy," I snapped.
He leaned closer, his breath foul. "You're everything."
I spat in his face.
He recoiled, and the satisfaction lasted a second before a slap sent me crashing back to the ground. Pain exploded in my jaw. Blood dripped from my mouth. I couldn't even cry,my tears were already dried out.
"I should kill you right here," he growled.
My head lolled to the side. The sky blurred. My vision dimmed—
Then came the wind.
A fierce, howling wind that rushed past my ears and shook the trees. The witches looked up, confused. I turned my head with what strength I had left.
A horse.
Black as night. Hooves pounding like thunder. A figure leapt from it, landing between me and them.
Leonard.
His coat whipped behind him as he stood tall, eyes gleaming like fire in the dark. His face was stone—cold, furious, unshaken. Not a single word passed his lips.
He moved fast.
In a blur, he struck Jeremy across the face with a force that sent the man stumbling back into a tree. The other two witches screamed and raised their hands, chanting something in a language I didn't know.
Leonard didn't wait.
He swung around and kicked one into the bushes, then turned and punched the other so hard she coughed blood on impact.
"Kill him!" Jeremy yelled, transforming. His skin peeled back like a mask, revealing a scaly, monstrous face beneath. His arms lengthened. His jaw cracked open, revealing rows of sharp teeth.
A witch? He wasn't a vampire after all.
Leonard didn't flinch. His hands moved and fire burst from them.
Yes. Fire.
A glowing ball of flame swirled in his palm. My eyes widened, my breath caught in my throat. What... what was he?
He hurled the fireball at Jeremy, who screamed as it collided with his chest. Smoke and flames consumed his body, and yet he kept trying to attack.
Another fireball.
Leonard's eyes blazed gold now. Fire flickered from his skin, like his rage had awakened something ancient and deadly within him.
The witches tried to run.
He didn't let them.
With one sweep of his arm, he sent fire shooting in every direction. It lit up the trees, the bushes, the sky. The forest blazed red as the fire chased the witches down, wrapping around them like punishment from the heavens.
They screamed. Their voices shrieked inhumanly and then silence.
The flames died. The air went still.
Leonard turned, and his gaze fell on me.
I didn't move.
I couldn't.
He dropped to his knees, his strong arms scooping me off the ground.
"Lisa," he whispered.
His voice trembled.
I stared at him, barely conscious. "You... you're not human..."
He didn't reply.
He didn't have to.
I looked into his eyes and for the first time since we met, I saw the man behind the mask. The fury. The power. The sadness. The loneliness.
His face was tight with rage and worry. He looked down at the blood on my face and winced, like it hurt him more than it hurt me.
"I'm sorry I was late," he murmured.
I blinked. Was he really... sorry?
He carried me to his horse, gently placing me in front of him. His warmth surrounded me as he wrapped his arm protectively around my waist.
I leaned into him, too weak to do anything else.
The horse galloped into the night, but I didn't see the trees anymore. I didn't feel the wind.
I just closed my eyes.
And for the first time, I wondered...
Who was my husband, really?
And why did I feel safer in the arms of a monster?