Chapter 2 Two

Victoria had a habit of believing she was braver at night than she was in the day. Darkness wrapped around her like a cloak and made her feel older, bolder, and a little less trapped. But as she stood in her chamber staring at the packed trunk, she felt the truth settle on her shoulders. This was not a dream she would wake from. If she stepped out of her room tonight, she would not return a Halstead daughter. She would become something she had no map for.

She pulled her cloak from the wardrobe. A simple brown one. Nothing grand. Nothing embroidered. Nothing that screamed future duchess. She tied it around her neck, swallowed the dry lump in her throat, and whispered a shaky, "Right. Just walk. One foot after the other. Do not faint."

Her stomach fluttered. Not in fear. Not exactly. More like an old door swinging on rusty hinges, ready to open but unsure how much noise it would make.

She lifted the trunk by its handle. It was heavier than she remembered. That made her smile a little. "Typical," she muttered. "I try to run away and my belongings turn into a stubborn cow."

She lifted it again with more determination and marched toward the balcony doors. The night greeted her again, cool and full of promise. She stepped out and closed the doors quietly behind her. The gardens stretched before her like a shadowed maze, the main gate visible in the distance.

Guards walked the grounds, but they were predictable. Halstead guards were well disciplined, loyal, and always half asleep after midnight. She had observed their routines since she was ten, mostly out of boredom, partly out of curiosity.

She listened now. Rustle on the left. A low cough near the oak tree. Footsteps along the stone path.

She counted the seconds. When the guards drifted toward the stables, she slipped down the balcony steps, kept low behind the rose bushes, and hurried across the grass. Her breath came faster, but she did not hesitate.

Halfway across the lawn, her slipper sank into a patch of soft earth. She stumbled forward and muttered, "Fantastic. Even the ground wants to keep me here."

She yanked her foot free and rushed toward the hedge that lined the property. There was a small gap at the back, one she discovered as a child when she tried to chase a butterfly. Her mother nearly fainted when she found her out there. Victoria had been grounded for a week, but she remembered the thrill of spotting the world outside the estate for the first time.

She found the gap easily. The branches brushed her cheeks as she crouched and dragged the trunk through with her. On the other side, the world looked different. Wilder. Colder. Real.

She stood, brushed off stray leaves, and tugged her cloak tighter. The moon lit the dirt road ahead. It would take her to the river town of Greenwharf if she followed it long enough. Greenwharf had inns, noisy taverns, and ships that traveled far beyond the borders of Aveloria. She had never been there, but she heard enough stories to know it was full of strangers who minded their own business.

Perfect.

She took a step.

Then another.

And suddenly she was walking away from everything she had ever known. Her home. Her family. Her future as a duchess.

The wind whispered through the trees. For a moment she felt free in a way she never thought possible.

But freedom had a way of making space for fear.

It took only twenty minutes of walking before her thoughts caught up with her legs.

Her parents would wake soon. Her maids would knock. Her wedding dress would be laid out. Cedric would stand at the altar with that polite, practiced smile. The guests would gather. The musicians would tune their instruments. The kingdom would whisper.

And Victoria would be gone.

Her throat tightened. "Maybe I am insane," she whispered to herself.

A twig snapped behind her.

She spun around quickly, heart jolting. Her hand flew to the small dagger inside her cloak. She had taken it from her uncle's old chest years ago. It was not large enough to scare anyone determined to harm her, but it was sharp enough to give her a tiny sense of courage.

She squinted into the darkness behind her.

Nothing moved.

Maybe it was an animal. A fox. A restless deer. Surely not a guard. She had slipped out unnoticed. She was certain.

She swallowed hard and kept walking.

After a while, the sound of the night became almost soothing. Crickets. Owls. The steady crunch of her slippers on the dirt. She imagined she was a character in one of the stories she used to read aloud in the attic. A girl with a mission. A girl escaping fate. A girl who would one day look back at this moment and laugh about how clumsy she was with her trunk.

She smiled at the idea and shook her head. "If I survive this, I will buy myself a cake. A big one."

Hours passed. Her legs ached. Her shoulders burned from carrying the trunk. She switched hands every few minutes and scolded herself for packing three dresses instead of two.

The sky slowly shifted from deep blue to the early gray of approaching dawn. Birds began to stir. A thin mist curled along the road. It felt like the whole world was waking up with her secret already written in the morning air.

She finally stopped to catch her breath near a small clearing. She placed the trunk on the ground and flexed her fingers.

"Alright," she whispered, "I need to rest for a moment before my arms fall off."

She leaned against a tree and closed her eyes. The air was damp and cool. A little too quiet.

Then she felt it.

Someone watching her.

Her eyes snapped open.

A figure walked toward her from the other end of the road, steady and silent. Tall. Hooded. Moving with the kind of confidence that belonged to someone who was not lost or wandering.

Victoria straightened slowly. Her fingers brushed the hilt of her dagger beneath her cloak.

The figure stopped a few feet away.

Even in the dim morning light, she could see the outline of his face. Sharp jaw. Serious mouth. Eyes dark enough to look intimidating even at dawn. The cloaked stranger studied her like he was trying to decide who she was or what she was doing.

For a heartbeat, Victoria forgot how to breathe.

He tilted his head slightly. "You should not be out here alone."

His voice was deep. Calm. Too calm for someone who had just encountered a frightened girl on an empty road.

Victoria swallowed. "And you should not appear out of the mist like a character in a scary tale. Yet here we are."

One corner of his mouth twitched, as if he wanted to smile but refused to let himself. "You are far from Halstead Manor."

Her blood ran cold.

"How do you know where I came from?" she asked.

He stepped closer, just enough to make her heart race but not enough to seem like a threat. "Because I have been following you since you climbed out of your balcony."

Her breath caught.

He knew.

He had seen everything.

But why?

She tightened her grip on the dagger under her cloak.

The stranger watched her hand, his gaze steady and unreadable.

"You are running from something," he said quietly. "I am here because someone does not want you hurt."

Victoria's pulse thundered.

"Who sent you?" she whispered.

He lifted his hood slightly, revealing more of his face. Strong features. Tired eyes. And a faint scar near his temple.

"My name is Rowan," he said. "And your life is not as simple as you think."

Victoria's heart stumbled.

Rowan.

The name meant nothing to her.

But the danger in his calm voice meant everything.

Before she could speak, before she could even decide whether to run, Rowan glanced over his shoulder and said three words that made her chest tighten painfully.

"They are coming."