Chapter 7 The Council's Gaze

Camilla POV

One growl came from the roof above me, and the other came from the hallway outside my door. I thought my heart would burst because it was beating so fast. My back was against the wall, and I held my knife tight. My eyes kept moving back and forth between the boarded-up window and the locked door. There was more noise from the claws, as if they were digging into the wood. There are two wolves. There may be more. I did not know if I could beat them, but I was not going to give up without a fight.

My boots were quiet on the floor as I crept to the door. Downstairs, the growl stopped, but the low, mean growl on the roof kept going. To listen, I held my breath. A big hit came through the window, and the boards squeaked. My stomach turned. They planned to get in.

My hands were shaking as I grabbed the table and pushed it against the door. It would not last forever, but it could buy me some time. The necklace and the note were still in my pocket. They felt heavy, like secrets I could not get out. It kept going through my mind what Marta had said: "The council knows you are here." That is right, they sent these wolves to stop me before I could show them to be lies.

The door shook with a loud bang, and I jumped with my knife raised. Someone yelled, "Mira!" from the hallway. Frank was there. He was scared, and his voice was rough. "Let us go in!" Right now!"

The cold made my heart race. Was he with them? Was this a trick? The roof dog stopped growling, and I heard paws running away. The wolf outside my window barked one more time, and then it stopped. Even though I did not believe it, Lucien's voice sounded real and scared. Moving the table out of the way, I unlocked the door and got my knife ready.

He stood there with his eyes wide and hair all over the place. He had white knuckles around the handle of the axe he was holding. He looked past me into the room and asked, "Are you okay?"

My voice was shaking as I said, "Yeah." "What is going on?"

He said, "Wolves," with his jaw tight. "Not ours." I heard them outside. "Remain here." I grabbed his arm as he turned to leave.

I said, "I am coming," with my knife still in my hand. I was not going to stay here like a mouse stuck in a trap.

He looked at me and looked all over my face. He did not argue, which I thought for a second. He said, "Stay close," and walked down the hall.

When we went outside, it was cold and foggy. The village was quiet, and the homes were dark. With his axe ready, Lucien moved quickly through the fog. I went after them with my heart racing and my knife hidden in my sleeve. The air smelled like sharp, wet dirt and fear.

We got to the village's edge, where the forest began. Lucien stopped and got down on his knees to look at the ground. I also saw them. They were big, deep paw prints that went into the trees. He spoke softly and said, "They are gone." "But they will come back."

I asked with a steady voice, "Who sent them?" even though I was scared.

His eyes were dark as he stood. "I am not sure." I will find out, though. For a moment, he looked at me with a soft face. I told Mira to go back to her room. "Be sure to lock the door."

I agreed, but I was not going to hide again. Tomorrow night, I have to meet Marta at the burned-out clearing. I needed her to show me. As I walked back to the packhouse, I could feel his eyes on me until I was out of sight.

When morning came, there was still a lot of fog. The note was in my pocket, and I stayed in my room with the knife and necklace under my pillow. I could not take my mind off of Lucien's worried face as he ran to my door. Did he care about me, or was he just making sure someone else was safe? It hurt how badly I wanted it to be more.

As I walked to breakfast, I looked around at everyone else. Elin was there and waved her stuffed wolf at me. Hi Mira! "Did you hear the wolves last night?" she asked with wide eyes.

I sat down next to her and said, "Yeah." "That was scary, huh?"

She smiled and hugged her toy. "Lucien told them to go away." "He is brave."

It hurt my heart to smile, but I did it anyway. Courageous. That is what I used to think about him, too. Before he let me burn. While I ate my porridge, I looked around the room and barely tasted it. A man with a grey beard and Marta were talking at a different table. His eyes were cold, and his face was rough. He was not nice to me. When he looked at me, I turned away because it made my skin itch.

I walked around the village with my hood up after breakfast. People were scared and talking about the wolves in the dark. I heard Torren telling another guard that they found more tracks close to the river. It made my stomach hurt. The council was keeping an eye on me and testing me. I had to be careful.

I ended up at the well, where the two women were once again washing clothes. There was silence when I got close, and they looked at me. I tried to sound friendly when I said, "Good morning."

They smiled a little, but not very widely. "Getting comfortable, Mira?" one asked as she scrubbed a shirt.

I leaned against the well and said, "Yeah." "This is nice. But those wolves last night were... creepy.

The other woman frowned and stopped moving her hands. She said, "Those are not our wolves." "The council has been tense lately." Since then... She looked at her friend and stopped.

"Since when?" I asked, my heart beating fast.

They looked at each other. The first woman quickly said, "Nothing." "Just my old problems."

I said "yes," but my mind was racing. An old problem. Me. They meant me. As I left, I ran my hand over the note in my pocket. I did not trust Marta, but I needed to know what she had. Not yet.

The day went on and on. I helped stack firewood and watched everyone the whole time. Torren looked at me as he walked by with his spear over his shoulder. Marta also walked by with a basket on her back. For a moment, her eyes met mine. She nodded back at me, as if we were keeping something from each other. My stomach turned. Was she really on my side, or was this a trick?

I got ready for the meeting as night fell. The knife went into my sleeve, and the necklace went into my pocket. The note's words stuck in my mind like a bad memory. When it was quiet in the packhouse, I crept out, but the fog covered my steps. It was not far to the burned-out clearing, but every sound of the trees made me jump.

The area was dark, and the ground was rough and black. I stood on the edge with my knife ready and looked around in the fog. My heart was racing, and memories of fires were coming back. I pushed them away and paid attention to the present. Where did Marta go?

I raised my knife when I saw a shadow move. "Who is there?" I growled.

A soft but steady voice said, "It is me." She walked into the clearing with a small bundle of cloth around her. "I brought the proof."

I put the knife down, but I did not take it away. I asked, "Show me."

When she took the cloth off, she saw a stack of old papers with yellow edges. "Records from the council," she said. "They show the lies they told about you." How they led Lucien to believe you were cursed.

My hands were shaking as I reached for the papers. A growl came from the trees before I could touch them. She stood still, her eyes wide. She said in a whisper, "They found us."

Two wolves walked out, and their eyes lit up yellow. Some text is missing. My heart was racing as I took Marta's papers. The wolves were getting closer, their teeth bared, and there was a dark figure with a bow watching from the shadows.