Chapter 4 One Last Look

Avelyn stood at the edge of the forest, the cool evening wind brushing past her like a whisper of farewell. Behind her, the village she had once called home lay silent under the growing dusk, its flickering hearths casting ghostly shadows across the crooked timber walls. The air was thick with memories some too sweet to forget, others too bitter to hold onto. The scent of damp earth mixed with smoke and decay, the very breath of the place steeped in things long lost.

She took a slow breath, trying to quiet the pounding in her chest. This was it. Her final moment. Her last look.

The village had been everything to her once. It was here she'd taken her first steps, where her mother had sung lullabies into her hair, and where her father had taught her to stand tall even when she was afraid. It was here she had learned to laugh, to dream, and to believe in love. Her parents Thorian and Elara Draven had carved out a life for them in this small, often harsh community, and though it was never perfect, it had once felt safe.

Now, it felt like a graveyard.

Her gaze moved across the cobblestone streets that wound through the village like veins, leading to every place that held pieces of her soul. The well where she and her mother used to fetch water in the mornings. The old chapel where her father's voice used to echo in the early hours of prayer. The cemetery where she had buried them both, side by side, digging through frozen soil with her bare hands because no one else had come to help.

She remembered the snow, how it fell like silence around her grief.

She had lost them too soon, and with them, she had lost the girl who once believed the world would protect her.

And then there was Malrik.

The name stirred a dull ache inside her. She looked toward the manor, now distant and veiled in shadow. That place had once been a symbol of hope a place where love might live. She remembered the stolen glances, the quiet promises whispered in the woods, the way his touch had once made her feel seen. Belonging. Chosen.

And then he had rejected her.

The memories of her rejected evolved her entire mind and she kept replaying the scene over and over again in her head.

"You're weak and unworthy to be my mate and rule by my side," he had said, each word a blade slicing through the heart she'd so freely offered.

"I therefore reject you as my mate."

There had been a crowd. Of course, there had. They had gathered like vultures to witness her humiliation. Faces she had known since childhood, faces that had once smiled at her across market stalls or nodded in quiet respect. Now they stared with contempt, joy, even relief.

And Malrik... he hadn't even blinked.

"I have taken a new mate," he had announced. "A stronger and worthier mate, fit to rule by my side and bear me strong heirs. Her name is Selina Voss."

Selina had walked to his side with the grace of a queen and the smirk of a conqueror. Her beauty undeniable. Her pride unshaken. And Avelyn had stood there, her soul shattering inside her chest, the pieces splintering deeper than anyone could see.

No one had stepped forward. Not one hand reached for her. Not one voice defended her. She had been left to wither under the weight of her rejection, alone in the center of the square.

They had acted like she had never existed.

And now, standing on the edge of the forest, Avelyn felt the last of that world fall away. There was no one left to hold her back no family, no friends, no lover, no mate. Just the silence of the trees and the beating of her heart.

She looked back one final time.

The wind carried the smell of smoke and burnt wood. The sky, streaked with purples and deep blues, hung heavy overhead. She let her eyes trace every familiar rooftop, every flicker of torchlight, the slow curl of smoke rising from chimneys.

Tears welled in her eyes, and one slipped down her cheek. Just one.

It wasn't for Malrik. Not anymore. It wasn't for Selina, or for the villagers who had thrown stones with their words and silence. It was for the girl she had been. The girl who had believed in forever, in soulmates, in fairy tales whispered under moonlight.

She pressed a hand to her chest, where the pain pulsed like a second heartbeat. But beneath it, deeper still, was something else. Something older. Stronger.

Her power.

She had hidden it for so long. Tucked it away beneath layers of fear and the need to be accepted. She had thought that by being quiet, by being good, by being small, she might be enough.

But enough for whom?

Not Malrik.

Not the village.

And certainly not for herself.

She had a fire inside her. One born of ancient blood, of a lineage long whispered about but never truly understood. Her parents had known. They had warned her to keep it hidden, to wait. But now, with them gone, and nothing left to lose, the waiting was over.

She took her first step into the trees.

The forest swallowed her whole.

The path ahead was unknown. Dangerous. Wild. But she welcomed it. The darkness between the trees felt honest in a way the village never had. It did not pretend to love her. It did not dress cruelty in silk and smiles. It simply was. Raw and unfiltered.

Branches scraped against her cloak, the air colder here, untouched by firelight. But Avelyn kept walking. Each step further from the girl she used to be.

She didn't look back again.

Hours passed. Maybe more. She lost track of time. Her legs ached, her eyes burned, and her stomach was a hollow pit. But still, she pressed on. Every pain, every bruise, every cut was a reminder she was still alive.

When she finally stopped to rest, the moon was high above, casting silver light through the canopy. She sat on a fallen log, the bark rough beneath her fingers, and looked up at the sky.

For the first time in days, she let herself breathe.

Truly breathe.

And in that breath, something shifted.

It wasn't peace. Not yet. But it was a start.

She closed her eyes and let the memories come not the ones of pain, but of her parents. Her mother's voice singing over a pot of stew. Her father's laughter as he swung her into the air. Their warmth, their strength, their love. She could still feel it inside her.

They would not have wanted her to break. They would have wanted her to rise.

And so she would.

She would train. She would grow stronger. She would learn every corner of the forest, every power humming beneath her skin. She would become what they never believed she could be.

A queen.

Not one chosen by a man.

But one forged by fire, pain, and her own unbreakable will.

Avelyn opened her eyes.

The forest watched.

And she welcomed the darkness.

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