Chapter 4 Where it hurts to be seen

The moment I opened my eyes, I knew something had changed.

Not in me.

Around me.

Like the air had shifted to accommodate whatever I was now.

I stayed inside for two days after I healed him. I didn't eat much. I barely slept.

The mark on my shoulder pulsed like it had a second heartbeat.

I still didn't know his name.

I still didn't know what I had done.

But I had felt something flow through me-like frost and flame wrapped around bone. And it had answered me.

Without permission.

Without warning.

By the third morning, I felt eyes on me again.

Not the usual stares of Hollowshade.

These were quieter. Sharper.

Someone had found the remnants of blood in the forest. Rumors rose faster than the fog.

A rogue had been near the border.

A Hollowshade wolf had gone too far into the wild.

Someone was consorting with shadows.

I didn't need to ask who they meant.

No one said anything directly.

Of course they didn't.

Instead, the whispers crawled around me like vines. They waited until I passed before starting again.

"She should have stayed in the woods."

"Whatever touched her hasn't left."

"She's not one of us anymore."

They were right.

But not in the way they thought.

That night, I stood in front of my mirror and unwrapped the cloth I kept bound over my shoulder.

The crescent glowed faintly in the candlelight.

And for the first time, I saw it clearly...the initial.

A stylized R.

Elegant. Sharp. Burned into me like it was part of my design.

"R..."

I whispered it aloud.

My voice sounded unfamiliar.

I didn't know who he was.

But I knew this mark wasn't fading.

The voice didn't speak again for two days.

Not even in dreams.

Not even when I called.

When it returned, it wasn't a whisper.

"He is one of mine. He will not harm you."

I stopped walking.

The forest around me stood still.

"Who are you?"

No answer.

Only quiet.

But it felt like an answer.

I found the man again near the southern ridge.

He was sitting against a tree this time. Awake. Wounded, but not badly. There was a bandage tied tight around his arm and a hunting blade at his side.

He looked up at me like he already knew I'd come.

"You ran before I could thank you."

I didn't speak.

He tilted his head.

"You saved me."

"I don't know what I did."

"You used the gift."

My heart skipped.

"What gift?"

He smiled faintly.

"The one the cursed one gave you."

I stepped back.

"I don't-"

"You don't have to understand it yet." He paused. "But I do need to know your name."

"Why?"

"Because you're not what Hollowshade thinks you are."

I didn't answer.

He touched his chest lightly.

"I'm Talen. Bloodvale."

That stopped me.

Bloodvale.

A name I'd only ever heard whispered. A cursed place. A dark kingdom of wolves that didn't follow pack law. A region buried in the old stories with warnings and myths.

And he was standing right in front of me.

Alive. Calm. Not a monster.

"You're from Bloodvale?"

"Yes."

"And you came to Hollowshade?"

"Didn't mean to. I wasn't alone when I got here." His face darkened. "Wasn't supposed to live, either."

I stared.

He looked at me carefully.

"You're from Hollowshade, aren't you?"

I nodded slowly.

He smiled.

"Then I'll make sure they know the name of the girl who saved me."

When I got home, I didn't tell anyone I'd seen him again.

But I lit a candle and sat by it for hours.

Watching the flame.

Waiting for the voice.

It came at dusk.

"You are not theirs to define."

"Then whose am I?"

"Mine."

The next day, two Hollowshade warriors stood outside my door.

They didn't enter.

They didn't accuse.

They asked where I'd been.

I lied.

They didn't believe me.

But they didn't push either.

Because fear has a way of silencing even the bold.

I could see the questions in their gaze and maybe in my imagination their accusing thoughts

But I ignored it all.

An hour later, someone left a flower at my door.

I don't know who.

But it was the same kind that only grows in the far north.

Bloodvale.

That night, I dreamt of fire again.

Only this time, the hands that pulled me out of the flames were warm.

And familiar.