Her heart was a heavy stone in her chest, each beat like a painful throb, each breath dragging her down deeper. She couldn't understand it. She couldn't wrap her mind around it. Kieran had stood there, right in front of her, and ripped everything apart with just a few words. Lyra, his new mate, standing beside him, claiming what had once been hers. And all those promises, all those stolen moments between them, now seemed like lies. Kieran's words rang in her mind, over and over, each one cutting deeper than the last.
You've betrayed me... you're not worthy...
The ache in her chest was unbearable. Her fingers trembled as she wrapped her arms around herself, trying to hold on to something. Anything. But there was nothing. Not anymore.
She had walked for hours, days, maybe. Time didn't matter. It was just a blur of empty trees, of silent wind brushing past her, of the ache in her soul growing heavier with each step. The pain in her chest was constant, relentless, like a weight that wouldn't lift, no matter how far she went. Her legs ached, her feet swollen and sore from walking for what felt like forever, but she didn't stop. She couldn't. The only thing that kept her moving was the desperate hope that somehow, somewhere, she could outrun the heartbreak.
But with each passing moment, it felt like she was only sinking deeper into it.
Why?
She whispered the question to the wind, though she knew it wouldn't answer. Why had Kieran chosen Lyra? Why had everything they shared been thrown away so easily? The kisses, the laughter, the whispered promises in the dark... had they meant nothing to him? Had she meant nothing?
Her throat tightened, and she swallowed hard, trying to push back the tears that threatened to spill. But they wouldn't be held back. They fell freely, slipping down her cheeks as the pain in her heart grew sharper.
He was everything to me, she thought bitterly. How could he just... turn away?
The tears blurred her vision, and she stumbled over an unseen root, falling to her knees. She gasped for breath, the cold air burning in her lungs. It felt like she couldn't breathe, like the whole world was closing in on her, suffocating her.
She pushed herself up, her hands shaking as she wiped the tears away, though it didn't do any good. The pain was still there, gnawing at her insides. She pressed her hands to her chest, as if she could hold her heart in place, stop it from shattering any further.
But it didn't help.
The night seemed to stretch on forever, the forest an endless void that swallowed her whole that consumed her whole and left her feeling weak, exhausted from the journey.The hunger in her stomach gnawed at her, but she didn't have the strength to seek out food. She didn't have the strength to care. At least she was too tired to care. She felt very little and insignificant against the enormity of this world, like a leaf adrift without control in the storm.
She staggered and saw the world dance about her, with the ground tilting under her feet until her head began to spin. With her vision turning blurred, she staggered, gave way at the knees, and fell to the ground, shaken. Her eyes could no longer be open. Dizziness overwhelmed her-not strong enough to resist. She let go and fell, her body surrendered to the encroaching darkness against the edges in view.
She tried to hold on, tried to push through, but it was too much. The pain, the hunger, the betrayal... everything had caught up to her. And then, just as the darkness closed in, she felt the edge of the cliff beneath her, the ground slipping away from her feet.
The last thing she saw before the world went completely black was an old woman's face, pale and kind, appearing from the shadows like a ghost.
It was the only thing that stayed with her, the only thing that lingered in her fading mind. The old woman's face. And then—nothing. No light. No sound. Only darkness.
When Selene woke, it wasn't to the comforting embrace of her pack or the warmth of her home. It wasn't to the sound of the forest around her, the chirping of the birds or the rustling of the trees. No, what greeted her was cold, a chill so biting it pierced her skin. She gasped, her breath shallow and ragged, as she struggled to sit up.
Her head throbbed, the dizziness still there, spinning in her vision. She winced, trying to push herself upright, but everything felt wrong. Her body was heavy, as though it was made of stone. She could feel the sharpness of pain in her back and legs, as though she had fallen much farther than she remembered.
She tried to take in her surroundings, but her vision was still too blurry. The air smelled... unfamiliar. Not the earthiness of the forest, but something else, something old and strange. She blinked hard, trying to focus.
And then she saw it.
A small fire crackled in front of her, the warmth from the flames barely touching her skin. She could barely make out the outline of a hut in the distance, the door open, revealing flickering shadows. A figure stood near the fire, hunched over, but it was not a man.
It was the old woman, the face she saw before passing out.
The woman's long silver hairs fell off her shoulders onto her age-worn face, with deep-knowing eyes sharp and wise, like those of someone who had witnessed far more than their share of the world. Her expression at the time was not a smiling one, but rather that of a quiet understanding.
Selene's heart stuttered in her chest, with a lingering question in her mind. How did I get here?