Chapter 57
Chapter 58
Roana,
My eyes snapped open when I felt an excruciating pain shoot through my body. A soft whimper escaped my lips as I raised my head, finding myself against an old tree while a gray wolf lay on a large stone, covered in blood.
My eyes narrowed with realization. Last night, I had been caught by them. No, almost caught by them until I hid.
However, those groups of people disappeared soon after. I couldn’t see how they vanished, but they did… like they never
existed.
By the time I decided to come out, a figure appeared behind me and attacked me from the shadows. It was in human form for one second, and the next, it shifted with a series of bone-snapping sounds that made my skin crawl.
My body was already getting numb, so blocking its attack was much more difficult than running away. I tried to escape until it bit my leg and threw me against the tree.
I had no memories after that. All I knew was that Rye had been too upset to watch us being killed. She fought until we thought we were done. She had hit the wolf against the tree multiple times, desperate to finish it off, until in its final attempt to win, it ran toward us, causing both of us to fall off the cliff.
I didn’t remember anything after that. The sound of something heavy hitting the ground was the last thing I heard before everything went dark.
Now, lying on the ground shielded by an old tree, I stared at the gray wolf that might have died last night.
My right leg refused to move, and the left side of my chest was swollen. Every shallow breath made the pain sharper, almost unbearable. I probably broke my ribs.
A dull ache settled in my chest as I felt a strange sense of loss. Deep down, I thought I would have been rescued already. From where I lay, I could see the Royal Territory… the small lake beside the woods, glistening faintly under the morning
sun.
Did Cassian send people? I wondered if he had by now, since I hadn’t returned home.
The irony of it all was that throughout the entire ordeal, I found myself missing him more than I ever thought I would. A part of me wanted him to appear, to come for me and shield me from all this pain. I didn’t know why. Maybe because he was the only legal family I had left.
Now, with my body bruised and battered, all I could wish for was to be rescued. Otherwise, there would be no way I’d survive the day.
A sting of sadness washed over me at the thought that I might die here, alone, if nobody found me. And it would be an ending I never wanted for myself.
I had dreamed of becoming a mother one day, of building a small house in some quiet countryside, far from chaos, My child would be my only family. I would raise them with warmth, teaching them kindness and respect.
How strange, to think that dream might never come true.
I closed my eyes as pain spread through every inch of my body. My left side felt useless, my leg still bleeding though I didn’t know for how long. The wound wasn’t healing, which meant the damage was deep.
I tried to move my fingers, but even that small effort sent a sharp pain through my arm. My throat felt dry and tight as I breathed unevenly, each breath heavier than the last.
Just as I began to surrender to fate, a sharp voice suddenly pierced through the quietness.
“Roana! Your Highness p>
My eyes
widened in disbelief. That voice… it was Commander Keane. Hope surged through my chest, and for a moment, the pain dimmed. Cassian hadn’t abandoned me after all.
A shaky smile tugged at my lips as I tried to respond. “I am here p>
The moment I tried to shout, a fresh wave of pain exploded through my skull. My jaw throbbed as I realized with horror that it might be broken. My lips were split, and the metallic taste of blood filled my mouth.
I wanted to scream again, but only a weak, broken sound left my throat. My voice didn’t reach him.
“Your Highness!” Keane’s voice grew fainter. “Please… where did you go p>
Another voice echoed nearby. “Commander Keane, we have searched everywhere, but she’s nowhere to be found. What should we do? His Majesty isn’t listening to us either p>
“Don’t mention it,” Keane hissed, frustration cutting through his tone. “He’s too busy with his best friend to care about his wife’s disappearance p>
The words hit me harder than any wound. My heart clenched as I stared blankly at the branches above me. Cassian didn’t even know I was missing? Or worse, he didn’t care?
My throat tightened painfully, and tears stung the corners of my eyes. So he didn’t send Keane. The hope I had been holding onto began to crumble.
“Shall we leave now?” one soldier asked. “Maybe we should send more people toward the ocean region p>
“Do it. I’ll patrol this area again,” Keane said firmly. “Don’t skip any place. We must find her. I have to repay her for her kindness p>
Kindness. He had said that before too. I still didn’t know what he meant, but his sincerity warmed something deep inside
Even if I died here, at least someone had tried to find me. The thought brought me a strange peace.
The sun above was too bright, its light almost blinding as I took a deep breathThen suddenly, a familiar presence brushed against my mind.
“Your Highness, please, if you can hear me,
ond
to me. Please… I beg you, be safe. There are so many things I wanted to
tell you, so many things I wanted to share. Please… don’t die right now. I’m sorry I couldn’t always protect you. I should have gone with you. I should have been there to repay your kindness. Please… be safe p>
His voice trembled inside my head, raw with emotion. I could feel his grief, his fear, his desperation. His scent lingered faintly in my senses, like pine and steel, grounding me even through the haze of pain.
Something shifted in my heart. I couldn’t name what it was… respect, sorrow, maybe something more… but it made me want to live a little longer.
I forced myself to take another breath despite the searing pain in my ribs and replied through the link, “Look ahead, Commander Keane. I am stuck down here p>
My eyelids were heavy and swollen, but I managed to lift my gaze toward the cliff. A figure appeared at the top, running in my direction. The hurried thud of boots against the earth echoed like a heartbeat.
“Your Highness!” Keane cried the moment he spotted me. His voice cracked, and I saw his silhouette slide down the slope, dust rising around him as he stumbled but didn’t stop.
He reached the edge and leapt toward a thick branch before gripping it tightly with one hand. His other hand stretched
toward me, trembling.
“Hold on!” he shouted, tears already streaming down his face. His expression was twisted in panic and relief.
I wanted to smile but my lips hurt too much. Seeing a grown man cry so openly for me was strangely comforting.
He grabbed my arm carefully, his touch gentle despite his trembling fingers. “What happened to you? Who did this? Are you hurt badly? You’re bleeding… what should I do? No… please p>
He kept talking too fast, panicking so much that I couldn’t help but shout through the mind-link, “Can you stop shouting and crying right now? I don’t think I can survive if you waste another second p>
He froze, then nodded quickly before adjusting his grip. “Please forgive me,” he said in a soft yet broken tone.
I couldn’t reply, but I rested my head slowly against his chest. My neck was throbbing, every muscle aching. He didn’t let go as he climbed up, his movements precise and controlled. It was as if he balanced every step between urgency and care, afraid that either haste or hesitation might hurt me.
“Thank you, Commander Keane,” I finally whispered, my voice weak but filled with gratitude. I didn’t want to die… not yet.
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