Escape
Selene’s POV
I woke to the sharp crack of wood against stone.
“Selene, you’ve cursed the poor thing! Up!”
Leonora’s voice was a whip, slicing through the fog of my half-formed dreams. A rough hand seized my arm, yanking me upright. My head swam, my legs heavy as if I’d been dropped from one world into another without warning.
“I’m sorry—” I began, but the apology died as her palm pressed against my cheek.
“You’ll regret it when the priest carves that mark into your flesh,” she hissed. “Move.”
I obeyed, my heart pounding, the taste of last night still on my tongue—moonlight, river water, his voice in the dark.
“Hurry up!” Leonora barked.
The stone floor bit at my bare feet as I followed her, the corridor damp with the cold breath of morning. In the kitchens, the other women were already working, heads bowed, eyes carefully avoiding mine. Silence wrapped around me—not unusual. No one spoke to the cursed woman.
By nightfall, my hands were raw, my knees aching from scrubbing the soot-black floors of the feasting hall. The scent of roasting meat filled the air, mocking me. I knew none of it would reach my mouth. Tonight, there would be no kusuba for me—I’d been late too many mornings.
When Leonora wasn’t looking, I slipped a small hunk of bread from my pocket—the one she’d thrown at me earlier. The crust was hard, but I ate without complaint. Hunger was familiar. What mattered was survival.
Still… as I chewed, my mind drifted to the man by the river. Could his words have been true? That the sacrifice would be postponed because of the eclipse?
I told myself not to believe him. But something deep in my chest refused to let go. That strange pull, like my body had recognized him before my mind could. My match. The thought unsettled me.
Then another thought hit me—Luke. I hadn’t seen him since morning. I needed to find him.
When I spotted him by the old garden wall—the place where the statues of the old gods lay broken. He turned at the sound of my steps, his eyes catching mine, his expression hard.
“Selene,” he whispered. “Come with me.”
I followed him down the narrow, overgrown path. No one came here—not since Eleazar ordered the destruction of the shrines. The air smelled of damp stone and old earth.
We stopped in the shadows.
“What were you thinking?” Luke demanded, his voice low but sharp. “You have to escape. Now.”
“But—”
“No arguments. If we wait, the soldiers will see us.” His face was pale, hands trembling.
I hesitated, words knotting in my throat.
“Do you understand what they’ll do if they find out you tried to escape? Or if they think I helped you?” His grip on my hand tightened.
“I know,” I said quickly.
“Then why aren’t you running?” His voice cracked with frustration.
I can't say any words I'm still confused how could I explain it? That strange weight in my chest, the voice in the dark that I wasn’t ready to leave behind.
“There’s a man,” I said finally. “By the river.”
Luke stiffened. “What man?”
“He stopped me. Said the sacrifice wouldn’t happen. That there’s an eclipse on the Wolf Moon. That… it would change everything.”
Luke’s eyes widened, the color draining from his face. “What?”
“I’m telling the truth, Luke. He knew things—about the priests, the eclipse. I felt like I could trust him.”
“Describe him.”
I told him—dark cloak, hair black as midnight, a voice like he’d once commanded armies but didn’t want to anymore.
Luke inhaled sharply. “Aeron.”
The name landed like a stone in my gut. “You know him?”
“Yes,” Luke spat. “I know him. Eleazar’s loyal wolf. Raised in the priest’s own house since childhood. Born of Wolf blood, but twisted into a soldier who serves the chains that bind him. You think you can trust that?”
I swallowed hard. “I… I don’t know. It didn’t feel like a lie.”
Luke’s hand gripped my shoulder, his voice fierce. “You can’t trust anyone here, Selene. Especially not him. If Eleazar sent him, it’s a trap. They’ll use you, and when they’re done, you’ll die the same.”
I wanted to argue, to hold onto the fragile spark of hope Aeron’s words had lit inside me. But the look in Luke’s eyes made my chest ache.
“I just… I didn’t want you hurt because of me,” I whispered.
His expression softened, his hands falling away. “I’m already hurting because of you, you idiot.”
A shaky laugh escaped me—half relief, half grief.
The bell in the courtyard rang, summoning us back. Still, Aeron’s voice lingered in my mind like an echo.
“We have to go,” I said.
“Leave me here for now.” His tone was resigned, almost sad.
I hesitated, then nodded. “I’ll go first.”
Luke’s gaze held mine. “Be careful. And whatever you feel… remember what he is.”
I slipped away into the night, the cold air biting my skin.
And for the first time, I wasn’t sure who I could trust.