His Forsaken Luna-Chapter 127: Escape 2.0

I felt a mixture of emotions flood me: confusion, disbelief, and even relief. Could I really leave? Was this a trick? Of course it was. Ciro wasn’t a merciful being.

Ciro held my gaze, though, those red eyes unsettling with no amusement of cruel smirk on his features. I didn’t know what to think. Soren had gone to the East? But why was Ciro letting me go? Was this part of some larger game they were playing?

"How will I know you’re telling the truth?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.

Ciro’s lips quirked into a small smile. "You’ll just have to trust me, Princess."

I wasn’t sure whether to trust him. I wasn’t sure of anything anymore. "You said... he went East..." My brows drew together as something snagged at the back of my mind. My heart thudded aggressively in my chest.

Ciro tilted his head, observing me. "He told us the route you took to go South," he drawls. "All for coin, a new identity, and papers to go to the Isle of Men and Iron and then further East. He went alone."

Alone. My eyes widened slightly at his words. Soren left Calix? No...

"He has no obligation to wait for you," Ciro adds quietly, as though he couldn’t believe he had to spell it out for me. "You are not his mate."

He didn’t take Calix... "What does he look like?" I ask, my mind starting to spin. My breath halted, and my heart thumped louder and louder as I waited for his response.

Ciro rose from the chair and it felt like I was stuck, holding my breath for his answer. He turned toward the door, the sound of his footsteps too loud for the silent cabin, pausing just before he exited.

"Your lover," he said, his voice casual, "a pretty lad by Were standards. He’s got charm, I’ll give him that. Blue eyes... brown hair."

Time stood still. I gripped the wall for stability as I stared at the fire dancing in the fireplace. When I looked back at the door, Ciro was gone.

I stared at my freedom but my chest felt hollow, cold. It wasn’t Soren who betrayed me. Soren who I hadn’t seen before leaving for Sun and Fury. It was Theo.

He’d been so crushed. My only friend who I’d turned down for both our sakes, had betrayed me. He wanted to go East and now he has. I understood his need to escape but it hurt. It hurt so much like claws were trying to pull at my heart.

He handed me off to the High Fae without the knowledge that I would live. He gave my life for his own. A breathless laugh escaped me but it was short, humourless, hollow.

I blinked away the tears and wiped at my eyes roughly. This was not the time to feel sorry for myself. The door was wide open and I stayed here like an idiot.

This might be a trap, but I had to give it a chance, even if it was a small chance.

I fled into the woods. The cold air hit my lungs like a sharp breath, and the world around me was dark and silent. The path ahead was uncertain, but I had no choice. I couldn’t stay here. I had to get away.

If Ciro had been true to his word, this escape would have hopefully be easy. My boots sank into the snow as I sprinted, and the woods surrounded me. I didn’t know where I was but there was a path, one that seemed to be walked upon frequently. I followed it.

It wasn’t long before I encountered something strange. Hidden in the trees were figures—strange, half-hidden shapes that moved with unsettling grace. They watched me as I approached, their eyes glowing faintly in the dark. They didn’t speak at first, only studied me from a distance.

Finally, one of them stepped forward, their voice a strange, gurgling sound that almost didn’t make sense. Its gooey hand waved at me as though urging me to follow. I frowned when it tried to lead me away from the path.

When it saw me hesitate, it said, "Trick." I followed its bright, luminous gaze to the path. My instincts told me to trust it enough to follow. So I did, and the dark forest began to fade away.

"What are you?" I asked.

"Wildling," it gurgled back. Wildling, I’d briefly read about it in the book. It was a lower Fae, one with little or no magick.

Again, I didn’t sense any danger from it.

"Why are you helping me?" I asked, my voice shaking a little after following it silently. I’d glanced at some of the other beings who lingered by the trees, watching, always watching.

The creature spoke again, but this time, the words were clearer. "They look down on us... cruel to us... treat us like dirt, like creatures unworthy of life."

I stared at it, trying to comprehend its words. "The... High Fae?" I whisper.

The others by the trees screeched and gurgled, hiding after my words. The one near me said something close to ’hush child.’

"We don’t have numbers, and we are not strong. We fight back by helping in small ways to keep nature right. You should not be here..."

I swallowed hard. "What do you want from me?" I asked, getting this strange sense within the Faerie world that they took favours and promises seriously.

"Stay alive," the wildling said softly, their gaze shifting to the others. "If you have a chance to stop them, we’ll help. But don’t underestimate the power they hold over this land."

I nodded, not knowing whether to trust them fully but realising that I didn’t have much of a choice. The Fae had already proven how far they were willing to go to control me, and these wildlings had aided in my survival. I glanced at the growing storm clouds above.

"Go..." It pointed away from it.

They watched me as I took a few steps toward the untouched snowy ground leading down a hill.

The creature’s voice echoed again, this time on the wind as if to carry its words far beyond. "Beware of the witch in the palace."

The... witch? I looked back, but the creature was gone. I stood there, staring at nothing, the wind whipping through the trees and rustling the leaves.

The warning hung in the air, and I didn’t know what to make of it.

"Beware the witch...." one of them whispered again on the wind, the warning now etched into my very soul.

The weight of those words settled over me, the feeling of being watched, never leaving, even as the wildlings disappeared into the trees.