Chapter 23: Chapter 24: sneaking out

Elara’s pov

Dawn arrived thin and grey.

It didn’t feel like morning. More like the night had loosened its grip just enough to let a weak, colorless light seep through. The sky stayed heavy. The air stayed damp. Rain lingered everywhere, not falling but not gone either, just hanging there in the mist that clung to the ground.

And to my thoughts.

Sleep, when it had come at all, was broken. Fractured into pieces. Every time I closed my eyes, I felt it again. The hand over my mouth. The weight on my chest. That voice, so calm, so certain.

*The third attempt will not come with conversation.*

I sat wrapped in a borrowed blanket, watching the room slowly fill with grey light. My body ached from not sleeping. My mind felt heavy, like it was full of fog.

Kaelen hadn’t slept either. He’d stayed awake all night, exactly as he’d promised. His back against the wall. His sword across his knees. His eyes never closing.

Every hour, he’d gotten up to check the smoke hole in the roof. Making sure no one was coming through again.

But no one came.

The message had been delivered. The killer was gone.

For now.

Mara and her family woke quietly. They moved around the room like we weren’t there. Or like they wished we weren’t. Jonn built up the fire. Mara started preparing breakfast. The children stayed close to their mother, throwing nervous glances our way.

No one spoke to us. No one even looked at us directly.

Kaelen stood and came over to me. His face was tired but alert. “We need to leave,” he said quietly. “Now. While the village is still waking up.”

“Shouldn’t we say goodbye?” I asked. “Thank them properly?”

“No,” he said firmly. “It’s better if we don’t. The less attention we draw, the safer they’ll be. We leave quietly. Draw as little notice as possible.”

I looked over at Mara. She had her back to us, kneading bread dough with hard, angry movements.

“She’s scared,” I said.

“She has every right to be,” Kaelen said. “We brought danger to her door. The kindest thing we can do now is leave and take that danger with us.”

He was right. I knew he was right.

But it hurt. These people had offered us shelter without knowing who I was. Had shared their food. Their warmth. Their home.

And now I was leaving without even offering them the truth. Without thanking them. Without saying goodbye.

I stood up slowly. Folded the blanket carefully and set it down where Mara would find it.

“Thank you,” I whispered, even though she couldn’t hear me. Even though she wasn’t listening. “For everything.”

Kaelen handed me my cloak. The rough, borrowed one that smelled like smoke and rain. I pulled it on and lifted the hood.

We slipped out the door without a word.

The village was quiet in the grey morning light. A few people were already awake, starting their morning work. Drawing water from the well. Feeding animals. Sweeping their doorsteps.

They saw us leaving. I could feel their eyes following us as we walked.

But no one called out. No one waved. No children came running like they had when we’d arrived.

We walked through the village in silence, our boots squelching in the mud. The same mud that had taught me my first lesson about hardship out here. Constant. Not dramatic. Just there, every day, making everything harder.

I wanted to look back. Wanted to see the village one more time. But I kept my eyes forward.

Better this way. Quieter. Safer for them.

We reached the edge of the settlement and kept walking. The road stretched ahead of us, broken and muddy, disappearing into the mist.

Behind us, smoke started rising from chimneys. The village was waking up fully now. Going back to their normal lives.

Like we’d never been there at all.

We walked for hours.

Kaelen didn’t walk beside me this time. He moved slightly ahead, his body tense, his eyes constantly scanning. The trees. The road ahead. The hills in the distance. Looking for movement. For threats. For anything wrong.

His hand never strayed far from his sword.

I kept my head down and followed. Trying not to think about the hand over my mouth. The voice in my ear. The promise of a third attempt.

But I couldn’t stop thinking about it.

The road was the same as before. Broken. Neglected. Full of holes and ruts. But it felt different now. Not like an adventure. Not like something brave.

Just dangerous. And foolish.

What had I been thinking? That I could just walk among my people and no one would know? That the crown would somehow stay behind at the palace?

The elder’s words echoed in my head. *The crown doesn’t come off just because you change your clothes.*

He was right. I’d been naive. Stupid. And I’d put good people in danger because of it.

“We go back,” I said.

Kaelen stopped walking. Turned to face me. “What did you say?”

“We go back,” I repeated. “To the palace. To the capital. This was a mistake. All of it.”

He studied my face for a moment. Then he nodded. “Alright.”

“That’s it?” I asked. “You’re not going to argue? Tell me I need to see more? Learn more?”

“No,” he said simply. “You’re right. You came here to understand. To see the truth. And you have. You’ve seen the poverty. The suffering. The way these people live. Staying longer won’t teach you anything new. It will just put more people at risk.”

He adjusted the pack on his shoulder. “We turn around. Head back to the capital. Face this from where you actually have power.”

“Just like that?” I asked.

“Just like that,” he said.

But his eyes told a different story. They were harder now. More alert. He wasn’t just agreeing with me. He was relieved. Probably had been wanting to leave since last night.

We turned and started walking in the opposite direction. Back the way we’d come. Back toward the capital.

Back to the cage.

Kaelen’s whole manner had changed. He didn’t walk casually anymore. He positioned himself ahead of me, between me and whatever might come from the road ahead. His head turned constantly, watching, scanning, anticipating.

“What are you doing?” I asked.

“My job,” he said without looking back. “Keeping you alive.”

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