Victoria!"
Damien's voice echoed again, sharper, desperate. He rattled the cell door even though it hung wide open, as if it might somehow give him back the person who should have been inside.
His breath came quick, chest tightening. She was always here. Always waiting. Always smiling when he came to visit her, even with chains around her wrists. She was supposed to be safe.
"No, no, no…" His fingers ran through his hair, pulling at it. He searched every corner of the cell, overturning the straw mat, pulling at the iron shackles on the ground. Cold metal, still warm from her skin.
She had left.
Or worse—someone had taken her.
Damien's fists clenched. I should have stayed. I should have never left her alone last night. His mother's voice had dragged him away, and now—now he might never see Victoria again.
He stormed out of the dungeon, his boots slamming against the stone. "Guards!" he barked. "Where is she? Who opened her cell?"
The guards rushed forward, stammering in confusion. "Your Highness—we—we don't know! No one opened her door. She was there last night, I swear it!"
"Search this ground. Now!" Damien's voice thundered through the halls, and men scattered in all directions. But deep down, he knew. She hadn't been stolen. She had left by her own choice.
And that hurt worse than anything.
Far beyond the palace walls, Victoria stumbled down a narrow path through the woods. Her bare feet were cut from roots and stones, but she didn't stop. Every breath of free air pushed her forward.
The night was cold, the forest thick and endless, but she didn't care. For the first time in years, no chain clinked at her ankle. No guards towered above her. She was her own.
Still, her heart ached.
"I'm sorry, Damien," she whispered into the darkness.
She hadn't wanted to leave him. He was her best friend, her only happiness in that cursed palace. But she couldn't stay. She couldn't risk Baron Derek—or any noble—having power over her again. Not even Damien could protect her forever.
If she stayed, she would always be a slave. Out here, she could finally be something else.
Back in the palace, Damien sat in his chambers, his hands trembling as he stared at the collar he had found discarded near the dungeon door. Victoria's collar.
"She didn't even… say goodbye." His voice cracked.
But he couldn't accept it. He wouldn't. He knew her better than anyone. She didn't leave because she wanted to forget him. She left because she thought she had to.
"Then I'll find you," he whispered, clutching the collar to his chest. His eyes hardened with determination. "No matter where you run, Victoria… I'll bring you back. I won't lose you."
Outside, the palace bells rang, signaling the guards' failed search. Beyond the walls, Victoria pressed deeper into the forest, unaware of the danger—and unaware that Damien was already preparing to chase her into the unknown.