The mystery man's weight slumped against her, heavy and unmoving. His breath came in shallow, uneven pulls—each one weaker than the last.
Poison.
Blood loss.
Shock.
He was dying fast... too fast for Liana to treat him out here.
"Stay with me," she whispered, though he was already slipping into unconsciousness.
The forest loomed around them, shadows thickening as clouds drifted over the moon. Liana braced her legs, hooked her arms under his, and dragged him up with strength she shouldn't have had.
Not in this young body.
Not unless the memories—and the training—of her past life were already awakening inside her.
They were.
The man groaned as she pulled him through the brush, leaves and branches scratching against him. His blood dripped steadily, marking a dark trail behind them.
Liana didn't look back.
She knew this forest. She had hidden here before—on nights when Marisela's cruelty became too sharp, when Seraphine's jealousy cut too deep.
There was a place only she knew.
A place no Vale guard ever searched.
A small, half-rotten cabin tucked between old cedar trees.
And it waited for her now.
----------------------------------------------------------
The Cabin of Secrets
---------------------------------------------------------
The door creaked open with a ghostly moan. The inside was dark, cold, and empty... except for what she had once stored here long ago.
Old blankets.
A cracked water basin.
A chest of herbs she had harvested in secret.
It wasn't much—but it was enough.
With a final heave, she dragged the unconscious man onto the wooden cot in the corner. The wood groaned beneath his weight.
His head rolled to the side as he exhaled shakily.
He was fading.
Liana moved fast.
She washed her hands in cold water, rolled up her sleeves, and began working with the precision of a battlefield surgeon.
She peeled back his blood-soaked clothing, revealing the wound near his ribs—a deep slash, clean but deadly. Dark, nearly black blood oozed from it, thickening unnaturally.
Poison. Yes.
But not just any poison.
Nightroot.
A rare venom used by assassins.
A poison that paralyzed the heart slowly... inevitably.
In her first life, she had researched it extensively.
Now that knowledge was the only reason this man still had a chance.
Liana reached into her herb chest, pulling out dried leaves, a vial of tincture, and strips of cloth. She crushed the herbs with practiced fingers, mixing them with water to create a thick, bitter paste.
Then she leaned close.
"This will burn," she whispered, knowing he couldn't hear.
She packed the mixture into the wound.
The man's body jerked violently, his back arching off the cot as a strangled sound broke from his throat.
Even unconscious, the pain tore through him.
"It's working," she murmured, pressing her palm to his chest to keep him still. "Hold on."
The dark venom began to seep out, bubbling like tar as the herbs forced it to the surface. Liana wiped it away, again and again, refusing to slow down.
Minutes stretched like hours.
Finally—finally—the blood flowing from the wound turned red again.
Normal.
Alive.
Liana exhaled shakily, her hands trembling from exhaustion.
She rewrapped the wound with clean cloth and checked his pulse.
Slow.
Weak.
But steady.
She sank into a chair across from him, letting herself breathe for the first time.
He Wakes
It happened suddenly.
His fingers twitched.
His jaw tightened.
His chest rose with a deeper breath.
Then—his eyes opened.
Dark. Sharp. Burning with life again.
He shot upright with surprising speed, his hand flying to his side before he caught sight of her.
"You—"
His voice was low, dangerous, still gravelled with pain and authority.
Liana didn't flinch. "You're safe. For now."
His eyes swept the room, taking everything in — the herbs, the bloody cloths, the crude cabin walls... and then her.
"You healed me."
"I did."
"No ordinary girl knows how to treat Nightroot poisoning," he said slowly, voice colder now. "No ordinary girl walks alone into a forest at night. And no ordinary girl drags a full-grown man across half a mile of terrain."
He leaned closer, studying her as if she were a riddle carved in stone.
"So tell me," he murmured, "who are you really?"
Liana held his gaze.
Calm.
Silent.
Unbroken.
"Just someone who didn't want a stranger to die."
A lie—but one close enough to the truth to pass.
His eyes narrowed. "You're hiding something."
She didn't respond.
Not yet.
The Men in the Woods
Suddenly—
A whistle pierced the forest outside.
Then another.
Then—
"Search the trees! Spread out!"
Male voices, distant but getting closer. Torches glimmered through the darkness beyond the cabin windows. Boots stomped through underbrush. Horses snorted and pawed at the ground.
The man tensed instantly. His fingers curled around the edge of the cot.
"My men," he muttered. "They're alive."
Another voice shouted:
"Find Lord Rowan! He couldn't have gotten far!"
Liana stiffened.
Lord Rowan.
Her eyes snapped to the wounded man on the cot.
Not just any Rowan.
Kael Rowan.
The heir to the wealthiest, most feared family in the empire.
A man known for his brutality, his intelligence, his ice-cold temper.
A man people whispered about in fear.
A man who, in Liana's past life, had remained distant—untouched by her misery... until fate brought him to her execution square.
A man who had watched her die.
Yet here he was.
At her mercy.
Kael Rowan sat up fully, ignoring the pain ripping through him. "I need to call them off before they come closer."
"No," Liana said quickly. "If they see me here with you, there will be questions. Questions I can't afford."
His eyes locked onto hers.
"Why?" he demanded.
She swallowed, choosing her words carefully. "Because people in my world don't forgive girls who step outside their place."
Kael studied her for a long, heavy moment.
Then he stood.
Barely steady.
Sweat tracing his temples.
Hand gripping the wall for balance.
But alive.
He walked toward the door, paused, and turned back to her.
"You saved my life," he said quietly. "Tell me your name."
Liana hesitated.
Giving him her name meant tying herself to him—and a Rowan's attention was a dangerous, binding thing.
But hiding it... would spark suspicion.
So she lifted her chin.
"Liana Vale."
Something flickered across his face.
Recognition?
Surprise?
A strange softness?
She couldn't tell.
Then—
"My men will find me in minutes," Kael said. "But hear this, Liana Vale—"
He stepped closer.
His voice dropped to a low, lethal whisper.
"Anyone who harms you from this day forward... will answer to me."
Her breath caught.
Cold.
Dominant.
Unshakable.
A promise sealed in blood and moonlight.
Then he stepped outside, letting the darkness swallow him.
Moments later, shouts erupted—
"Lord Rowan! He's here!"
"Wake the horses!"
"Fetch the healer—quick, he's hurt!"
Kael's silhouette vanished into the frenzy of torches and soldiers.
Liana stood alone in the doorway, the night wind brushing against her face.
Her heart beat slow. Controlled.
He was alive.
Saved.
And now...
Bound to her in a way even he didn't yet understand.
She closed the cabin door softly.
The game had officially begun.