Everything felt strange.
I couldn't say exactly when I had started feeling uneasy, but ever since we left the palace, something had felt… wrong.
This wasn't an escape like I had imagined. We didn't go through the main gates or take a carriage.
We simply walked.
We walked away from the halls, away from the marble corridors, away from the watching eyes.
But we were still inside.
The forest surrounding the palace had always been part of the royal grounds, a carefully maintained stretch of land that was almost domesticated. Clean paths. Tall trees that looked as though they had been planted for aesthetic purposes rather than allowed to grow naturally.
Yet that day, everything felt different.
Denser.
Darker.
As if the place itself had suddenly changed its mood.
The strangest part was that we weren't carrying any luggage.
No trunks. No bags. No chests.
Nothing.
Only the clothes Yeana had chosen for me: practical pants, a simple shirt, sturdy boots. No dresses. Nothing that reminded me that I used to live protected behind walls.
Before we ventured deeper into the forest, Yeana led me to a room I had never seen before.
It wasn't on any floor plan I remembered from the palace. It was a hidden room with walls covered in uneven bookshelves.
Strange objects were scattered everywhere: bottles filled with liquids that seemed to move on their own, ancient weapons, pieces of metal engraved with symbols, and carefully folded fabrics.
Normally, things like these were handled by specialized servants or the guards assigned to the inner wing.
But Yeana handled them herself.
That alone was a warning.
She moved quickly. Too quickly.
Her hands—pale and steady—searched, touched, and moved things aside.
She didn't look nervous…
but her breathing wasn't steady.
I watched her in silence, feeling my stomach slowly tighten.
Then it happened.
Right in front of us, as though she had been there all along, Nella appeared.
My first instinct was to smile.
—Nella… —I managed to say, taking a small step forward.
I didn't get any further.
Yeana moved so quickly that I barely saw her. She stepped in front of me, placing her body between Nella and me like a living wall.
That was the first thing that made my blood run cold.
The second was realizing that Nella didn't look like herself.
The Nella I knew smiled even when she was being serious. She had a gentle way of looking at people, as if everything were some sort of game only she understood.
But now…
There was no smile.
Her expression was calm, yes, but it wasn't a kind of calm that made you feel safe.
It was the calm of something that didn't need to hurry.
The calm of someone who was completely certain of her position.
And her eyes…
I don't know how to explain it without sounding dramatic, but I felt as though she were looking straight through me.
Not exactly at me, but at what I was.
As if she were measuring me.
Evaluating me.
For the first time since I had known her, I thought of a word I had never associated with Nella before.
Dangerous.
—Ana, come here —Nella said.
Her voice wasn't loud.
It wasn't aggressive.
And yet, it frightened me.
A lot.
—And you, Yeana, don't get in my way. I have a job to do.
Yeana didn't move.
—And let you take her? —she replied coldly. —Who knows what they'll do to her? Even if the prince is unavailable, Ana is my responsibility. And I won't let them hurt her.
The silence that followed was heavy.
Nella tilted her head slightly, as though evaluating that answer.
—Don't exaggerate —she said. —They won't hurt her. Nothing like that.
They'll simply make her progress… faster.
A knot formed in my chest.
I didn't understand what they were talking about. I didn't know what "progress" meant.
But the way Nella said it…
It didn't sound good.
It sounded final.
As if whatever was going to happen had already been decided, with or without my consent.
The air felt heavy.
I couldn't move.
I wanted to ask questions. I wanted to say something. I wanted to understand.
But my body wouldn't respond.
Nella took a step forward.
Instinctively, I wanted to do the same.
Maybe to ask her what was happening.
Maybe to stop her.
Maybe because some naive part of me still believed that everything could be fixed if we just talked.
I didn't take the step.
I only thought about it.
And that was enough.
—Anastasia River —Yeana said sternly without looking at me. —Don't even think about moving. Stay behind me.
Hearing my full name struck me like a blow.
I nodded.
I didn't argue.
I didn't ask questions.
I simply obeyed and stepped back, positioning myself directly behind her.
From there, I could see her silhouette clearly: her gray hair falling in soft waves, her wolf ears standing upright, tense and alert.
I had never seen them like that before.
Nella burst into laughter.
It wasn't a joyful laugh.
It was loud, open, almost mocking.
—Seriously? —she asked between laughs. —You think you can stand against me?
I didn't understand why she was laughing.
I didn't understand anything.
And then it happened.
It was so fast that at first I thought I had imagined it.
A sound cutting through the air.
A sharp, almost invisible whistle.
Nella stopped.
She brought a hand to her shoulder.
Between her fingers, I saw a small dark mark on the fabric.
Nothing excessive.
Nothing bloody.
But enough.
—What…? —she muttered.
I followed the trajectory with my eyes.
Yeana.
She was holding a bow.
Not an ordinary one.
It was ethereal and translucent, formed entirely from condensed wind.
The string was still vibrating, and her stance…
Her stance wasn't that of someone issuing a threat.
It was the stance of someone who had fired to kill.
Her eyes…
I had never seen her like that.
There was no doubt.
No hesitation.
No mercy.
For a moment, I was afraid of her.
Nella looked at her shoulder, then at Yeana, and slowly smiled.
—Well… —she said. —That bow really suits you. Look at me. You actually hurt me.
—Be grateful it was your shoulder, you bastard —Yeana replied. —I was aiming for your heart.
Silence fell again, heavier than before.
—In that case —Nella said— I suppose I'll have to get serious, don't you think?
My heart was beating so hard that I thought they would hear it.
—Ana —Yeana said without taking her eyes off Nella— stay behind me. She won't dare hurt you. She needs you alive.
I swallowed hard.
—And you? —I asked, barely above a whisper.
Yeana didn't hesitate.
—I'll survive. Who do you take me for?
I am Yeana Seraphiel.
I am a noble.
And I'm stronger than you.
If I don't protect you, no one else will.
I nodded.
Not because I understood.
But because I trusted her.
I stayed behind her, with the feeling that something terrible was about to erupt.
And for the first time, I understood something that sent a chill down my spine:
If a battle began there…
I was the reason.