Kaia's POV
I have twelve hours to prepare for my death.
That's all I can think about as I pace my tiny room after the morning assembly. Twelve hours until moonrise. Twelve hours until trained warriors hunt me through a forest I've never seen.
Twelve hours to figure out how to survive.
A soft knock interrupts my spiraling thoughts.
Luna slips inside, her maid's uniform wrinkled like she's been running. We don't have much time. Come with me.
Where—
Library. If you're going into that forest blind, you're dead. She grabs my hand. I found maps. Detailed ones. But we have to go now before someone notices.
We sneak through servant passages—narrow hallways hidden behind the palace walls that Luna learned about in her first day working here. My heart pounds the entire way.
If we're caught, Luna could be fired. Or worse.
Here. She pushes open a hidden door.
We step into the most beautiful room I've ever seen. The royal library stretches three stories high, filled with thousands of books, with ladders on wheels and reading tables scattered throughout.
And it's empty.
Everyone's preparing for tonight, Luna explains, pulling me toward a back table. Guards are positioning in the forest. Candidates are in their rooms panicking. We have maybe an hour before someone comes.
She spreads a massive map across the table—the royal forest in intricate detail.
Look. Her finger traces a blue line. There's a river running through the center. If you follow it north, there are caves here. She points to small symbols. Natural shelters. If you can reach them before the guards find you—
I'll have somewhere to hide until dawn, I finish, studying the map carefully.
Exactly. And see these markers? She indicates red X's scattered throughout. Those are known guard posts. Avoid them.
I memorize everything—the river's path, the cave locations, dangerous areas. My mind files it away like I used to memorize the Ashborne household's schedules to avoid Vivienne's wrath.
Survival skills transfer, apparently.
What about the other candidates? I ask. Will they know the forest?
The Purebloods probably trained here, Luna admits. Seraphine especially. She's been to this palace before—her family has connections to the King's council.
Of course she does.
So I'm at a disadvantage no matter what.
You're always at a disadvantage. Luna's voice is matter-of-fact. You've been fighting uphill your whole life. This is just another hill.
She's right. I've survived impossible odds before.
I can do it again.
Memorize the river path, Luna says. That's your lifeline. Follow it north to
Well, well. What do we have here?
My blood turns to ice.
Seraphine stands in the library entrance, flanked by three other candidates, all Pureblood, all looking at us like wolves who found prey.
Luna moves in front of me instinctively. We were just leaving
You were just cheating. Seraphine stalks toward us, her ice-blue eyes fixed on the map. Studying the forest layout. Getting advantages you don't deserve.
The library is open to everyone, I say, trying to keep my voice steady.
Not for servants. Seraphine nods to Luna. She shouldn't even be in this wing. And you— Her gaze rakes over me with contempt. —studying won't save you, Mixedblood. You'll die first tonight. We'll make sure of it.
One of her allies—a dark-haired candidate with cruel eyes—sweeps the maps off the table. They scatter across the floor.
Luna starts forward, but I grab her arm. Don't.
Listen to your servant, Seraphine purrs. At least she knows her place.
The insult burns, but I force myself to stand slowly, calmly. I've faced worse bullies than Seraphine. Vivienne perfected cruelty—this is amateur hour.
Maybe I'll die first, I say quietly. Maybe you're right.
Seraphine's smile widens.
But I'll make sure everyone remembers I didn't beg. I step closer, meeting her eyes. I'll make sure when they talk about tonight's hunt, they remember the Mixedblood who refused to bow to Pureblood trash who thought birth made them better than effort.
The smile disappears.
Something flickers in Seraphine's eyes—respect? Hatred? Both?
You have spirit, she says softly. I'll enjoy breaking it.
You can try.
For a moment, we stand there, predator and prey, except neither of us is sure which is which.
Then Seraphine turns to leave, her allies following. At the door, she pauses.
See you in the forest, Mixedblood. I hope you run fast.
They're gone.
I collapse into a chair, my whole body shaking now that the confrontation is over.
You're insane, Luna breathes. Do you know what she could do to you?
She's already planning to kill me. Might as well go down fighting.
Luna grabs the scattered maps, shoving them at me. Memorize these. Now. While we still have time.
I study them until my eyes blur, burning every detail into my memory.
Hours later, back in my room, I try to rest but can't.
Six hours until moonrise.
A knock on my door makes me jump.
A servant stands there—elderly, unfamiliar. Package for Miss Ashborne.
He hands me a wrapped bundle and leaves before I can ask questions.
Inside my room, I unwrap it carefully.
Dark running clothes made of soft, flexible fabric. Leather boots that look expensive and well-made. A canteen. A knife in a leather sheath.
No note. No indication who sent it.
But when I lift the wrapping to my nose, I catch the scent: storm and pine.
Daemon's scent.
The Alpha King sent me supplies.
Why would he help me when he's supposed to be impartial? When showing favoritism could undermine the entire trial?
My wolf stirs, purring: Mate protects us.
Shut up, I whisper. We can't trust him.
But even as I say it, I'm pulling on the running clothes. They fit perfectly, like they were made for me. The boots too.
Someone measured me. Someone planned this.
Daemon planned this.
The mate bond warms in my chest, and I hate how good it feels. How safe.
I can't afford to feel safe. Not when people are actively trying to kill me.
I strap the knife to my thigh, fill the canteen with water, and braid my hair tight.
Three hours until moonrise.
Luna appears one last time, bringing food I can't eat and encouragement I desperately need.
Come back alive, she says, hugging me.
I will.
Promise me.
I promise.
She leaves through the servant door.
I'm alone with my thoughts, my fear, and the supplies from a man who thinks I'm his dead mate.
Two hours until moonrise.
I pull out the silver vial Daemon gave me last night—the Moonborn blood magic that will enhance my instincts. I'm supposed to drink it right before the hunt begins.
Ancient magic. Dangerous. Untested.
But what choice do I have?
One hour until moonrise.
I hear movement in the hallway—candidates gathering, guards assembling.
Thirty minutes.
I drink the silver liquid.
It burns down my throat like liquid fire, spreading through my veins. My wolf surges awake, stronger than she's ever been. My senses sharpen—I can hear heartbeats in distant rooms, smell individual scents through closed doors.
The magic is working.
Fifteen minutes.
Guards knock on every door. All candidates to the forest entrance. Now.
I follow the others through the palace. Nine of us remain. By dawn, half will be dead.
I refuse to be one of them.
We gather at the forest edge. Daemon watches from his platform, his face cold and remote.
The moon rises—huge and silver and terrifying.
You have a ten-minute head start, Daemon announces. Then the hunt begins.
My enhanced senses pick up whispered conversations between candidates:
get the Mixedblood first
make it look like an accident
she won't last an hour
They're coordinating. Planning my death before the guards even join the hunt.
Daemon raises his hand.
Begin.
I run into the forest.
Behind me, I hear Seraphine's voice, clear and cold: Get the Mixedblood first. I want her eliminated before the guards even find her.
Multiple footsteps follow mine—not just one or two candidates, but several.
They're hunting me as a pack.
The ten-minute head start isn't protection.
It's an opportunity for them to kill me privately.
My enhanced wolf senses scream danger from every direction. I run faster, following the river path I memorized, heading for the caves.
But I can hear them gaining.
Four sets of footsteps. Four candidates working together.
And they're faster than me.
A branch cracks to my left. Someone's trying to flank me.
I dodge right, splashing through the river to hide my scent.
She went north! someone shouts.
They're coordinating like trained hunters.
Because they are. Pureblood candidates raised for this, while I'm a Mixedblood who learned to survive on streets, not in forests.
I'm going to die.
The thought is crystal clear in my mind.
Unless I do something they don't expect.
I stop running.
I turn around.
Four candidates emerge from the trees—Seraphine, her cruel-eyed ally, and two others I barely know.
They stop, surprised I'm not running anymore.
Finally gave up? Seraphine asks, drawing a knife.
No. I pull my own knife—Daemon's gift. I'm tired of being prey.
Seraphine laughs. Four against one. You're going to fight us?
I'm going to make sure when you explain my death to the King, you have to admit I fought back.
Something shifts in the forest—a presence so powerful it makes all of us freeze.
Daemon's voice cuts through the darkness, cold with fury:
The hunt hasn't officially started yet. Candidates attacking each other during the head start violates trial rules.
He steps into the clearing, and his power fills the air like a physical force.
Everyone drops to their knees except me—my legs won't obey.
Daemon's silver eyes find mine, and I see rage there. Barely controlled, volcanic rage.
Return to your starting positions, he commands the others. The official hunt begins in three minutes. If I catch any candidate attacking another before the guards are released, you will be executed for cheating. Understood?
Yes, Your Majesty, they chorus.
Seraphine shoots me a look of pure hatred as she retreats.
When they're gone, Daemon and I are alone.
You shouldn't have stopped running, he says quietly.
I'm tired of running.
Running keeps you alive.
So does fighting.
Something like approval flickers across his face. Then it's gone, replaced by cold authority.
The hunt begins in two minutes. When it does, I can't help you again. Do you understand?
I never asked for your help.
I know. His voice softens for just a second. But I'm giving it anyway. Head north to the caves. Don't trust anyone. And Kaia?
Yes?
Survive. Because I'm not done finding answers about who you are.
He disappears into the shadows.
I'm alone again.
Two minutes until the real hunt begins.
I start running north, following the river, heading for the caves.
Behind me, a horn sounds—deep, haunting, terrible.
The guards are released.
The real hunt has begun.
And somewhere in this forest, both trained warriors and vengeful candidates are tracking me.
I'm the prey everyone wants to catch.
And I have until dawn to prove I'm worth more than they think.
My wolf surges with the blood magic, and I run faster than I've ever run.
Because I refuse to die here.
I refuse to be forgotten.
And I refuse to let them win.