The Wright of exile

**Haizel**

The cold wind cut through the air, and each step felt heavier than the last. The darkness of the forest around me was oppressive, but not as much as the weight I carried in my heart. I was alone, abandoned by those I once considered my family, expelled from the only place I could call home.

The silence of the night was disturbing, contrasting with the chaos that still reverberated in my mind. Dimitri's words, filled with anger and disappointment, echoed incessantly in my ears. The pain of knowing he would never forgive me was unbearable. It didn't matter that I had acted out of fear; the result was the same—I had betrayed them all.

I wandered aimlessly through the forest, the trees passing like shadows, each one seeming to silently accuse me. There was nowhere to go, no refuge where I could hide from the truth. Lucian had manipulated my fears, and I fell into his trap like a fool. And now, I was paying the price for my weakness.

But what hurt the most was what I had lost. Antonia, the girl I raised with so much care, whom I loved as if she were my own daughter, was not Dimitri's child. And this truth, which should have been a shadow in our happiness, became the weapon Lucian used to destroy me. I couldn't stop thinking about what this would mean for her, for her life from now on. She could be rejected, despised for something that was never her fault.

Shame consumed me. How could I have let this happen? How could I have risked everything Dimitri had built? There were no easy answers, just the bitter taste of guilt. The fear that Lucian instilled in me had been like an invisible chain, binding me to a situation I didn't know how to escape. And now, I was paying the price for this self-imposed prison.

The cold was starting to intensify, and my strength was waning. I knew I needed to find a place to rest, but the desire to keep moving, to flee from the pain, kept me going. Perhaps, I thought, if I kept walking, I could somehow escape what I had done.

But reality was relentless. There was no escape, and no redemption in sight. My fate was sealed, and now I was an outcast, condemned to wander alone, carrying the weight of my choices.

Finally, my steps led me to a clearing. The full moon illuminated the space, casting a pale light on the damp grass. I stopped in the center, the cold penetrating my bones, and let my body fall to its knees. The tears I had held back for so long finally broke through, streaming down my face as pain and sorrow engulfed me.

I wanted to scream, to tear through the darkness with my voice, but all that came out was a low sob, a silent expression of a shattered heart. Everything I loved had been destroyed, and I had no one to blame but myself. The loneliness seemed to suffocate me, the darkness of the forest closing in around me as if it were a reflection of the despair in my heart.

As I allowed myself to be consumed by despair, a part of me, a small and almost imperceptible part, began to think of revenge. If I had lost everything, then Lucian shouldn't get away unscathed. Maybe, if I could somehow defeat him, I could salvage some fragment of honor. But that idea, though seductive, seemed as distant as the moon above me.

I lay down on the cold grass, my body exhausted and my soul weary. The future was uncertain, and whatever came next, I knew it would be painful. But, at least for now, I needed to rest, to gather strength to face whatever was to come.

I closed my eyes, letting the darkness completely envelop me, hoping that sleep would take me away, even if just for a few hours, from the unbearable weight that was now my only companion.

But before sleep could take me, I heard the sound of soft footsteps at the edge of the clearing. My body, exhausted and desperate, tensed immediately. Who else would be here in the middle of the night?

“You seem lost, young wolf,” said a male voice, deep and strangely comforting. When I opened my eyes, I saw the figure of an old man, cloaked in dark robes, standing at a distance.

“Who are you?” My voice came out hoarse, broken by exhaustion and tears.

He approached slowly, his features still partially hidden by the shadows of the forest. “A traveler, just like you, Haizel. But it seems your path has been diverted by suffering.”

I remained silent, his words piercing through my defenses. How did he know my name? And why did it seem like his words carried more weight than just a simple observation?

“We all carry our pains,” he continued, stopping a short distance from me. “But what we do with that pain is what defines who we truly are.”

“And what do you suggest I do?” I asked, my voice full of bitterness. “I’ve lost everything. There’s nothing left for me.”

He tilted his head, as if studying my words. “What you’ve lost may be irreplaceable, but you still have a role to play. Perhaps your redemption lies where you least expect it.”

The mystery in his words left me puzzled, but at the same time, something inside me seemed to respond to them. Before I could ask more, he turned and began to walk away, slowly disappearing into the darkness.