Chapter 40

The forest had long since thinned, and the scent of the city hung heavy in the air: baked bread mingling with the tang of the sea, wood smoke laced with the acrid sting of horse dung. I could hear the distant hum of people—laughter, shouts, and the occasional bark of a vendor peddling wares. The life of the kingdom's capital beat just beyond the ridge, vibrant and unrelenting, while I clung to the shadows like a phantom unwilling to cross into the light.

Kaelin's presence behind me was a steady, grounding force. She was the woman who has saved me from death. I wish I knew what she wanted from me, but she wouldn't say. 

"Why are we here?" I asked, though my voice betrayed no real curiosity. My gaze remained fixed on the sprawling city below, its white stone walls glinting in the midday sun.

Kaelin stepped beside me, her long black cloak blending into the forest's gloom. "You need to see something," she said simply.

My heart clenched. The cryptic nature of her answer only deepened my unease. She had never brought me so close to the city before, always insisting that it was too dangerous, too soon. Always telling me that she couldn't risk me being seen. 

We crept closer, slipping through the trees and into the outskirts. I pulled my hood low over my face, though the people bustling around us paid little mind to two cloaked women. Their excitement crackled in the air, their voices loud and unfiltered.

"Did you hear? The Crown Prince Rowan and his bride are to address the people soon!"

"About time. We've heard rumors of the engagement long since."

"Lady Isabelle is a vision, isn't she? A perfect match for the Crown Prince."

The words were innocuous, but they cut through me like a blade. My feet stumbled over the cobblestones, and Kaelin's hand shot out to steady me.

"What are they talking about?" I whispered, though I dreaded the answer.

Kaelin didn't reply. Her lips pressed into a thin line, and her eyes avoided mine.

"No," I breathed, shaking my head. "It can't be..."

We followed the throng of people deeper into the city, my heart pounding harder with each step. The crowd thickened as we neared the castle square. The castle itself loomed above us, its high walls and majestic towers a testament to the power of the royal family. Once, I had walked those halls. Once, I had believed in Rowan's promises, his whispered assurances of love and protection.

The crowd surged, their cheers swelling. A hush fell over the gathered mass as attention turned toward the grand balcony of the castle.

And then I saw them.

Rowan stepped onto the balcony first, his presence commanding as ever. He was dressed in ceremonial garb, the deep blue of his house trimmed with gold. The sun caught the angles of his face, and my breath hitched. He looked stronger now, sharper somehow, as if the weeks I had left him had only refined him into something more dangerous, more magnificent.

But it was the woman beside him who stole the breath from my lungs.

Rowan turned to her, and though his expression was stoic, there was something in his gaze—a softness, a quiet reverence—that made my stomach twist.

It was Isabelle Carstairs.

I could not believe it. 

My knees buckled, and Kaelin's arm shot out to hold me steady. I couldn't tear my eyes away.

Kaelin had told me it was real. That Rowan was remarrying. I didn't believe her. I never did. She promised to take me to the city so I could see it myself. 

The crowd erupted into chants of their names. "Rowan and Isabelle! Long live the Prince and his bride!"

Rowan's bride.

The words ricocheted through my skull, each syllable a cruel mockery of everything I had clung to during my darkest days. He was marrying her. He was marrying her.

"Let's go," Kaelin murmured urgently, her voice gentle but firm.

But I couldn't move. My feet were rooted to the spot, my vision blurred with unshed tears. Every laugh, every cheer, every look of adoration cast toward Rowan and Isabelle was a dagger in my chest.

I had survived betrayal, humiliation, and the cold grip of death. I had endured pain and humiliation and clawed my way back from the brink, all with the hope that Rowan—my Rowan—was somehow waiting for me. Was looking for me. That the man I had loved still existed, that he had not given up on me as I had refused to give up on him.

But now I saw the truth. He had moved on. And in less than a fortnight. 

"I was nothing to him," I whispered, the words catching on the lump in my throat.

Kaelin tightened her grip on my arm, her voice soft but unyielding. "Ariadne, we need to leave. Now."

The crowd's cheers grew louder, their voices blending into a deafening roar. I tore my gaze away from the balcony, my vision swimming as Kaelin guided me back into the shadows.

................

The fire crackled between us, its flickering light casting shadows that danced across Kaelin's impassive face. I sat on the opposite side, silent, my thoughts a whirlwind of grief and anger. The image of Rowan on that balcony with Isabelle was seared into my mind, a memory I couldn't scrub clean no matter how tightly I clenched my fists or how many breaths I forced into my lungs.

Kaelin sat still, her sharp eyes watching me as though she could see every fracture in my soul. Her silence was maddening.

"Why are you helping me?" The words tumbled from my mouth, harsh and raw. "You saved me from death, killed my executioners, dragged me across half the kingdom, and now you bring me here to...what? Watch the man I loved smile for another?" My voice broke, the bitterness spilling over. "What do you want from me?"

Kaelin said nothing at first. She reached up, pulling the hood of her cloak back with deliberate slowness. The firelight caught the dark curls of her hair, but it was what adorned her forehead that stole the breath from my lungs.

The mark.

It was the same as mine. For a moment, I couldn't speak. My hand instinctively rose to my own forehead, where the same mark lay hidden beneath my hair.

"You..." I whispered, my voice trembling. "You have the mark."

Kaelin's lips quirked into a faint, humorless smile. "You thought you were the only one, didn't you?"

I nodded mutely, my fingers brushing over the hidden scar that made me.  No one else had borne the mark in my lifetime—not in the kingdom, not anywhere. Or so I had thought.

Kaelin leaned forward, her voice low but firm. "The mark is not a curse, Ariadne. It is not an abomination. It is a legacy."

Her words struck me like a lightning bolt. "A legacy?"

Kaelin's gaze burned with intensity as she gestured to the ground beneath us. "This land, this kingdom, this empire—all of it stands on the bones of our people. The Otsayak were not monsters, as they would have you believe. We were a peaceful people, touched by forces they could never understand. They feared us, so they destroyed us. They branded us as abominations to erase the truth. Your family, your people—they were the last to hold on to that truth."

My chest tightened. I never knew my parents. Never knew my family or had anyone I could call kin. Kaelin was the closest thing I had to a family member. 

Kaelin's voice softened, though her eyes remained hard. "The mark is a symbol of who we were—a reminder of what they took from us. You are not alone, Ariadne. We are not alone."

I swallowed hard, my hands trembling in my lap. "Why me? Why save me? You don't even know me."

Kaelin's lips pressed into a thin line. "I saved you because you are one of us, and because you are not finished yet."

Her words sent a shiver down my spine. "What do you want from me?"

Kaelin's smile turned sharp, almost predatory. "The same thing you want. Revenge."

The word hung in the air between us, a living, breathing thing. I stared at her, my heart pounding.

"You saw him today," Kaelin continued. "You saw him for who he truly is. The life he's living, the lies he's built on the ashes of your suffering. You saved him. Your healing powers healed his deformity and yet he still left you. The kingdom celebrates him while you've been left to rot. Tell me, Ariadne, don't you want revenge?"

I didn't hesitate. "Yes," I said, my voice steady despite the tears burning in my eyes. "I want revenge on Rowan. On the king. On the Royal Concubine. On all of them. For what they did to me."

Kaelin leaned back, her expression unreadable. "Good. But revenge is not something you take in one sweeping blow. If you want to destroy them, you must be smart. Patient. You must become the weapon they never see coming."

My throat tightened. "How? How do I destroy a kingdom?"

Kaelin's smile widened, her eyes gleaming with a dangerous light. "First, you learn their secrets. You infiltrate their world. You become someone they trust, someone they never suspect. And when the time is right, you strike—not to wound, but to annihilate."