Chapter 13: Beneath the Surface
The forest had always whispered secrets, but tonight, it was screaming.
Elara felt it in her bones; something wasn't right. The wind felt heavier, as if the trees were bracing for impact. Leaves rustled in warning, not welcome. Even the moon, usually her silent ally, hung cold and distant above the treetops.
Aldric stood beside her near the village watchtower, his hand brushing against hers as they stared into the darkness together.
"We should get some rest," he said softly.
Elara didn't respond.
She hadn't slept properly since Corwin's attack. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw the flash of silver, heard the horses' screams, felt the blood on her hands. She wasn't afraid of the violence. She was afraid of what it meant—that the world they were building here wasn't far from the old one. That peace might always be a borrowed dream.
Aldric gently turned her face toward him. "You're carrying too much again."
"I don't know how to carry any less," she whispered.
He wrapped his arms around her. "Then let me help."
---
The next day, the council met at dawn. Sira, Kaelen, Rue, and several elders gathered in the longhouse. The air was heavy with the scent of burnt herbs—Elara's doing. She needed clarity.
Aldric started the meeting.
"Corwin's retreat wasn't a surrender. He's regrouping. We need to assume another strike is coming."
Sira nodded grimly. "We should evacuate the children and elders to the mountain hold."
Kaelen frowned. "And what if they find us there too? Running every time we're threatened is not survival. It's slow defeat."
"I'm not asking to run," Elara interjected. "I'm asking to protect. We stay. We fight. But the vulnerable need a shield while we do."
Rue, the youngest council member and sharpest mind among them, shifted nervously. "There's another concern… Varek's gone."
Elara's eyes snapped up. "What?"
"He left his cabin last night. Took only a small pack. No note. No trail."
The room fell silent.
Aldric spoke first. "You think he's gone to Corwin?"
"I don't know," Rue said. "But he warned Elara once. Maybe he thinks her judgment is clouded."
Elara clenched her fists beneath the table. "He wouldn't betray us."
Kaelen raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure about that?"
Elara stood. "I'm going to find him."
---
The search took her deep into the eastern woods, where the trees grew older and closer, as if guarding something ancient. Her wolf senses guided her—scents clung to bark, faint traces of disturbed footfalls in the underbrush.
Night fell when she found remnants of a small fire tucked into a hollow beneath a ridge. Beside it was a blanket she recognized.
Varek had been here.
She crouched low, breathing in the scent, letting it wrap around her like memory. Then she heard it—a low rustle to her left.
She turned quickly, heart racing.
"Varek?" she called softly.
A figure stepped from the trees. It was him.
But something was wrong.
His face was gaunt, and his eyes were rimmed with red. His usual steady demeanor was frayed, like he hadn't slept in days.
"You shouldn't have come," he said.
"You shouldn't have left," she replied, stepping closer.
Varek shook his head, backing away. "This isn't your war, Elara. You made it yours. But it never had to be."
Her voice was barely above a whisper. "Did you go to Corwin?"
He hesitated.
"Elara…" he said, pain etched into every line of his face, "I thought I could reason with him. Warn him off. But he wants blood. And not just yours. He wants Aldric's head."
She froze.
"I told him if he touched either of you, the forest would answer," Varek continued. "But I saw the look in his eyes. He's coming. And next time, he won't stop at ten men."
Elara's throat tightened. "Then why are you out here? Why not come back and fight with us?"
Varek looked down. "Because I'm afraid. Not of Corwin. Of you."
She blinked. "Me?"
"You don't know what you are," he said. "Not really. The power inside you is old. Woven with something darker than you understand. And if Corwin pushes you too far…"
"You think I'll lose control," she said.
"I think," Varek whispered, "that the forest isn't the only thing that remembers old blood."
For a long time, neither of them spoke.
Then Elara stepped closer and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"I'm not that beast anymore," she said. "And even if I was, I'm not alone."
Varek closed his eyes. "I hope that's true."
---
When she returned to the village at sunrise, Aldric was waiting. His relief showed as he pulled her into his arms like a man afraid he'd never see her again.
"You found him," he murmured.
She nodded against his chest. "He's broken. But not lost."
"Like the rest of us," Aldric said with a sad smile.
---
That evening, they prepared for the worst. They reinforced barricades, cleaned and counted weapons, and stationed scouts at every point.
As the moon rose, Elara and Aldric found themselves alone again, standing at the edge of the woods where their story began.
"Do you remember the first night we met?" Aldric asked.
"You were bleeding, angry, and half-conscious," she said. "Hard to forget."
"I remember your eyes," he said. "I thought I was hallucinating. A wild woman in the mist."
"You weren't far off."
He turned to her, his expression serious.
"Whatever happens next—Elara, I need you to know—this life, this path, I chose it. I'd choose it again, a thousand times."
Her voice caught. "I used to think I'd always be alone. That love was something dangerous. A weakness."
"And now?"
"Now I know it's the only thing worth fighting for."
He leaned in, forehead to hers.
Under the weight of the coming storm, they kissed again—not with fear, but with faith.
Because whatever the forest screamed, whatever the crown demanded…
They had each other.
That would always be enough.
To be continued...
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