The scent of pine and blood clung to the air as Aria stood over the freshly marked map. Every symbol etched on the parchment carried a memory—ones she'd buried so deep they clawed at her ribs just to surface. Ronan's territory wasn't just land. It was a graveyard of who she used to be.
Beside her, Kael was a shadow silent, massive, watchful. A dozen of his elite wolves guarded them in the trees, barely breathing as they waited for her signal.
This was her plan. Her strike.
Kael's warriors gathered around her in the strategy hall. Lights flickered, casting shadows across determined faces. No one looked at her with pity anymore. They waited for her lead.
The map she'd marked had revealed weak spots in Ronan's patrol patterns, places he never thought anyone would exploit. But she had lived under his rule. She had memorized his cruelty and patterns. She knew how his mind worked.
And she knew exactly where to hurt him.
Kael stepped aside, beside her on the floor.
She swallowed hard, fingers tracing the inked Xs she'd made. Her silence spoke louder than words. Then, slowly, she turned to the group and raised her hand, signing.
We don't strike his walls. We strike his shadow. First. Quiet. Fast. Then we burn.
Lina, standing near the war table, nodded in understanding and turned to the others. "Two teams. North perimeter. West blind path. We move before dawn."
Aria looked up at Kael.
He didn't question her judgment.
"Go get ready," he said gently. "You ride with me."
The warriors dispersed with hushed determination, their boots thudding like distant drums. The air buzzed with anticipation, but Aria's heart was strangely calm.
She hadn't felt calm in years.
Not since he—no. Not tonight. Tonight, she wouldn't think of Ronan as the one who broke her.
Tonight, she would be the one who left a scar.
The woods were still dark when they mounted up. Aria rode behind Kael, her white wolf eyes scanning the thick treeline. Every crunch of leaf, every shift of wind, made her pulse tighten. But this time, she wasn't alone in the dark.
Lina led the first team down the western slope, her form melting into the shadows. Kael's team veered north, their horses muffled with cloth, weapons strapped tight.
Aria guided them through a dense thicket, leading toward the path Ronan always ignored—because no one else dared cross it.
She remembered the first time Ronan dragged her here. The taste of blood in her mouth. The way the trees had stood as silent witnesses.
Now, they'd watch her return as something else.
They dismounted just before the ridge.
Kael raised a hand.
Silence.
Then—
A snap of twigs.
Three figures moved beneath the canopy, barely visible.
Ronan's scouts.
Kael met Aria's gaze.
She nodded.
She was ready.
The fight was short and brutal.
They'd caught the scouts off-guard. Aria moved like shadow between trees, dagger in hand, disarming one before he even drew his blade. Kael lunged at the second, his claws half-shifted, teeth bared.
The third ran.
Aria sprinted after him, faster than she'd ever moved before. Her blood roared in her ears, but her mind was clear. She tackled him near the ravine's edge, knees slamming into his back.
His claws sliced her cheek, shallow but stinging.
She snarled—silent, deadly and drove her dagger into his thigh.
He screamed.
She pressed a hand over his mouth and leaned close.
Tell Ronan, she signed with one hand as he trembled beneath her, I'm not his prey anymore.
Then she knocked him unconscious and let his broken body roll down the hill.
Back at the camp, the warriors gathered around the fire. Blood was being cleaned from weapons. No one cheered. But there was a weight in the air that had lifted.
Their first victory.
Small—but important.
Aria sat on a log, her cheek bandaged, hands wrapped. Kael approached with two bowls of broth.
"You did good," he said, handing one to her.
She looked at him, eyes sharp.
This was only the beginning.
He smiled faintly.
"I know."
He sat beside her, close but not touching.
For a while, neither of them spoke.
The fire crackled. The wolves howled in the far distance.
Then Kael turned to her. "He'll retaliate."
She nodded.
"Are you ready for that?"
Aria met his eyes.
I've been ready since the moment he let go of me.
Kael looked at her for a long time, something flickering behind his stormy gaze.
Respect.
Admiration.
Something more.
But he said nothing.
Instead, he let her lean against him, her eyes heavy with exhaustion but her heart full with something she hadn't felt in a long time.
Purpose.
The next morning brought blood.
Two outposts on the border were found razed to ash. No survivors. Just bones and scorch marks. The symbols of Ronan's rage.
"He's taunting us," Toben growled in the war room, slamming his fist on the table. "He's baiting her."
Kael's jaw clenched. "He knows she's the one who planned the ambush."
Lina leaned forward. "He's calling her out."
All eyes turned to Aria.
She didn't shrink.
Instead, she stepped forward, unfolding a new map and marking the central outpost one dangerously close to Ronan's border.
Kael narrowed his eyes. "You want to bait him?"
She nodded once.
"It's a risk," Toben warned. "He's unhinged."
Kael stared at her. "You think he'll come for you."
Aria didn't hesitate.
She signed, clear and bold: He never stopped.
A heavy silence fell across the room.
Then Kael spoke. "Then we'll be ready."