Chapter 4

I dragged my suitcase through the woods, its wheels catching on roots and rocks with every few steps.

I had no direction, no purpose.

The palace... the place I once called home... was behind me now. And I knew I could never return. Everything I had, everything I loved... gone. Just like that.

The cold bit at my skin, sharp and uncaring. I was too tired to keep moving, but I couldn’t stop while the castle was still close enough to see. Looking at it only made my chest burn.

Eventually, I found a small cluster of trees and dropped my suitcase beside me. I sank to the ground, pulled my knees to my chest, and let the tears fall. Again.

"How did it come to this?" I whispered, though no one could answer.

Theo's face kept flashing in my head. The anger in his eyes. The way he looked at me like I was nothing.  

Josephine's smirk. Her lies.  

And Tasana—lifeless and still. 

I wiped my face, but the tears wouldn’t stop.  

"I didn't kill her," I murmured. My voice cracked.  "I would never hurt her..."

The forest didn’t care. Only the sound of rustling leaves and distant animals replied.

I knew I couldn’t stay here forever. I needed food. I needed shelter. I needed a plan.

That night, I hunted. My skills were rusty... much duller than I remembered, but I managed. I had no choice.

But something felt off the moment I stepped past the trees.

That tight pull in my gut. That strange silence. I paused, scanning the woods behind me. Maybe it was the animals… maybe they followed me again?

A rustle in the bushes snapped my head to the side.

I froze.

Then five men stepped out from the shadows—grinning like wolves. I felt my stomach turn.

"Well, well," one of them sneered, his voice a low, grating mockery. "What's a pretty little thing like you doing all alone out here?"

My grip on the suitcase tightened. “Back off,” I said, trying to sound deeper, meaner, anything that might make them hesitate. “There doesn’t have to be trouble.”

They laughed.

God, that laugh.

One of them—bigger, older stepped forward. “Oh, we’ll leave you alone… after we’ve had a little fun.”

My chest tightened. I knew that tone. I knew what came next.

“I’m warning you,” I said, forcing calm into my voice. “I’d assume you lot are smart enough not to mess with someone who’s done nothing wrong.”

He grinned. “Come on now. We all know what’s going to happen. You can either enjoy it... or scream. Either way.”

My blood boiled.

“I gave you a chance,” I muttered, dropping the suitcase.

The first one lunged.

But I moved faster.

I spun, kicked hard, and felt the satisfying thud as my foot connected with his stomach. He slammed into a tree and didn’t move again.

“Bitch!” one of them yelled, charging straight at me.

I ducked his swing and rammed my elbow into his face. I felt his nose break under the blow.

Blood sprayed. He screamed.

The others faltered, just for a second. That was all I needed to know. They weren’t used to women fighting back.

"Got some strength in you, huh?" another growled.

Then all four of them came at once.

I fought.

Fists, kicks, every move I remembered from training—back when things were simple, when life made sense. I gave them everything I had.

But there were too many. Too strong. Too fast.

One grabbed my arm and yanked me back, another hit me across the ribs. Pain exploded through my side. I gasped but didn’t stop.

I bit down on one of their shoulders hard enough to taste blood. He screamed and let go.

Then they slammed me into the ground.

One of them grabbed my arm, yanking it hard behind my back. Pain shot through my shoulder. Then came a slap, so hard it knocked me down and left my ears ringing. My head hit the ground, and a wave of dizziness crashed over me.

I screamed. Kicked. Fought like my life depended on it... because it did.

They pinned me down.

“Think, Everleigh,” I told myself through the panic. “Do something. Anything.”  

But they were too strong. Too many.

I felt one of them tear at my clothes, and the cold air hit my skin. That’s when panic truly set in.

“No!” I screamed, my voice raw with desperation. I bit, scratched, did everything I could to fight back. “Get off me!”

They only laughed.

One of them leaned in close, his breath reeking of alcohol. “Stop struggling, sweetheart,” he whispered. “It’ll be easier if you just let me in.”

I trembled. Every part of me fought against what was happening. But I was breaking—physically, mentally. Tears ran down my face as they groped and grabbed and laughed like animals.

“Please,” I whispered. “Don’t do this…”

He smirked. “Oh, we’re just getting started.”

My wrists were pinned above my head. The last shred of my clothes ripped apart. I shut my eyes.

And then, something heavy hit the ground. A sickening crack followed, and one of the men screamed.

I opened my eyes.

He was flying. His body crashing into a tree so hard, blood sprayed across the bark. Another man was already on the ground, his jaw grotesquely twisted.

“What the hell—?!” someone shouted behind me.

A figure emerged from the darkness.

Tall. Broad. His face shrouded in shadow, but his presence is undeniable. Dangerous. He moved like a storm, silent and deadly.

One man lunged at him. Big mistake.

The stranger twisted his wrist and smashed a fist into his stomach so fast, so hard, the guy folded in on himself before being thrown into the dirt.

The rest tried to fight. They shouldn’t have.

He didn’t just defend me, but he destroyed them.

I lay frozen, watching with wide eyes as bone cracked, fists flew, and bodies dropped one by one. A neck snapped. A skull shattered under a single punch. The last one tried to run. He didn't get far.

He fell to his knees, sobbing. “Please! I didn’t—don’t kill me!”

The man just looked down at him, his voice low and cold. “I don’t like criminals. Your kind is worse.”

Then—bam—a final blow ended it.

Silence fell.

My body gave out. I couldn’t speak, couldn’t move. The last thing I saw was the figure coming toward me... fast, urgent.

I wanted to thank him. I really did.

But the darkness swallowed me whole.