Chapter Five

If someone wanted her and had been bold enough to try breaking in the she couldn't afford to be blind anymore. She would not sit quietly, and while her parents locked her in a gilded cage and relied on strangers from the Blackthorn pack to save her.

Because if they came once then there's a possibility they could come again. And next time, she might not wake up safely.

She was going to uncover the truth, but first of all, she needed to know if the guards stationed below her window had seen anything on that night. And there was one guatd who would tell her the truth. Simon, the youngest and the only guard who had ever looked at her with honesty instead of fear and duty.

She straightened her dress. Today, she was determined to get the answers she needed.

The hallways were too quiet. Morning light usually filled this part of the mansion with warmth. But today, the light felt dimmer swallowed by a strange heaviness in the air. She walked purposefully toward the back courtyard where the guards were usually stationed and trained. She needed to find Simon before her parents realised she wasn't in her room resting. Every step she took carried her closer to the dangers and truth they had worked so hard to hide. Her pulse quickened, a mixture of fear and determination. But then she heard a soft sound, like a breath. She froze.

The corridor was empty, completely empty, but something felt wrong. Her instincts screamed danger, but she swallowed hard and continued forward, feet lighter on the ground, movements slower and the shadows deeper.

She turned the corner and stopped. Someone stood at the far end of the hallway, a figure, still, mysterious and half consumed by shadow. Isabella couldn't make out the face of the figure, only the outline of a person . A masculine figure. Quite tall and lean, not bulky. Her heartbeat raced.

The individual was neither a guard nor a servant because he wasn't wearing the family crest. Just dark robes that blended into the darkness. And he was standing exactly where she was supposed to pass. She took one cautious step forward, and the figure stepped forward, too. With a slow and deliberate step out of the shadow. Her blood ran cold.

His face was barely visible under the cloak he was wearing, and his posture wasn't submissive like that of a worker or messenger. It wasn't confident like an envoy. It was watchful and predatory, like one staring at its prey.

The stranger tilted his head slightly and then spoke. "You shouldn't be here,"

The voice was low and smooth. It echoed slightly under the hood, dripping with calmness like someone carefully masking their real voice.

She swallowed the lump in her throat and lifted her chin. "Who are you?"

"No one you need to or must know now," the figure replied gently. "But you need to return back to your room."

Her lungs tightened. Turn back? Why?How did this stranger know where she was heading to in the first place?

She stepped back defensively. "I'm going to the training courtyard. I have every right to be here."That isn't where you're heading to. " The stranger inched closer. " You're going to speak to someone you shouldn't speak to." Panic rose down her spine . He knew.

"How... how would you know that?" she whispered .

The stranger didn't answer. Instead, he lifted a gloved hand slowly as if calming a frightened child.

" Listen carefully, too much curiosity is dangerous in this house. "

She clenched her fists. " It's my house. "

The stranger gave the slightest tilt of his head. "Then you should be the first to know that not everything enters a home is invited. "

Her breathing stopped. Invited? What did that even mean?

She forced her voice to study. "Move, I need to go. "

"No," he replied firmly, final.

" You can not go to the courtyard." the stranger said softly ." Not today, not now."

Did he know she was going to Simon to ask about the incident?

She stepped sideways, testing the distance . The stranger mirrored her perfectly, blocking the path without seeming to move quickly at all.

Her heart hammered against her chest. She took a deep breath, summoning every ounce of courage she had.

"What do you want from me?"

The stranger lowered their chin slightly, shadows hiding his eyes. " To warn you."

"Warn me about...what?" she replied

A long silence passed, and the figure finally spoke.

" Don't ask questions about the night at your window. "

Her breath hitched, shocked.

She stumbled backwards a bit. "How do you know about that?"

The stranger stepped forward again, closing the distance she tried to create.

"Because there are things that move around you silently. Things you are not meant to see. Things that care about your alliances or heirs. "

This wasn't just a warning. It was a threat disguised in a calm and careful speech.

She stared at him, breath trembling. "I deserve to know the truth. "

"Yes, you do, " he said softly. " But not now

yet. "

Anger suddenly surged, cutting through the fear choking her. She had been pushed around for months , kept in the dark, and manipulated.

She took a step forward with her chin raised. "You don't decide what I should and should not know. "

The figure finally reacted by straightening his body fully. His outline grew sharper. " You're brave," he murmured. " Good because you'll need that. "

Her voice trembled despite her efforts to keep it calm. "Are you working with my parents? Were they the ones who sent you to stop me? "

"No," the figure replied

"Then who are you with?" The stranger didn't answer.

Instead, he leaned slightly forward. Not close enough to touch her but close enough that she felt the coldness of his presence.