Chapter Eleven – Into the Pines

"Follow me," Caelan said.

His voice wasn’t raised. It didn’t need to be. It threaded through the courtyard like smoke—undeniable. He didn’t wait to see if I obeyed. He simply turned and walked.

I hesitated only a breath. Then I followed.

The guards at the archway stood aside without a word. Servants lowered their gazes. I kept mine on his back as I trailed him past the stables, past the outer gates, and down a narrow trail that led into the woods. The sun had begun to lower, casting the forest in that golden, dangerous hour.

We didn’t speak. The silence was sharp, but not uncomfortable. Not yet.

Only when the shadows deepened and we were well out of earshot did he stop. The trees around us whispered, pine needles shifting underfoot.

He turned.

"You didn’t run this time."

I blinked, startled. "Should I have?"

His mouth curled, not quite a smile. "You tell me."

I crossed my arms, though my voice came out lower than intended. "If you brought me here to scare me—"

His eyes sharpened, but there was something darker in them. Not anger. Not cruelty. Curiosity. Hunger.

"No. If I wanted to scare you, you’d already be shaking," he said, voice just above a whisper.

His words didn’t land as a threat. They curled low in my belly like heat.

He took another step forward, the air between us stretching thin.

"That’s not why I brought you here."

I should have stepped back. Should have asked again what he wanted. But I stayed. And I burned.

I stiffened. "Then why?"

He looked at me in a way that made it hard to breathe.

"Because every time I close my eyes, you're there. And every time I open them, I need to know if the girl in my dreams is the same one standing in front of me now. I need to know who you are—and why it feels like I already do."

A beat passed. A raven shrieked above. The scent of pine and crushed cedar bark filled the space between us.

He stepped closer. Not touching me. Not yet.

"When did you come to this house?"

I swallowed. "I was a child. I don’t remember much before it. Just... fire. Running. Cold."

His jaw tightened. "No name? No family?"

I shook my head.

He moved again, slow, deliberate. "Do you know what you are?"

That caught me off guard. "I’m a servant."

"That’s what you do. Not what you are."

He was close enough now that I could see the flecks of gold in his eyes.

I stood my ground. "Why do you care?"

He exhaled. The sound was heavy.

"Because you haunt me."

My chest went still.

"I dream of you," he said. "Every night. Before I ever laid eyes on you, you were in my head. In my bed."

I opened my mouth, but no sound came out.

His voice dropped. "And then I see you—and it’s not a dream anymore."

My throat tightened.

He didn’t touch me. But his presence felt like a hand around my ribs.

"There are rules," he said. "Boundaries I’ve never questioned. Until now."

I whispered, "You don’t even know me."

"That’s the problem," he murmured. "I want to."

He stepped even closer, gaze searching. "Tell me something true. Anything."

I licked my lips. "I hum when I’m nervous."

He smiled then. Not polite. Real.

"Then I hope you’re nervous often."

He let the words hang between us, his gaze still locked on mine, something stormy behind it.

Then, softer, "Would you mind if I got to know you?"

The question landed like a pebble in still water. My throat went dry.

"Why?" I asked, the word sharper than I meant. "Because I hum when I’m nervous?"

"No," he said, taking a step closer. "Because I want to know what you sound like when you're not afraid. I want to know if the girl who walks like no one sees her... would let someone see her."

I stared at him, unsure what game this was. "You’re going to mark your Luna in two days. That’s what everyone says."

His jaw ticked, just slightly. "That’s what duty says."

"And what do you say?"

He didn’t answer right away. His eyes searched mine like he was looking for something already lost.

"I say... I don’t know anymore.""

The wind rustled the trees around us like they were listening.

He didn’t kiss me. Didn’t touch me.

But gods, it felt like he had.

And somehow, I knew this wouldn’t be the last time he pulled me into the woods.