Chapter-3 The boy I’m promised, The boy I’m not

By morning, the village had already started whispering.

Aurelia felt it the moment she stepped outside—the way neighbors glanced too quickly then looked away, the way mothers pulled children closer, the way men pretended to be busy while watching her from under their brows.

They had seen the broken window.

They had heard the shouting.

And fear traveled faster than truth.

Hunters and villagers eyes weren’t the only one watching them they noticed from before they left the house someone else was also after them.

Sorrel didn’t belong in villages.

Villages had rules. Villages had gossip. Villages had men who stared too long and women who whispered too loud, and Sorrel hated both equally.

She stood on a roofbeam near the edge of Aurelia’s village just as dawn bled into the sky, watching the aftermath of the night’s attack like a hawk watching a battlefield.

Broken glass. Boarded windows. A frightened crowd gathering in tight knots.

And in the middle of it—

A girl in a plain cloak, pale from sleeplessness, walking like she was trying not to show the world she was shaking.

Aurelia.

Sorrel had been following rumors for weeks:

A healer bloodline.

A forbidden mark.

A bounty that smelled like noble coin.

She didn’t believe most rumors.

But she believed money.

And she believed danger.

That was why she’d come.

And then she saw the little boy—Eli—trailing behind the girl like a shadow.

Something in Sorrel’s chest did an annoying thing.

It tightened.

She hated that.

Compassion was a weakness. It made you careless. It got you killed.

So she told herself she didn’t care.

And then she saw the grandmother’s face.

Old. Sharp-eyed. Terrified.

Sorrel knew that face.

It was the face of someone who’d seen hunters before.

That was when a man’s voice spoke from behind her—quiet as a blade sliding free.

“Watching people in the morning is a habit of yours?”

Sorrel didn’t flinch. She didn’t turn.

“Depends,” she said. “Are you about to arrest me or flirt with me?”

A soft huff. Not quite a laugh.

Kael stepped into view with the calmness of a man who had survived too many nights to panic during sunrise.

He wasn’t dressed like a village boy. His gear was travel-worn, sturdy, expensive in a subtle way. A bow rested across his back. A small silver emblem was pinned inside his cloak—half-hidden, like he didn’t want it seen.

Sorrel narrowed her eyes. “Who are you?”

Kael’s gaze followed hers toward Aurelia’s group. “Someone who doesn’t like seeing bounty hunters collect children.”

Sorrel scoffed. “So you’re a hero.”

Kael’s expression didn’t change. “No.”

“Good,” Sorrel said. “Heroes are usually idiots.”

Kael looked at her properly then, eyes steady. “And what are you?”

Sorrel smirked. “An idiot with good timing.”

Kael’s eyes flicked to the village road.

Men in dark leather were already arriving—pretending to be travelers. Watching too carefully. Measuring.

Hunters.

Kael’s voice dropped. “They’re moving today.”

Sorrel’s grin faded. “Yeah.”

Kael shifted his weight. “If we wait, we’ll lose them.”

Sorrel eyed him. “Why do you care?”

Kael paused—just slightly.

Then he said, “Because I used to belong to an order that tracked cursed marks. We were trained to find them… and deliver them.”

Sorrel blinked. “You were one of them?”

Kael’s jaw tightened. “I left.”

“Why?”

His gaze stayed on Aurelia. “Because the last marked girl I delivered was twelve.”

Sorrel’s chest went tight again, that annoying thing.

She looked away. “So what now?”

Kael’s eyes sharpened. “Now I don’t deliver them. I break the chain.”

Sorrel stared at him for a second, then snorted. “That’s disgustingly noble.”

Kael’s mouth twitched. “And you?”

Sorrel shrugged. “I hate powerful men who think they own people.”

Kael nodded once, accepting that as a valid reason.

Sorrel glanced at Aurelia’s group starting to leave the village.

“How do we track them?” she asked.

Kael reached into his pouch and pulled out a pinch of gray powder. “Ash-sand. Put it on their footprints. It clings to the trail for a day, even through streams.”

Sorrel whistled softly. “Fancy.”

Kael’s tone was dry. “It’s how my old order hunted.”

Sorrel’s grin returned—sharp, dangerous. “Then let’s hunt the hunters.”

They followed.

Quietly.

Far enough not to be seen.

Close enough not to lose them.

And when the first whistle of pursuit sounded in the woods, Sorrel didn’t hesitate.

She and Kael moved to flank the trail—like wolves circling wolves.

Eren walked ahead with a sword strapped to his back like he didn’t care who noticed. His eyes didn’t stop moving. He looked like a man who’d decided if the world wanted his sister, it would have to walk through him first. They have decided to leave this village behind.

Phil walked beside Aurelia, carrying a sack of supplies—bread, dried fruit, waterskins, rope, a small medical kit he’d begged from the village healer at dawn.

He hadn’t slept. She could tell by the tightness around his eyes.

Behind them, wrapped in a cloak that was far too big, a little boy followed.

Eli.

He was seven, small and quiet, with soot-dark hair and eyes that seemed too old for his face. Aurelia had known him only for a month—ever since his mother died during the early frost, and his father vanished soon after, leaving the boy alone.

Aurelia’s grandmother had taken him in temporarily, the way she took in injured birds and stray kittens.

But “temporary” didn’t exist in their home. Not really.

Eli clung to the hem of Aurelia’s cloak like it was the only safe thing left in his world.

Aurelia kept glancing back at him. “Are you warm enough?”

Eli nodded quickly, but his chin trembled. “Are we… leaving forever?”

Her chest tightened. “No. Just until it’s safe.”

Eren muttered without turning around, “Which might be never.”

“Eren,” Aurelia warned.

He didn’t apologize. But he slowed his pace so Eli could keep up.

Phil noticed Aurelia watching Eli and lowered his voice. “He insisted on coming.”

Aurelia frowned. “Why?”

Phil’s gaze softened. “Because he heard the men last night. He thinks… if he stays in the village, they’ll come back.”

Aurelia’s stomach turned. “And Nana agreed?”

“She said,” Phil sighed, “‘A child left behind becomes a bargaining chip.’”

Aurelia’s breath caught.

That was the clearest reason yet for leaving: if they stayed, the village wouldn’t just betray her—someone would sell Eli to save their own children.

They reached the edge of the village where the dirt road narrowed into forest trail. The trees looked darker than usual, dense with shadow even in daylight.

Aurelia paused at the boundary, staring at the woods like it was a mouth.

Her grandmother stepped beside her. In the daylight, Nana looked tired, but her spine stayed straight like it always had—like she refused to bend even if the world demanded it.

“We leave because the village is no longer ours,” Nana said quietly. “And because the men who came last night were not common thieves.”

What about these two they are following us clearly Eren said to grandmother.

Let them I don’t sense any danger from them. We will see what happens later. We need worry about the ones who attacked us last night. Grandmother replied.

Phil’s jaw tightened. “Then who are they?”

Nana’s eyes flicked to Aurelia’s covered wrist. “People who hunt what they cannot understand.”

Eren spat on the ground. “And people who get paid for handing over magic users.”

Phil’s face tightened with disbelief. “Magic users? You’re saying—”

Nana raised a hand. “Phil. You’ve loved Aurelia since you were children. If you take one more step with us, your life becomes hunted too.”

Phil didn’t hesitate.

“I already decided,” he said, voice firm. “Last night, when I saw her bleeding glass in her own kitchen. When I heard men speak about her like she was property.”

He turned to Aurelia, gentler now.

“I’m not leaving you.”

Aurelia’s heart twisted in two directions—gratitude and guilt.

Because she cared for Phil. She did.

But her mind kept replaying emerald eyes in the dark… and the way her pulse answered them.

Her grandmother looked at Phil for a long moment. Then she nodded once.

“Then you walk with us. But understand this: love will not protect you. Only choices will.”

Eren snorted. “Finally. Someone said it.”

Phil shot him a look. “You enjoy being dramatic.”

Eren smirked. “I learned from you.”

Aurelia almost laughed—almost.

But her wrist itched again beneath her sleeve, and she knew the forest was listening.

⸻

They walked for hours along paths Eren chose—paths that avoided the main road.

As the sun climbed, the woods thickened. The air smelled of damp earth and pine.

Eli’s steps slowed.

Aurelia kept glancing at him. “You can ride on my back if you get tired.”

Eli’s eyes widened. “Really?”

Eren cut in, “Don’t encourage him. He’ll start asking for piggyback rides daily.”

Phil leaned closer to Aurelia with a grin. “I’ll do it.”

Aurelia blinked. “You?”

Phil stood taller, puffing his chest. “I’m heroic.”

Eren barked a laugh. “You’ll last five minutes.”

Phil glared. “I’ll last ten.”

Aurelia couldn’t help it—she laughed, a soft sound that made even her own chest feel lighter.

For one brief moment, they felt like a normal group.

A sister. A brother. A fiancé. A grandmother. A child.

Then Nana stopped walking.

She stared at something on the ground.

Aurelia’s stomach sank. “What is it?”

Nana crouched and brushed aside leaves.

Footprints.

Not theirs.

Fresh.

Phil’s expression changed instantly. “We’re being followed?”

Eren’s hand went to his sword. “We never stopped being followed.”

Two shadows appeared From the woods, who are you, asked Eren. You are following us from the village.

Don’t be scared. We are here to help and distract those hunters. Said Sorrel.

He is Kael and I am Sorrel. You need to trust us. If we wanted to harm you we had already done it. She tried to soften her voice.

Before Eren could say anything grandmother nodded like she trusted what they said. We can use their help. She said firmly.

But,Eren hesitated.

Aurelia’s wrist burned suddenly.

The mark pulsed beneath her sleeve like a warning bell.

Then Eli’s voice trembled. “Aurelia…”

She turned.

Eli pointed with a shaking finger toward the treeline.

There—half-hidden by root and shadow—sat a white cat with blue eyes.

Still.

Watching.

Aurelia’s breath caught.

Phil blinked, confused. “It’s just a cat.”

Aurelia’s whisper came out broken. “No…”

The cat blinked once, slow.

Then stood and walked into the woods like it had all the time in the world.

Aurelia didn’t think.

She followed.

“Aurelia!” Eren barked.

Phil grabbed her wrist instinctively, but Aurelia yanked free, adrenaline surging. “I’ll be right back—!”

Eren cursed and went after her. Phil followed too, panic rising.

Aurelia pushed through branches until the forest opened into a small hidden hollow.

The cat sat in the center.

Waiting.

Aurelia stepped forward, breathless. “Why are you following me?”

The air shifted.

Shadow folded over itself.

And the boy appeared—like he was carved from moonlight and dark.

Habeel.

Phil stumbled into the clearing behind her and froze.

Eren arrived a second later, blade drawn.

Phil stepped in front of Aurelia immediately. “Who are you?”

Habeel didn’t answer him.

He looked at Aurelia instead—like she was the only thing in the world.

“You shouldn’t have followed,” Habeel said quietly.

Aurelia swallowed. “Then why lead me?”

Habeel’s gaze softened, just a fraction.

“Because they’re close,” he said. “And you deserve warning.”

Eren’s voice was sharp. “Warning about what?”

Habeel’s eyes lifted toward the trees. “Hunters.”

A distant whistle cut through the woods.

Then another.

Closer.

Phil’s face drained. “How many?”

Habeel listened. “Enough.”

Aurelia’s mark flared beneath her sleeve like it had a heartbeat of its own.

Habeel’s jaw tightened when he saw the glow. “They can sense you now.”

Aurelia’s voice shook. “Then what do we do?”

Habeel stepped closer—close enough that Aurelia felt the heat of him, the pull of him.

“You run,” he said softly.

Phil snapped, “And you?”

Habeel’s eyes cut to Phil—calm, cold. “I buy you time.”

Phil bristled. “We don’t need you to—”

Habeel leaned in slightly, voice deadly quiet. “You do.”

Eren grabbed Aurelia’s arm. “Move.”

They ran.

Branches whipped. Eli sobbed somewhere behind them as Eren half-carried him.

Behind them—

a roar.

a scream.

steel clashing.

Then silence.

Aurelia looked back.

The woods swallowed everything.

Only shadow remained.

And on her wrist—the mark pulsed like a promise she didn’t understand.

—

A whisper slid through the trees—soft, unseen, unmistakably close:

“You can’t escape what you awakened.”

⸻

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