Sebastian led Aliena deeper between the trees, his steps soundless despite the debris beneath his boots. The forest seemed to bend around him, a narrow, winding path opening as though it recognized his presence. Aliena struggled to keep up, legs trembling with fatigue and adrenaline slowly draining from her body. Each step felt heavier than the last, as if the forest itself were testing her resolve.
She hugged her arms around herself, feeling the chill finally seep into her skin. The adrenaline from the abduction was fading, leaving her body cold and aching. Every snap of a twig, every brush of leaves against her shoulders, sent shivers down her spine.
Sebastian's presence beside her was both terrifying and grounding. Even in silence, his proximity was impossible to ignore. His shadow stretched across the forest floor, shifting with the moonlight, moving like a dark guardian. Aliena couldn't help but glance at him occasionally, catching glimpses of his jaw set tight, the crimson fire of his eyes reflecting faint moonlight.
Only when they reached a small clearing did Sebastian stop.
Moonlight spilled down through a gap in the canopy, illuminating a circle of moss-covered ground. The air here was different, less oppressive, though still alive with the quiet hum of the forest, as if the trees themselves were watching. Aliena shivered and pressed her palms to her arms.
Sebastian turned to face her, his posture rigid, shoulders squared, every muscle taut and ready. "Sit," he said, his voice firm but not unkind.
Aliena obeyed without argument, lowering herself onto a fallen log. Her hands were still trembling, and she pressed them together, embarrassed by how little control she had over her own body. She tried to breathe evenly, but the rapid rhythm of her heart betrayed her fear.
"You're bleeding," Sebastian said, his eyes scanning her with precision.
Aliena blinked. "I am?"
He stepped closer, tilting her chin upward gently. A thin cut marred her temple, barely noticeable, likely from when she had been dragged through the underbrush. She hadn't even felt it.
Sebastian muttered something under his breath and brushed his thumb across the wound. Warmth spread where he touched, soothing and immediate. Pain dulled.
Aliena's gaze lingered on his hand. "You… healed it," she whispered.
"Yes," he replied, voice even.
"How?"
His golden red eyes met hers, unwavering. "I'm a witch and we are capable of more than you've been taught."
She let out a weak laugh. "Apparently demons are too," she added, trying to mask her lingering fear with humor.
His jaw tightened. "You truly did not believe they existed?"
"No," she admitted softly. "I thought they were stories meant to frighten children. Like warnings to behave."
Sebastian's eyes darkened, deepening into shadows of memory she couldn't see. "They were warnings. Just not for children."
Silence settled over them, thick and almost tangible. Somewhere in the distance, a low, haunting howl echoed through the forest. Aliena flinched involuntarily.
"They won't come back," Sebastian said immediately, his voice quiet but resolute. "Not tonight."
"You sound certain," she murmured.
"I am."
Her gaze dropped to the ground, but curiosity forced the next question out. "How did you find me?"
He didn't answer right away. Instead, he looked away, scanning the dark treeline, senses attuned to the faintest whisper of movement.
"I noticed you were gone," he said finally, as if stating the obvious.
"That's not an answer," she pressed, her voice sharper now.
His eyes flicked back to hers, golden-red and unyielding. "It's the only one you're getting."
Aliena frowned. "You passed me in the corridor like I didn't exist."
His lips thinned. "And yet here you are."
"That doesn't explain why you cared enough to follow."
Sebastian's expression hardened, walls snapping back into place. "…I did not follow you."
Aliena raised an eyebrow, disbelief plain on her face. "Then you just happened to be nearby when I was abducted?"
A pause. "…Yes."
She stared at him, incredulous.
He met her gaze without flinching. "…You're lying," she accused softly, though her voice carried more curiosity than anger.
Sebastian exhaled slowly, clearly irritated, but not at her. At himself. "You ask too many questions," he muttered.
"I almost died," she shot back, surprising herself with the steel in her voice. "I think I'm allowed a few."
Something flickered across his face then, not anger, not coldness, but something quieter. Something conflicted.
"They were hunting," he said at last. "Not you specifically. You were convenient."
"That's meant to comfort me?"
"No," he replied bluntly. "It's meant to make you cautious."
She swallowed. "You said they were demons. Why would they be near the palace?"
Sebastian's gaze sharpened, scanning the shadows beyond. "Because Nacrifa is no longer as untouchable as it once was."
Her breath caught. "So the attack you mentioned—"
"Yes," he cut in, the word heavy, final. "Is coming."
Aliena looked down at her hands, twisting them nervously. "Then why me? I'm not important."
His eyes lingered on her longer than necessary, studying her features as if weighing something far beyond explanation. "You underestimate the value of being overlooked," he said softly.
She laughed bitterly. "That's been my whole life."
Something flickered across his face again, recognition, perhaps.
"You were brave," he said quietly. "In the corridor. In the forest."
"I was terrified," she admitted.
"Bravery and fear are not opposites," he said, voice low and certain.
She looked up at him, really looked this time, and for the first time, she saw exhaustion beneath his composure. The weight of command, of vigilance, and perhaps… of concern for her.
"You saved me," she whispered. "Again." She remembered how he saved her from Princess Alicia's wrath after she poured tea.
His jaw tightened. "Do not make a habit of needing it."
"Is that your way of saying you won't always be there?" she asked softly, almost teasing, but the question carried the tremor of fear she refused to let go.
His gaze locked onto hers, intense and unyielding, he wondered how this girl was able to have a conversation with him and how he kept replying her. "It is my way of saying the world is not kind to those who wander alone."
The forest stirred again, a subtle rustle of branches, a shadow that moved too quickly for her to track. Sebastian straightened immediately, muscles coiled, senses razor-sharp.
"Stay here," he ordered.
"Sebastian—"
"Do not move."
And like a wraith, he disappeared into the darkness.
Aliena sat frozen, heart pounding in her chest, every sound amplified, every shadow suspicious. She clutched the fabric of her dress, staring into the black trees, straining for any movement.
Moments stretched, tense and unbearable. Then, as silently as he had vanished, Sebastian returned. His expression was grim but controlled, posture perfect, the air around him charged with authority.
"False alarm," he said. "But we cannot linger."
She nodded quickly, standing to follow him. "I won't wander again."
He looked at her then, really looked, golden red eyes piercing, unreadable, intense.
"Good," he said softly. "Because next time, I may not reach you in time."
They moved deeper into the forest together, shadows stretching long around them, the weight of their silence pressing down in a way both comforting and tense.
Aliena realized something disturbing, the palace, for all its grandeur, no longer felt like the most dangerous place she could be. And yet, walking beside Sebastian in the dark, surrounded by the forest's threats, felt… safer than being alone in the light.