SELIN'S POV.
The sound of hooves faded behind me long before I reached the slope. The wind still carried the faint scent of pine and smoke, and for a while I just stood there, staring at the ruins of the place I once called home.
My heart thudded painfully. From up on the cliff, it hadn't looked this bad. But now, standing at the edge of the flooded path, I could see how deep the water had eaten into the village. Roofs caved in, doors torn off, half of the houses sat drowned up to their windows. It was quiet.
I swallowed hard and took a step forward. My boots sank into the mud with a soft squelch. The smell of wet earth, ash and rot hit me next wet. A few burnt trees leaned crookedly across the path.
Every step closer felt like walking through a memory that didn't want me anymore.
My house…or what used to be my house, was gone. Nothing but a sunken frame remained, its roof half submerged in water. I stood there for a long moment, trying to feel something. But all I could think was how the last time I was here, I'd been laughing with Mira, the baker's daughter, while trying to chase off a goat that had stolen our bread. Now the only thing left was silence and the faint ripple of water where her family's house used to stand.
I forced myself to move again, clutching the satchel that scary king had given me. It felt heavy, heavier than gold should. Maybe because I knew what it cost him to bring me back here.
"Selin!"
The voice came from behind one of the half-standing walls. I froze, then spun around. Out from the debris stumbled a familiar figure, tall, broad, his grey-streaked hair tied back with a strip of cloth.
"Uncle Halem," I breathed, relief crashing over me.
He looked thinner, his clothes torn, but his eyes, gods, his eyes lit up when he saw me. He crossed the distance in seconds, pulling me into a rough hug that knocked the breath out of me.
"By the heavens, girl, I thought you were gone with the flood," he muttered against my hair.
I laughed shakily, hugging him back. "I almost was."
When he pulled away, he looked me over like I was some miracle that had washed ashore. "Where've you been? The others said you were taken by soldiers."
I hesitated. "Something like that."
He raised a brow, clearly not buying it. "You vanished the night the flood came, Selin. Then strange men started patrolling near the woods. People said they saw beasts. You expect me to believe you just wandered back?"
My throat tightened. "Uncle, I can't explain everything right now. But I'm fine."
He studied me a moment longer, then sighed. "You always did come back with trouble on your heels."
He led me down the remaining path, to where the villagers had gathered on dry ground. There weren't many, only a handful of faces I knew, many I didn't. The children looked thinner, their cheeks empty. Some of the elders sat on makeshift benches, eyes vacant. Mira wasn't there, neither were her parents.
Halem noticed me scanning the crowd and shook his head. "They didn't make it," he said quietly.
The words hit harder than I expected. I bit the inside of my cheek until the taste of iron filled my mouth.
We stopped near the fire pit, where a few people were boiling something in a dented pot. Halem motioned for me to sit. "Eat. Rest. Then you can tell me what happened."
I sank onto a rock, the warmth of the fire a small comfort against the chill. I didn't know where to start. I was taken by a weird king didn't sound believable, even to me.
"Is it true," one of the older women whispered nearby, "that the flood came from the mountains? That the gods were angry?"
"No gods care about us," another muttered bitterly. "We're just in their way."
Maybe they were right. Maybe none of us were supposed to survive. When Halem handed me a bowl of soup, I murmured thanks and tried to eat, though my stomach twisted with every bite. He sat beside me, his hand resting on his knee, his gaze distant.
"We've lost too much," he said after a while. "The crops, the animals, half the people. And the river's still rising."
"What about the others?" I asked. "Is anyone helping? The capital, maybe?"
He gave a humorless laugh. "The capital doesn't even know we exist. We're just a dot on their maps…if that."
I looked down at my bowl. The faint reflection of the fire danced in the thin broth. "I can help," I said quietly.
He glanced at me. "You?"
"I can gather food. Find herbs. Maybe fix some of the roofs. I'm not useless."
His expression softened. "Didn't say you were. But something tells me you've been through more than you're letting on."
I met his eyes, then looked away. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."
He sighed. "Try me."
So I told him. Not everything…because even if I tried, i didn't have the words for it. I didn't know his name. Only that everyone in that place looked at him like he was both their savior abs their doom.
I told him about the fortress in the mountains, but not the wolves who turned into men.
When I finished, Halem just sat there, staring into the fire.
"Sounds like something out of an old tale," he said finally. "But you've never been one to lie."
"I'm not lying," I said quickly.
"I know." He gave me a tired smile. "That's what makes it worse."
Halem stared into the fire for a long time before speaking again. "A king in the mountains," he murmured. "Haven't heard of one in years. Not one who spares lives, at least."
"He wasn't kind," I said quickly. "Don't think that. He was…frightening."
We fell silent again. The night deepened around us, stars glinting faintly above the smoke. Somewhere in the distance, a wolf howled. A shiver ran down my spine.
Halem looked toward the sound. "They've been closer lately. Strange ones too. Not like the forest packs we used to know."
My heart skipped. "Wolves?"
He nodded. "Big. Dark. Eyes like fire." He glanced at me. "You saw them, didn't you?"
I didn't answer.
He sighed. "Whatever you got yourself tangled in, girl, I hope it stays in those mountains."
I wanted to believe it would. But something deep inside me whispered otherwise.
That night, I couldn't sleep. I lay staring at the faint shimmer of water under the moonlight, my stomach tight and empty again. The taste of the food from the castle still lingered on my tongue, taunting me.
Gods…I'd never eaten anything that good in my life. Or bathed in warm water that smelled like flowers. Or slept on a bed that didn't squeak like a dying rat. My chest ached a little at the memory.
Maybe…maybe I should go back. The thought came like a whisper I didn't want to hear.
At least there, I was fed. Safe. Warm.
Well…locked up, but still. Better than freezing to death here, right?
I huffed out a shaky laugh and shook my head hard, as if the motion alone could knock the idea out of me.
"No, Selin. Absolutely not," I muttered under my breath. "You barely escaped that place alive. You're not walking back into it just because they had warm soup."
turned over, pulling the blanket tighter.
"Forget it," I whispered to myself. "Forget him. Forget that place."