By midday, the convoy had diverted from the main road.
The forest deepened as they pushed through narrower, less maintained trails. Wagon wheels groaned over roots and ruts, and branches scraped at the tarps stretched over supplies. The familiar rhythm of travel had changed—tighter formations, fewer breaks, and scouts rotating in and out with increasing urgency.
Julian walked beside one of the rear wagons, a short spear strapped across his back, his eyes scanning every flicker of movement between the trees. He'd exchanged his servant's tunic for a loose, travel-worn jacket one of the guards had tossed his way. It was a small change, but symbolically, it marked something more.
He wasn't just another invisible presence in the caravan anymore. Now, people saw him.
They still didn't know him. But they noticed.
Celeste rode at the front, a subtle shift from her usual center-of-column position. Her sword hung at her side, and her eyes—sharp, always watching—were locked ahead. She hadn't said a word to Julian directly, but she'd looked at him once that morning, just briefly.
No smile. No frown. Just a nod.
As if confirming something she'd already decided.
Lilia rode two paces behind her sister, quiet and composed. She hadn't spoken much either since that morning's interrogation. But when she passed Julian at the next rest stop, she gave him a glance and a near-invisible tilt of her head.
Stay ready.
They reached the split in the trail just past midday, as predicted. The main road curved gently westward—but Celeste led the front riders toward the old logging path instead. The trees there grew thicker, the sunlight dimming as the canopy choked the sky. Moss-covered stumps littered the ground like forgotten bones, and the air grew heavy with damp soil and rot.
"This feels wrong," muttered one of the guards behind Julian. "Too quiet."
"It's always quiet before it happens," another replied.
Julian didn't speak. He could feel it too.
Tension threaded the air like wire. Every step the convoy took deeper into the woods felt like stepping into a snare.
By late afternoon, the trail opened into a wide clearing. Broken stone pillars jutted from the earth like shattered teeth, remnants of some long-forgotten structure. Moss blanketed most of it now, but Julian could still see the faint outlines of an old stone foundation and what might once have been a staircase leading nowhere.
"The ruins," Lilia said, dismounting. "Spread out. Defensive formation."
The guards obeyed swiftly, fanning out to secure the perimeter. Celeste gave no verbal orders, only gestures—and the command unit moved with practiced precision.
Julian found himself beside one of the older scouts, a wiry woman with streaks of silver in her dark hair. She handed him a small signaling stone—a pale green shard engraved with a glyph that would glow if danger was near.
"Hold it tight," she said. "Don't drop it."
Julian nodded and took his position near the edge of the clearing, just beyond the crumbling stonework.
The wind shifted.
Leaves rustled—not above, but from the undergrowth to the east. Then another noise—barely audible. A snap. Like a twig breaking beneath careful weight.
Julian raised the signaling stone.
It flickered.
Before he could call out, a shrill whistle rang through the air—one of the scouts' signals.
"Positions!" Lilia shouted.
Shadows burst from the treeline.
They weren't bandits this time. These were trained. Coordinated. Their movements were cleaner, their weapons sharper. Leather armor reinforced with bone plates. Painted masks that turned their faces into snarling animals. And more than a few of them were awakened.
Julian ducked instinctively as a blast of wind cut through the spot he'd just stood. A masked fighter lunged at him with a twin-bladed staff—Julian deflected the first strike with the butt of his spear, then drove his shoulder into the attacker's chest, knocking them back.
Around him, the clearing exploded into chaos.
Fire and steel clashed. Earth cracked and lifted as elemental powers slammed into one another. Celeste fought near the ruins' center—fluid and ruthless, cutting down two foes in a single motion, then pivoting to deflect a bolt of ice with her armored gauntlet.
Julian barely kept up.
He fought defensively—using his surroundings, keeping low, sticking close to the guards. One of the masked attackers tried to blindside him—Julian rolled under the swing and stabbed upward, his spear catching the man beneath the arm.
The man screamed and collapsed.
Julian yanked the weapon free, panting.
Across the battlefield, Lilia was dueling a tall, broad-shouldered man wielding a curved axe. She didn't match his size, but she didn't need to. She danced around him, striking quick, bleeding him bit by bit. Her expression never changed—cold, focused.
Then, above it all—
A voice rang out.
"Enough."
It wasn't loud. But it carried—cutting through the sounds of battle like a blade through silk.
Everyone froze.
Even the wind paused.
A woman stepped from the trees at the edge of the clearing.
Dark red hair. Gloves. A long coat trimmed in silver. Her presence was undeniable. Calm. Commanding. And dangerous.
Julian's blood went cold.
"She matches the description," he muttered.
Lilia's eyes found her instantly. "Toman's handler."
The red-haired woman didn't raise a weapon. She simply looked across the battlefield—and the masked fighters retreated instantly, drawing back into a semicircle behind her.
Celeste stepped forward, sword still raised. "You're the one who's been orchestrating the attacks."
The woman smiled slightly. "I prefer to think of it as... repositioning pieces."
Her eyes scanned the gathered defenders. Then—unexpectedly—they settled on Julian.
Just for a heartbeat.
Julian's heart kicked.
She knows me.
He didn't know how. Or why. But that look wasn't random.
"We'll meet again," she said. "Soon."
Then she turned and vanished into the trees, her followers moving like shadows after her.
No chase. No pursuit. Celeste didn't order it.
Because it wouldn't matter.
Julian stared after her, pulse still racing.
For the first time, he felt it in his bones.
They were playing a much bigger game.
And the other side had just revealed its queen.