Selene didn't rest.
She moved through the forest like a shadow, her senses sharp. Every rustle made her reach for her blade. Nerya's words echoed louder than the wind between the trees.
They knew. They planned it. They wrote you off.
The leather scrolls were packed tightly in her satchel. She'd read them again. And again. The Council's lies etched in ink, stamped with signatures she once saluted.
Her hands trembled just thinking about it.
She reached the edge of Kael's territory by mid-morning. The patrols spotted her instantly. Three guards stepped out of the trees, weapons drawn.
"State your name," the leader barked.
Selene rolled her eyes. "Come on, Jin. It hasn't been that long."
He blinked. "Selene? What the hell—"
"I need to see Kael. Now."
Kael met her in the war room. His eyes widened at her state — messy and scratched. His brows pulled together.
"You look like you ran through a forest fire."
"Almost," she said.
She tossed the satchel on the table and the scrolls spilled out.
Kael picked up the first. As he read, his frown deepened.
Selene didn't speak. She watched the color drain from his face.
When he looked up, he didn't ask if it was true.
He asked, "How much worse does it get?"
"I've only scratched the surface," she said. "Nerya's built an entire rogue network on the ashes of what the Council did to us. She's not bluffing."
Kael leaned on the table, jaw tight.
"They tried to bury you," he muttered. "And her."
Selene nodded. "She's not dead, she's not broken, she's just…. sharpened. They turned her into a blade and now she's aimed at every pack still tied to them."
"Do we know her next move?"
"No," Selene said. "But she mentioned the southern borders. She's gathering more support."
Kael folded the scrolls and locked them away in a drawer.
Then he turned to her. "We'll need allies," he said. "And we'll need to clean house."
Selene raised a brow. "Meaning?"
"There are Council sympathizers in every high-ranking seat. Some in my own pack. If we make a move too early, they'll warn the wrong side."
"So what now?"
"We bait them," Kael said. "We leak pieces of this. Let them squirm. See who panics."
Selene gave a half-smile. "You're craftier than I gave you credit for."
He leaned in slightly. "And you're deadlier than you let on." She held his gaze for a second too long. Then stepped back.
"There's more," she said. "Nerya told me something… strange." Kael straightened.
"She said I wasn't the only one marked dead."
Kael's eyes narrowed. "Who else?"
Selene opened the last scroll — one she hadn't shown him yet. She pointed to a name scratched near hers, dated the same year.
Kael Thorne – Presumed Dead.
He froze. He stared. His throat worked once. Then again.
Selene watched his face, waiting. "Well?"
He didn't look up. "I was never in that unit."
"Doesn't say you were," she said. "Just says you were marked presumed dead. Same year as me."
Kael set the scroll down slowly. "It must be a mistake. Clerical error, maybe."
Selene's eyes narrowed slightly. "You sure about that?
"I've crossed paths with them before," he said. "But I never served in that division. Maybe someone used my name. Maybe it was part of something else I wasn't told."
It was a decent lie. But not perfect.
Selene didn't press. Not yet. Instead, she said, "Nerya told me I wasn't the only one. Now I know what she meant."
They both stood in silence for a moment. The air between them buzzed with something sharp and unspoken.
That night, Selene sat alone in the tower. The woods stretched in every direction, dark and wide. Somewhere out there, Nerya was watching. Waiting. Preparing.
Selene touched the scroll with Kael's name on it. Her fingers traced the black ink, smudged by time but still clear.
Kael had lied.
Maybe not fully. But enough. And that meant she wasn't the only one hiding scars from the Council.
Ghosts didn't stay buried forever.
Some came back angry.
Others came back for blood.