(Adrian's POV)
The moon hung low in the sky, a silver sentinel against the inky black of night. The woods were eerily quiet, save for the occasional rustle of leaves under a wandering animal or the soft sigh of the wind through the ancient trees. I walked cautiously along the familiar path, each step heavy with anticipation. My heart thumped in my chest, erratic, wild. I had sent the letter hours ago, instructing Damien to meet me at our tree, the tree where we had shared our secrets, our laughter, and moments that felt like stolen fragments of time.
Now, standing beneath the skeletal branches of the old oak, I waited. My hands were clenched into fists, and my pulse was frantic.
Time stretched unbearably, the minutes crawling like spiders across the forest floor. I tried to tell myself that he would come, that Damien would arrive as always, but doubt had begun its insidious work.
What if he didn't?
The thought clutched at my chest, cold and unyielding. I tried to push it away, tried to tell myself I was overthinking, but the silence of the forest seemed to mock me. My breath caught in my throat as tears threatened to spill, uninvited, unbidden. I would not give them the satisfaction of falling. I clenched my jaw and forced myself to stand tall, my pride a brittle shield against the pain threatening to consume me.
Then, movement. Shadows shifting in the dim silver light. And finally, he appeared. Damien.
Relief surged in my chest, a flood that nearly washed away the darkness of my doubt. But as my eyes drank in his figure, the relief twisted, warped. He did not look happy to see me. His brow was furrowed, his lips set in a hard line. A shadow lingered behind his eyes.
"Adrian," he said, voice low, cautious. "It's risky… being out here. Someone could see us."
I swallowed, trying to quell the storm of emotion that rose like a tide. "I had to see you," I replied softly. "I needed… I needed this."
Damien's gaze softened just slightly, but he remained distant. "I understand. But you know the consequences. We cannot be careless."
I nodded, trying to mask the ache that curled in my chest. I wanted to tell him everything, about Lucien, about the blackmail, about the fear that gripped me every moment he wasn't near, but I couldn't. I couldn't burden him with my weakness. Instead, I smiled, a tight, brittle smile. "I'm fine. Truly."
Damien's lips pressed into a thin line, and for a moment, the world seemed suspended between us. We talked of trivial things at first, the wind, the night sky, the whispering of the leaves but even the smallest words carried weight.
Then, finally, I could no longer contain the question that had clawed at me since the first time I realized it. I stepped closer, my voice trembling. "Damien… do you… do you love me?"
Silence. He did not answer.
I took a breath, steadying myself, trying not to let the pain show. "Damien… please. Answer me."
Still nothing. His face turned away, eyes hidden from mine. The ache in my chest grew, relentless. My hands shook, my vision blurred. I wanted to scream, to shake him, to demand some truth, any truth. But instead, anger bubbled through the sorrow, sharp and burning.
"It seems," I said, voice hoarse, trembling with a mixture of rage and grief, "that this is one-sided."
I took a step back, heart shattering in silence. "This… this will be the last time. The last time we meet in secret."
Damien's eyes flickered toward me, expression unreadable, but he did not soften.
"It's best for both of us," he said, his voice steady, almost cruel in its calmness. And with that, he turned, walking away, leaving me beneath the tree, alone, broken, heart splintering with each echo of his footsteps.
I clenched my fists, trying to fight the tears that burned behind my eyes. Everything we had… everything I had felt… it meant nothing to him. Nothing.
I wished he had never come. If he had stayed away, I would not feel this emptiness, this agony gnawing at my soul. But he had come, and now the pain was sharp, unrelenting.
And then… a sound. Footsteps, deliberate, echoing unnaturally in the quiet night. My head snapped up. Shadows moved, emerging from the darkness.
Lucien.
He stepped forward, flanked by a group of men I did not recognize, his smile cruel and triumphant. "Ah, Adrian," he mocked, his voice smooth, venomous. "So this is the mighty King, reduced to a boy crying over unrequited love."
I froze, heart hammering, anger igniting my fear. "Lucien…" I growled, voice low and dangerous.
He laughed, the sound cutting through the night. "Disgusting. All this power, all this command… wasted on a mere obsession. Love has made you useless."
My hands ball into fists. "What have you done?" I demanded.
"I've been following you," he said, eyes glinting with malice. "Overhearing your precious little conversations. The people do not need a king as pathetic as you."
My heart raced with fury. "You won't get away with this."
Lucien's smile widened. "Oh, but I already have. Capture him! Take him to the underground dungeon!"
Chaos erupted. I fought with everything I had, striking and kicking, but they were too many. Each attack was met with another, the night filled with the clashing of force against will. One of them grabbed a tree branch, wielding it like a weapon, and before I could react, it struck me across the head. My vision went black, the forest fading away as I collapsed to the ground, unconscious.
When I awoke, darkness enveloped me. Dust filled the air, thick and suffocating. The stone walls were rough and cold, the faint smell of mildew and rust permeating the air. Silence pressed against my ears so hard that I could hear nothing but the rapid thump of my own heart, the shallow hiss of my breath.
And then… footsteps. Slow, deliberate, echoing against the walls.
Lucien appeared, his silhouette dark against the faint torchlight he carried. He grinned, a predator finally cornering its prey.
"Adrian," he said, voice silky and cruel, "I told you… the almighty King captured at last. No one will ever find you here."
I struggled to rise, pounding on the walls. "Let me go!" I roared, fury and panic mixing in a storm inside me.
He laughed, a sound that twisted the air around me. "Now, my dear king, you will remain trapped in this place. Alone. Forgotten. I will take the throne, and rumors will spread that you eloped with a wolf. The people will despise you. They will hunt you down if they ever discover the truth."
My stomach dropped. My mind spun. Betrayed, heartbroken, helpless, I had never felt so small.
"You… you can't do this!" I growled, teeth gritted, claws of desperation scraping against the stone floor.
Lucien's eyes gleamed. "I already have. You are nothing now. And remember, Adrian… love has made you weak."
With that, he turned and walked away, the sound of his footsteps fading into the darkness. The men that had captured me remained, silent, watching, waiting. The torchlight flickered once, twice, and then was gone. I was left alone in the cold, in the dust, in the suffocating silence of the dungeon.
And I cried.
Sobbing, broken, powerless. My heart ached, my mind screamed with the injustice of it all. Love had made me vulnerable. Love had led me here. And as I pressed my face against the cold, rough wall, the darkness pressing in on every side, I realized how utterly alone I truly was.
And yet… somewhere in the back of my mind, a single thought burned, fragile but unextinguished, I have to survive. I would find a way out.
But now, I was trapped. Helpless. And heartbroken.