Chapter 35
Kora’s POV
The meadow stank of blood and smoke. The cries of the wounded bled into the silence left behind, a silence heavier than the mist itself.
Edward didn’t move from in front of me. His blade hung at his side, dripping red into the grass, but his eyes stayed fixed on me, unblinking. It was like he was waiting for me to confess something I didn’t even understand.
“I...” My voice cracked. I swallowed, trying again. “I don’t know what happened. I just threw the herbs into the water, and they—”
“Collapsed.” Edward’s tone was flat, unreadable. His gaze flicked to the river, then back to me. “Hunters don’t collapse from herbs, Kora. Not unless the herbs were meant for them.”
I shivered, the memory rushing back — their bodies jerking, their eyes rolling back white, the word witch echoing over the field.
“I didn’t mean to,” I whispered. “I was just... trying to stop them.”
Edward finally looked away, dragging a hand through his hair. For a moment, I thought he might say nothing at all. Then his jaw tightened, and his voice came low, controlled. “Whatever this is, it makes you a target now. More than before. Do you understand?”
I nodded, my chest heavy.
It wasn’t just Aaron anymore. It wasn’t just rogues or jealous Lunas. Now the hunters knew my face, my name. They’d seen what I could do, and they’d never stop chasing me.
Edward turned back to the pack, his tone shifting back into command. “Gather the wounded. Burn the rest. We leave in twenty minutes.”
No one argued. They moved like ghosts, silent and grim. Mara lingered near me, wiping her blade on her sleeve, her sharp eyes studying me in a way that made me uncomfortable. Luka staggered past, blood soaking his side, but he still managed a faint, reassuring smile when he saw me.
I sank onto the boulder again, my knees weak. My stomach twisted, not just from the memory of the fight, but from the life inside me. The baby. My hand drifted to my belly, half-conscious, protective.
Would the baby feel this fear? This darkness? Or was it safer in there, shielded from everything I couldn’t control?
The thought barely had time to settle before Edward was back, crouching in front of me. His hand cupped my chin, tilting my face toward his. His eyes softened just slightly, but his voice stayed firm.
“Listen to me, Kora. I don’t care what they call you. I don’t care what the hunters think they saw. You are mine. Do you understand that?”
My throat tightened. “Even if I’m... different?”
His grip tightened just enough to make me feel it. “Especially then.”
Something in me broke at his words. My eyes stung, tears threatening, but I forced them back. I didn’t want to cry here, not in front of all the eyes watching us from the shadows.
I just nodded.
Edward exhaled slowly, then stood, pulling me up with him. His hand didn’t let go of mine as he turned to the others.
“Move out,” he commanded. “We’re heading north. We’ll lose them in the highlands.”
The pack obeyed, gathering what little they had left. Smoke rose from the meadow as they set fire to the hunters’ bodies, the flames eating away the evidence. The smell clung to us as we walked away, another ghost added to the countless others trailing behind us.
As we left the river behind, I glanced over my shoulder.
For just a moment, I thought I saw someone standing in the mist, watching. Tall, dark, too far to make out.
But I didn’t need to see his face to know.
Aaron.
My skin crawled, and I tore my gaze away, focusing on Edward’s hand in mine. If Aaron was watching, then he’d seen everything.
He knew now.
And that meant he would never stop.
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