Kael's POV

A few minutes later, we were already on our way back. We walked in silence at first.

I have no idea why I expected otherwise. Maybe I expected Elias to say something. An explanation. But all he did was barrel forward as if he had just shunted me into some kind of magical death trap without any notice.

And I was still shaking. My palms still stung.

Something inside me had been awakened, something I did not want awakened. And worse still… I could not determine whether it was a curse or a recollection.

"You knew that would occur," I managed to say at last, my throat clogged with tension.

Elias did not decrease his speed. "I cautioned you it was a gate."

"No, you told me to get in it," I snarled. "You didn't say it would take over my entire body and throw me into a hell of walking."

"You saw what needed to be seen," he replied, moving on ahead of me. "Whether you were ready or not."

My teeth were set together. "You took advantage of me."

"I warned you."

"No. No, you pushed me."

That was when he turned,finally. His expression was unreadable, yet I noticed something in his eyes, something that didn't really resemble guilt.

"I gave you the chance to remember," he said gently. "Do you think Damon will give you the same chance?"

That name again. Every time he said it, my heart tightened.

I took a step forward. "What do you know of Damon? Of my mother?"

He tilted his head. "What do you know about her, Kael?"

The way he spoke made my stomach plunge.

"You're not telling me something."

Elias didn't say anything.

"You're not telling me a lot."

He still didn't reply. All I could hear was the crunch of his boots through snow.

I didn't realize I was panting until the woods fell completely silent.

That's when I realized. The wind had changed.

It wasn't cold, like before, instead it was hot, even though the sun had set.

“I demand an answer to my—” I was saying when Elias suddenly stopped on his tracks.

My boots crunch forward slowly, carefully, wondering what was going on. Until I saw it.

And then I couldn't move either. The shelter was missing. Not abandoned. Missing.

Ashes. Charred remains of what had been walls. The wooden supports reduced to charcoal, some still with a wispy trail of smoke. Herbs scattered everywhere. Blade rack scorched onto the stone. The scent of burned blood clung to the rubble like a threat.

Someone had been there. And they'd had the exact place to strike.

Elias looked at the wreckage for a moment too long. Then he whirled around and slammed his fist into the nearest tree. Bark cracked. He didn't even flinch.

"Who did this?" I asked, voice low.

He said nothing.

"Elias?"

He shook. Clenched. Grinding teeth. But not with grief. With rage.

"They discovered it," he snarled. "They discovered this location."

"Who?" I edged closer. "Damon's men?"

He turned around, eyes burning. "I should have known bringing you here would curse it."

I blinked. "Excuse me?"

"This was a sanctuary," Elias growled. "This place was off the grid for ten years until you showed up."

I shrugged my shoulders. "And now this is all my fault?"

"You think it's coincidence?" he growled. "The moment I bring half-alive pup into my house, everything I've built goes up in flames?"

I strode up to him, grinding my teeth. "Repeat that."

"Oh, you're going to be all growly now?" Elias sneered. "Where was that blaze when I was dragging your bleeding body out of a gravehowler's mouth?"

"Right where it was supposed to be!" I shoved him.

Mistake.

He lunged in fast, faster than I expected him to. Then he grabbed me by the collar and slammed me into the charred trunk. My shoulder shrieked with rage.

"You think you're hard stuff," he spat. "But you don't even know half of what's inside you. Not half.".

I spun, kicked his leg from under him, and we crashed to the ground together. I rolled onto him, fist cocked, but he caught it out of the air and pushed me away. Ash and dirt in my mouth. We grappled for a second of not breathing before I elbowed him in the ribs. He groaned but did not release.

"You don't get to make me the target of your rage!" I bellowed.

He pushed me back and then let me go, gasping. We just sat there, shaking our shoulders, staring at each other as if we were beholding something new.

Then he stood up.

"I need some air," he growled. "Don't follow me."

And like that, he turned and walked into the trees, disappearing between ash and snow.

I lingered there for a moment.

Alone. Still gasping for breath due to the hot fight. Unsure of what the hell just occurred.

But there was something about that fire… the way it burned only the important things. Not the snow outside the hut. Not the edge ring. Only the center of his life.

That wasn't an accident.

I got up and limped through the destruction. There wasn't anything to find. Everything valuable had been smashed or pillaged. But then… something caught my eye.

Part of the floor hadn't dropped through entirely. It was slightly sunken in. As if something had been hidden there until the fire ripped it open.

I moved closer, dropped to my knees, and took out the ash-stained boards.

And there it was. A hollow recess.

And in it, folded up in a wax-coated cloth, was a cloak. But not just any cloak.

The very same red-lined cloak worn by Damon's elite scouts.

My blood ran cold.

I reached in and pulled it out. It was clean. Undamaged by fire. As if it had been deliberately preserved.

I stood, cloak still in my hand, heart racing.

Why would Elias have this? Why would a man who was supposed to have saved me. keep the uniform of the people who tried to kill me?

Unless—

A branch snapped behind me and I turned quickly.

Elias came back. His eyes caught on the cloak but they did not widen, neither did he flinch. He just stared at me, then the cloak, and then at me again.

I waited for an explanation but he did not provide one.

I held it up. "Is this yours?"

No reply

"Why do you possess a cloak from Damon's inner guard?"

His face did not change. He only stood there, staring like I was not there. Like he was not the one I was asking questions.

"I said," I said, moving closer to him, "why do you possess this?"

And then,

"You were not meant to survive the fall, Kael."