Elora slipped out into the night, her heart pounding with anticipation.
The yard was quiet, except for the horses' occasional whinnying in the stables.
She watched the horses neighing in excitement at the sight of her.
A quiet laugh escaped her lips.
" I didn't sneak in apples for you guys this time around," she whispered before stopping in front of the door of the horse she was here for.
And with practiced ease, she was saddling her favorite stallion, Midnight.
The horse's excitement on seeing his favorite human was evident as he hoofer and hit his hooves on the ground.
" Shhh, quiet boy. We don't want to get caught." she giggled.
Casteel had once said Midnight is the king's, but the horse had taken to her immediately. He was fierce and loyal.
Midnight had chosen her.
The other horses skittered away from her, as though Midnight himself had warned them to stay clear.
Anyone would think she was exaggerating but she was sure of it.
And so, she rode with just him—her true friend in a new world.
Elora ran her hands through his shiny deep black mane before throwing herself onto his back.
As soon as she clicked her tongue, Midnight flew forward and galloped into the open meadow with wild speed.
The wind beat against her cheeks, and her hair came unbound from its tidy braid to fly behind her. A high, light laugh bubbled from her lips.
At the other end of the meadow, in a private cottage reserved for the royal family, the Wolf King had returned.
Azazeal was tired, he had just finished putting down a war that had been building between two kingdoms at the frontier of his territory for the last couple of weeks. His patience had grown thin, and his wolf was throwing itself restlessly against the restraints craving bloodshed.
Azazeal had no intention of returning to the main castle, where his new wife awaited—Avoiding him like the plague.
Just the thought of her made his teeth grind.
Quiet servants moved around him cautiously, tending to him in silence. He took a slow sip of jasmine tea and let it settle his nerves.
Then something in the distance caught his eye.
A disturbance.
A rider sped across the moonlit meadow — the figure was cloaked in shadow, as they slipped between the hedges and into his private lands.
Azazeal's jaw tightened.
A trespasser.
He placed his cup down quietly before standing, inside his storm-gray eyes, red rings flickered as an ominous sign of his wolf's rising fury.
His butler, Edgar, instinctively retreated a step when the king walked past, the influence of his fury evident in the air.
"Your Highness?" Edgar spoke hesitantly.
Azazeal didn't stop. "I'm going to the meadow." His voice was low and rough, tinged with warning.
Edgar's chest thudded, he knew better than to say anything as the king stormed towards the horse grazing nearby.
Azazeal slid onto his horse in one fluid motion, his jaws clenching.
He was not patient with trespassers.
And whoever had dared to enter his land now was about to discover what had happened to those who dared cross the Demon Wolf King's territory.
Elora rode to her hidden spot—a quiet, hidden garden she had discovered months before.
The place was hidden deep in the meadow and
Unless you knew exactly where to look, the path was concealed by bristling hedges and was almost impossible to find.
As she got closer, her anticipation built. It was a dreamscape garden, and a stream in its center, the water impossibly pure blue and catching moonlight like a shard of liquid sapphire. There were steps down to the shallow stream.
Still, it was beautiful.
This place was her escape.
A midnight garden.
It was beautiful. Mystical. Otherworldly.
Midnight grazed, eating the grass nearby while she practiced her training under the red sky,
She'd snuck outside the castle grounds tonight just to train and be alone on her own.
And she took her favorite horse with her, Midnight's presence was the only thing she could tolerate even when her mind was spiraling.
She drew an arrow, pulled the bowstring back taut, and let it loose at the wooden targets she had placed here weeks ago.
She plucked out another arrow steadying her breath, her fingers readjusting as she aimed
— Then she heard it …
A distant sound but it was growing closer by the second.
The sound of hooves pounding the ground.
Her pulse raced, a chill running down her back.
Someone was coming.
Had she been followed?
Was it people from the castle or was she in danger?
Her mind raced. She looked around for an exit, but there was no place to run — not in time.
A soft curse escaped her lips as she hurriedly slipped behind the protective cover of a tall tree, her breath shallow, hands tightening around her bow.
The horse stopped just outside the hedges.
The creature on top stepped down, moving with stealthy, predatory balance.
Elora gulped, eyes widening as a man came into full view.
The man was covered from head to toe in a large black cloak.
He was impossibly tall, his shoulders were broad and he held an aura of power so thick she could feel it pressing against her skin.
His cloak ruffled with the wind, and his stormy-gray eyes shone — striking, yet dangerously cold.
An unreadable glint flickered within them.
Like a predator fixated on its prey.
"Come out," he ordered, his voice low but crackling with undeniable authority.
The low, gravelly tone rattled her bones.
"I have already seen you."
Elora froze.
Every instinct screamed at her to stay hidden, but she knew it was futile. He was moving forward already, his eyes sharp and calculating.
Her breath quickened when she saw the glint of metal.
The unknown man held a sword.
And it was unsheathed.
Terror coursed through her, but she compelled herself to move.
She slowly came out from hiding, raised her bow, her hands trembling as she pointed the arrow dead at his head.
If he so much as took another step —
Azazeal stopped, his eyes locking on hers.
Crystal blue eyes, wide with panic.
A pretty, delicate face.
And a bow, trembling in her hand, the tip pointed straight between his eyes.
His lips twisted in a slow, cruel smirk.
Interesting.
His voice was smooth, tinged with compelling authority as he spoke the words that froze the blood in her veins.
"Well, well… You have quite some nerve little thing, don't you ? "