POV: Soraya
Night fell heavy over Ashra, thick as velvet, silent as a held breath. The fortress slept in uneasy quiet—warriors turning in their beds, elders pacing behind closed doors, Raevan somewhere awake and burning under the weight of decisions that would reshape the desert.
And me?
I stood in the shadows of the inner courtyard, cloak tight around my shoulders, heart pounding so hard it hurt.
Three Ashra scouts.
Three men who went into the dunes under Raevan’s banner.
Three men Zarek promised to kill if the pack didn’t give him what he wanted.
What he wanted… was me.
The thought clawed at my lungs.
I couldn’t sleep. Couldn’t meditate. Couldn’t sit still while those men were chained somewhere in the dunes waiting for death simply because of my existence.
Vienne’s words echoed softly:
“You won’t face your destiny alone.”
But she was wrong about this.
I had to face this alone.
Because if Raevan found out what I planned…
If Kaide caught even a hint of it…
If anyone in Ashra saw me…
They would chain me for my own “protection.”
Or worse—they’d send someone else to die in my place.
I wouldn’t allow that.
I stepped deeper into the courtyard shadows, clutching the pack I had prepared earlier—water flask, dried meat, a stolen dagger from the training hall, and a thin silver knife Kaide once gave me for self-defense. A ridiculous set of weapons compared to what real warriors carried.
But I wasn’t leaving to fight.
I was leaving to trade myself for the scouts.
I exhaled shakily, trying to steady my racing pulse.
The moon hung high—full, silver, heavy with meaning. Ever since my wolf emerged, I felt its pull more sharply, like a whisper tugging at my bones.
Don’t go alone, something in me murmured.
I ignored it.
A footstep sounded behind me.
I spun, heart leaping—
but it was only Vienne’s shadow moving behind her door, nothing more.
Good. She hadn’t seen me.
I pulled the hood lower over my face and slipped toward the back passageway near the stables. Kaide placed guards on every major exit but he overlooked this one—an old merchant gate sealed from the outside but still functional from within.
My hands shook as I touched the lock.
This wasn’t bravery.
This was desperation.
The metal clicked softly, old hinges whispering open.
The desert night hit me full in the face—cold air, dry wind, starlight stretching forever. The dunes rolled like frozen waves, endless and terrifying and beautiful.
I stepped out.
My heart stuttered.
A tiny voice inside me pleaded:
Stay. Go back. Tell Raevan. Tell Kaide. Tell anyone.
But I couldn’t.
Not when people’s lives hung between every grain of sand.
I put one foot forward.
Then another.
And then the fortress walls disappeared behind me.
The moment I reached the ridge overlooking the northern dunes, the weight of the world settled on my shoulders. The desert stretched in front of me in a vast, silent expanse. Every instinct screamed this was reckless, suicidal even.
But I kept going. For the scouts. For the pack. For the guilt crushing my chest.
For the small spark of courage my mother’s dream left behind.
My steps carried me far from Ashra—farther than I’d ever dared go alone. Hours slipped by in darkness; the moon climbed higher; the wind howled over the dunes. I followed footprints left by the last patrol, then veered toward the ridge where the scouts were last spotted.
A faint metallic scent carried on the wind.
Blood. My stomach twisted violently. I crouched behind a dune, heart hammering, and peered over the crest.
A campfire flickered between rock pillars.
Four figures huddled near it—three bound, one pacing with a curved blade.
My throat tightened. The scouts. Alive. Barely.
Their heads were bowed, hands tied, ankles chained. The assassin—Zarek’s envoy, no doubt—paced around them like a jackal waiting for a bone.
My wolf lunged inside my chest, feral and furious.
Save them, it growled.
Take him down.
Protect the pack.
“No,” I whispered, gripping my cloak. “I’m not fighting. I’m… giving myself up.”
But even saying it aloud felt wrong.
The assassin suddenly stopped pacing. Lifted his head. Sniffed the air.
My blood froze.
He smelled me.
I dropped behind the dune, heart slamming. I hadn’t planned this part. I didn’t think he’d catch my scent so quickly. If he came looking—
The sand shifted.
Someone’s hand clamped over my mouth.
I kicked, clawed, twisted—until a voice hissed:
“Soraya. Stop.”
I froze.
Tazir hood was low, face half-covered, his eyes blazing.
“What are you doing out here alone?” he whispered harshly.
I shook my head, breath shattering, tears threatening. “I—I have to save them.”
“No,” he snapped. “You have to live.”
I pushed him away. “Their lives matter too!”
“Yes,” he hissed, “and Raevan has a plan—”
“Raevan’s plans always end with someone dying for me!” I whispered fiercely. “I won’t let that happen again. Not ever.”
Tazir looked at me like I’d struck him.
Then, softer:
“Soraya… you can’t trade yourself for them. Zarek doesn’t keep promises. If you walk into his hands, you’ll never walk out.”
“I know,” I whispered.
His eyes widened. “Then why—??”
“Because I’m done watching people suffer because of me.” Tears filled my eyes. “I’m done hiding. If I have to give myself up to save them, then I will.”
Tazir grabbed my shoulders. “Soraya—listen to me. You are worth more than your guilt.”
A sudden shout cut through the night.
The assassin had spotted movement.
Tazir cursed under his breath. “We have to run—now.”
“No.”
My voice was steel.
I stepped out from behind the dune.
Tazir lunged for me, but I was already walking toward the firelight, hood down, hands raised.
The assassin’s smile widened wickedly.
“There she is,” he purred. “Zarek’s precious moon-mark.”
Behind me, Tazir swore.
Ahead of me, the scouts lifted their heads in shock and hope.
Inside me, my wolf surged—gold and silver fury twisting with terror.
But I kept walking. Because this was my decision. My choice. My sacrifice.