Chapter 48 Chapter 48

Chapter 48 Chapter 48

Lila's POV

I heard everything.

Every word Marcus said, every order he gave to those guards.

"Take her body to the dawn pit and throw it in."

The words echoed in my head, over and over again, the dawn pit.

He was going to throw me into the dawn pit, like I was garbage, like I was nothing! Like everything I'd done for him meant absolutely nothing.

Rage burned through my veins. Hot and consuming. But I kept my body still, kept my eyes closed and kept playing dead.

I had to, one wrong move and they'd know.

Marcus's footsteps moved away from me. Heavy and angry. I could hear him muttering under his breath, cursing. Blaming me for everything that went wrong.

Typical!

When things were good, he took all the credit. When they fell apart, it was my fault.

The door slammed shut.

Silence.

I waited, counted to fifty in my head, made sure no one was coming back.

Then I opened my eyes.

The ceiling stared back at me, high dark as a cold stone.

I sat up slowly. My muscles screamed from lying still for so long. That fake poison I'd swallowed earlier left a nasty taste in my mouth but it did its job. Made my body go stiff. Made my heartbeat slow down enough that even skilled healers couldn't detect it.

Everyone thought I was dead.

Perfect.

I swung my legs off the platform, my bare feet touched the cold marble floor. A shiver ran through me but I ignored it.

I stood, tested my balance. My legs wobbled slightly but held.

Good enough.

I looked around the hall. Empty. The candles still burned around where my body had been laid out. Like some kind of twisted funeral.

Marcus wanted me dead. Actually dead.

After everything I did for him. After all the plans I made. After poisoning Sophia's father. After hiring those assassins to go after Ethan. After manipulating every single person in this pack to accept me as their Luna.

And this was how he repaid me?

By ordering my body thrown into a pit?

My hands curled into fists. Nails digging into my palms.

He'd regret this. They'd all regret this.

But first, I needed to get out.

I moved quickly toward the side door. The one the servants used. It was smaller. Less obvious. And most importantly, unguarded.

Why would anyone guard a door when the only person in the room was supposed to be a corpse?

I pressed my ear against the wood. Listened.

Nothing.

I cracked it open. Peeked out.

The corridor was empty. Dark. Everyone was probably still dealing with the aftermath of the ceremony. The chaos. The accusations. The drama.

Good. Let them be distracted.

I slipped out. Closed the door silently behind me.

The stone floor was freezing under my feet. I should've grabbed shoes but there was no time. I needed to move.

I kept to the shadows. Stayed close to the walls. My heart pounded but I forced my breathing to stay steady.

Calm. Stay calm.

I turned a corner. Voices echoed from somewhere ahead.

I froze.

"...said to search everywhere. The Alpha wants answers."

Guards.

I pressed myself against the wall. Barely breathing.

Their footsteps came closer. Closer.

Then turned down a different hallway.

I exhaled slowly.

That was close.

I kept moving. Faster now.

I needed to get out of this palace. Out of this territory. Before someone discovered my body was missing.

Before Marcus realized I'd played him.

I reached the outer courtyard. The one near the back where the servants hung laundry and dumped kitchen scraps.

No one was there. Too late at night.

I climbed the low wall using the vines that grew thick along the stone. They were strong. Sturdy. I'd noticed them weeks ago during one of my late-night walks.

Always have an escape route. That was the first rule I learned as a witch. Always know how to disappear.

I dropped down on the other side. Landed in soft grass.

Free.

I was outside the palace walls.

But I wasn't safe yet. Not until I was far from Shadowmoon territory completely.

I ran.

Through the trees. Through the darkness. Branches scratched my arms. My dress caught on thorns and ripped. I didn't care.

I just ran.

My lungs burned. My legs ached. But I didn't stop.

Not until I was deep in the forest. Not until the palace lights were nothing but tiny dots behind me.

Only then did I stop. Lean against a tree. Catch my breath.

My chest heaved. Sweat dripped down my face.

But I was out.

I was alive.

And Marcus had no idea.

A laugh bubbled up from my chest. Quiet at first. Then louder.

He thought he could throw me away. He actually thought he could get rid of me that easily.

Idiot.

I pushed off the tree. Started walking again. Slower this time.

My mind raced. Planning. Calculating.

By now, Marcus probably went back to that hall. Probably ordered those guards to move my body.

And they'd find it gone.

He'd panic. Search everywhere. Question everyone.

And eventually, he'd find the pin.

Sophia's pin.

I smiled.

I'd placed it so carefully. Right on the floor where my body had been. Right where it would look like someone dropped it while stealing my corpse.

Marcus would see it. Recognize it. And immediately blame Sophia.

He'd convince himself she broke into his palace. Stole my body to hide evidence or get revenge or whatever stupid reason his paranoid brain came up with.

He'd march straight to Wolfalpine Pack. Accuse them. Demand answers.

Maybe even start a war.

And while he was busy with that, I'd be long gone.

My distraction worked perfectly.

I kept walking. Following the stream I knew led out of Shadowmoon territory.

The water sparkled under the moonlight. Cold. Clear.

I stopped at the edge. Knelt down. Splashed some on my face.

It felt good. Refreshing.

I stared at my reflection in the water.

My hair was a mess. My dress torn. My face pale.

I looked like someone who'd crawled out of a grave.

Fitting.

Because that's exactly what everyone would think when I came back.

And I would come back.

Not as Lila Shadowvale, the exposed witch. Not as the Luna who got poisoned and died in front of everyone.

No.

I'd come back as something else. Something better.

Maybe I'd say the Moon Goddess herself brought me back. Reborn. Purified. Given a second chance.

People ate up stories like that. Loved a good redemption arc. Loved a woman who rose from the ashes stronger than before.

And I'd use it. Manipulate it. Make them all believe whatever I needed them to believe.

I stood up. Dusted off my ruined dress.

Marcus would pay for trying to throw me away.

Sophia would pay for exposing me.

Ethan would pay for protecting her.

And Violet? That blue-haired bitch would pay for bringing that proof. For ruining everything.

They'd all pay.

I started walking again. Following the stream deeper into the forest.

Away from Shadowmoon. Away from the life I'd built there.

But I wasn't running away.

I was regrouping.

Planning.

Preparing.

Because when I came back, I wouldn't come back weak. I wouldn't come back begging.

I'd come back powerful. Unstoppable.

And they'd all wish Marcus had actually killed me.

Because the dead couldn't take revenge.

But the living?

The living could burn everything to the ground and that's exactly what I planned to do.

I smiled as I disappeared into the darkness, let them think I was gone, let them think they won.

They had no idea what was coming.