Chapter 9 RUNNING IN THE DARK

Chapter 9 RUNNING IN THE DARK
ETHAN’S POV
Something moved in the trees ahead.
I froze, hand tightening on my sword. The forest was nearly pitch black, moonlight barely breaking through the branches. Every shadow felt alive. Every sound made my pulse jump.
“Who’s there?” I whispered.
Silence.
A bird burst from a branch, making me flinch. Just a bird. Just nerves.
I forced myself forward toward the old mill, though every instinct screamed that coming here was a mistake. The forest felt wrong too quiet, as if it were holding its breath.
A twig snapped behind me.
I spun, sword half-drawn. Nothing.
But I could feel it—eyes watching, tracking my every step.
Kiera? Or the Silver Covenant lying in wait?
I quickened my pace. The mill had to be close. Meet Kiera. Get answers. Get back before dawn.
Simple. Probably impossible.
Footsteps—or wind—shifted to my left. I broke into a run.
Branches clawed at me. Roots snagged my boots. My lungs burned as the mill finally emerged from the trees, dark and broken against the night sky.
I burst into the clearing and stopped, gasping. The mill looked abandoned. Dead.
A trap? “You’re late,” a voice said above me.
I looked up. Kiera sat casually on the broken roof. She dropped down with effortless grace.
“I was being careful,” I said.
“Careful would’ve been staying away.” Her sharp green eyes studied me. “But you came. Why? Because I need the truth.”
“And you think I’ll give it to you?” She stepped closer. “I’m your enemy.”
“You keep saving my life,” I said. “And your evidence matches everything I’ve uncovered. The Silver Covenant is real. I need to know how deep it goes.”
She hesitated, then gestured to the mill. “Inside. It’s not safe out here.”
The interior smelled of rot and old grain. She lit a hooded lantern, revealing exhaustion etched into her face—fresh scars, a bruised eye, dried blood on her armor.
“You’re hurt.
“I’ve been fighting a war.” She sat, wincing. “My people are dying too. For a war we never wanted.”
“Then tell me how it started.”
She inhaled slowly. Six months ago, my father sent diplomats to your capital. We’d heard rumors—villages burned and blamed on orcs. We wanted the truth.”
“What happened?They were murdered before reaching the city. Silver Covenant soldiers.” Her voice hardened. “That’s when we knew someone wanted war.”
“Lady Seraphina, I said.
Kiera nodded. “She’s the architect. But she has allies—military, government, merchants. People who profit from war.”
“Weapons contracts,” I murmured, thinking of James’s findings.
“They burned their own villages,” she continued. “Blamed us. Used outrage to seize territory.”
“This war isn’t about orcs,” I said. “It’s about power.”
“Exactly.” She spread a map on the floor. “These attacks weren’t random. Border villages. Strategic positions.”
“She’s building a power base,” I realized. “Preparing a coup.”
Kiera rolled up the map. “Once she controls the military, she’ll move against the king.”
My stomach twisted. “Who knows?”
“Most who learned the truth are dead or imprisoned.” Her jaw tightened. “Like Thorne Ironfang.”
“The prisoner in the Shadowpeak Mountains.”
“Yes. He found documents—proof. Enough to expose everything.”
Hope flared. “Then we rescue him.”
“That’s why you’re here.” Her gaze locked onto mine. “I can’t enter the facility. You can.”
“Treason,” I whispered.
“And if we do nothing, thousands die.” Her voice was fierce. “Your friends. Your family.”
“How much time?”
“Three days. They plan to execute him and destroy the evidence.”
I swallowed. “Why me?”
“Because you question orders. Because you warned me in battle. Because truth matters to you more than loyalty.”
A sound outside snapped us both to attention—footsteps. Voices.
Kiera killed the lantern. Darkness swallowed us.
“Thought I saw light.”
“Check anyway. Captain’s orders.”
My blood went cold.
She grabbed my arm, guiding me toward a back exit as the mill door creaked open. Lamplight spilled across the floor we’d just vacated.
“Search thoroughly,” a voice commanded. “Lady Seraphina wants him alive.”
We slipped into the forest just as soldiers entered. Shouts followed.
“After them!
We ran. An arrow hissed past my ear.
“This way!” Kiera pulled me toward a stream. We splashed through, breaking our trail, then ducked behind a fallen tree.
Soldiers fanned out nearby.
“He couldn’t have gone far.
A man stopped three feet from us.
My heart froze.
Then a horn sounded in the distance.
“Camp’s under attack!”
The soldiers ran, leaving silence behind.
“That was too close,” I breathed.
“They know you left camp,” Kiera said. “You can’t go back.”
“My friends are there.”
“They’re already in danger.”
She faced me fully. “Three days. Help me rescue Thorne or walk away and let this war continue.”
If I helped, I became a traitor.
If I refused, the evidence died with Thorne—and so did any hope of peace.
“If we succeed,” I asked, “then what?
“We go straight to the king.
“That’s impossible.
“I know someone who can get us there.
“Who?
“Princess Elena Valorian.
Shock hit me. “The king’s daughter?
“She’s trying to save the kingdom.”
Kiera held my gaze. “So decide. Are you brave enough to fight the truth—or will you follow evil orders?”
I thought of burned villages. Of lies. Of my fami
ly. Of everything this war was destroying.
“Three days,” I said. “Tell me the plan.