CHAPTER THREE: The Shadows Of The Garden

The garden was bathed in silver light, the hedges casting long, wavering shadows across the cobblestone paths. Meliora stepped lightly, careful not to make a sound. The secret passage had led them here, and for a moment, she allowed herself to believe she was truly free.

Selene clutched her hand, eyes wide. “We should have left earlier. The guards will notice soon,” she whispered.

“I know,” Meliora said, scanning the moonlit paths. Her mind was focused, calculating her next steps. “We move quickly and quietly. There is a servant’s gate near the eastern wall—it opens onto the river road. That is our escape.”

They had not taken more than a dozen steps when the faintest crunch of gravel reached Meliora’s ears. She froze instantly, heart hammering. Footsteps echoed behind them—deliberate, measured, and far too close to belong to ordinary servants.

“They’ve found us,” Selene breathed, panic lacing her voice.

Meliora’s hand went instinctively to the dagger at her belt, though she knew it would do little against trained palace guards. She took a deep breath and pressed herself against a hedge, trying to make herself invisible.

A voice came from the shadows, low and amused. “Running already?”

Meliora’s heart skipped a beat. She turned sharply, dagger raised, and there he was—the man from the passage, the man she had not forgotten. His black hair gleamed under the moonlight, and his eyes held the same dangerous amusement.

“You,” she whispered, her voice a mix of anger and disbelief. “What are you doing here?”

“I told you I would watch,” he said, his lips curling into a faint smirk. “I did not say I would remain in the shadows.”

Meliora’s pulse quickened, a mix of irritation and something else she refused to name. “The guards… they’re coming. If you know anything about this, you—”

He stepped closer, his presence overwhelming yet strangely comforting. “I know enough to keep you safe,” he said simply. His eyes softened for a moment, but the faintest edge of amusement remained. “Do not worry. I will not let them catch you.”

Meliora’s mind raced. There was something in his tone, in the way he moved, that both alarmed and intrigued her. “And why would you care?” she asked, her voice almost a whisper.

“Curiosity,” he said, a shadow of a smile playing on his lips. “And… perhaps because I enjoy seeing courage where others see only fear.”

Before she could respond, a group of guards appeared at the edge of the garden, their torches cutting through the night like slicing flames. Meliora stiffened, but the man’s hand brushed against hers—a subtle, grounding presence—and she felt an unexpected calm.

“Follow me,” he said softly. With a fluid motion, he led them through a narrow, hidden path between the hedges, a shortcut she had never noticed. The guards passed mere feet away, unaware of their presence.

Meliora’s chest heaved as they emerged into a small clearing. “Who are you?” she asked again, unable to hide her curiosity any longer.

He finally allowed a hint of a smile to touch his lips. “A friend. For now.”

For the first time that night, Meliora felt a flicker of something she had not expected—trust. Dangerous trust, perhaps, but trust nonetheless.

The garden stretched ahead, quiet and full of secrets. And in the shadows, the man watched her with an intensity that made her pulse quicken. He was no ordinary observer. He was something far more… compelling, and far more dangerous, than she had imagined.

As Meliora and Selene continued toward the servant’s gate, she could not shake the feeling that their escape had just begun, and that the man who had appeared from the shadows would be a force she could neither ignore nor fully understand.

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