Olivia turned at the sound of crunching leaves behind her.
She slipped the parchnt into the waistband beneath her dress instinctively. it pressed flat against her skin, burning it just as Damon stumbled into the clearing.
His face was pale, his breath uneven, like he had sprinted the whole way. Sweat clung to his temples despite the cold night. But it wasn’t the exhaustion that caught Olivia off guard, it was the look in his eyes.
He looked desperate like a drowning man looking at the last straw to hold. She looked away instinctively.
"Olivia," he breathed, rushing toward her.
She stepped back before he could touch her.
His eyes swept the woods behind her. "Was soone here?"
"No," she said too quickly. Her voice didn’t tremble, but her heart did. "I just needed air."
Damon hesitated, still scanning the dark tree line. His hand hovered on the hilt of his sword. He only let go when he noticed her eyes narrowing at his actions.
"I am not afraid of you." he explained, it is just there is a different fragrance lingering in the air.
Her heart reached her throat. If it had been before, she would have shared the news with him. But now, she did not know how many ears would hear it and how it would look if she told him.
"Olivia." he wanted to reach for her again but didn’t dare. She turned her face away, unable to et his gaze.
He exhaled sharply, the breath of a man still trying to fix what he’d broken. "Olivia... about earlier. What I said. What I hid from you."
She didn’t speak.
"I never ant to deceive you. I was afraid," he admitted. "Afraid that if I told you what Rhistel warned about you would be scared and perhaps share it with Edward. I wanted to free you from all your burdens first."
Olivia clenched her hands at her sides, fingers brushing the hidden letter.
"I didn’t know anything for certain," Damon went on, his voice softer now, more raw. "And when the signs began, I thought you should find it yourself slowly. I didn’t want to scare you."
She looked at him then. His face was etched with guilt, and sothing else—fear.
"Were you scared of , Damon?"
He flinched, but didn’t look away. "No," he said, quietly. "Of what they’d do to you."
That, more than anything, made her chest tighten.
"I should have told you the mont I suspected," he said, stepping closer. "But I didn’t. And I can’t change that. I just... don’t run away from again, Olivia, Please."
For a mont, neither of them spoke. She could still feel the letter pressed against her, like a living thing.
And she could still hear the woman’s voice echo in her mind:
"Your mother believed she could defy fate. She loved a man. And he died. You love a man too, don’t you?"
Olivia’s eyes searched Damon’s face.
"I won’t run," she whispered. "But I’m not the sa girl who ca back to this land."
His brows pulled together. "Then who are you?"
"That is what I need to find." she whispered, making him frown. "For now, I am exhausted. Would you take back to the manor?" there was sothing she was hiding. Or perhaps, he was thinking too much. She must be overwheld.
He nodded and took her hands. Relieved that she did not push him away this ti.
The ride back to the manor was silent.
Olivia sat behind Damon, her arms around his waist, but her heart felt miles away. Neither spoke. Words would only feel too fragile now.
When they arrived at the manor, the sky had already brightened. But the warmth of the light felt distant. Like it belonged to soone else’s ho.
Damon dismounted first, turning to offer her a hand. She hesitated a second too long before taking it.
He walked her to the east wing where her room was. He stopped outside the door. The sa place where they had once shared laughter. Where she had once asked him to stay. Now, all of that felt like another life.
"I’ll leave you to rest," Damon said finally, his voice careful.
But as he turned to go, she spoke.
"Damon."
He froze.
She looked at him, truly looked. His shoulders were stiff, his eyes tired and sunken from the pain earlier. The pain she had caused, unknowingly.
"You said you were not afraid of but what they would do to hurt ," she said. "But what if I’m the one hurting people now?"
Damon turned back to her. "You didn’t hurt ."
"I did," she said quietly. "I imagined that you were falling. And it happened."
He stepped closer again. "Then maybe you need soone to stand next to you and make sure you do not think of ruin anymore. Not that you need soone for it. You are too kind." he whispered ’too emotional!’ she added in her heart.
Your mother chose the wrong side. Will you repeat her mistakes?
She lowered her gaze. "I will think about it."
Damon didn’t reply right away. Then, softly: "I don’t care what you are, Olivia. I care who you are."
That broke sothing in her, enough for her to nod.
He stepped back, giving her space.
"I’ll be outside, if you need anything," he said.
"No, you will go and rest. We both need it." Damon nodded, surprising her.
"I will wait for you at lunch then. Do co, Olivia." he kissed her knuckles and his lingered on her face for a long ti that she felt he would not leave her alone. But he did.
Then he left, the door clicking softly shut behind him.
Olivia stood alone in the quiet. Her fingers moved to the letter again, and she pulled it free. The wax seal of the cloaked woman’s coven marked the corner of the parchnt.
Her mother had chosen love. And it had cost them everything.
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