Bram;

Rhydian shouldn’t have come this far into the woods. It’s almost like he’s begging me to put an end to him.

I keep my steps quiet as I watch him from between the trees. The sounds of the festival have already dulled behind us, reduced to a distant murmur that barely reaches this far into the dark. The lantern lights don’t stretch this deep either.

Out here, the shadows are thicker, heavier... swallowing the last traces of warmth the kingdom pretends to live in.

This is the kind of place that poses a risk and equally swallows the evidence of any crime committed in it.

And yet, he walked here anyway. Staggering like a hopeless failure. Is this the universes tim ethat tonight is the night I send this piece of crap back to his maker??

I stop as he leans against a tree a few paces ahead— One hand braced against the bark, and his head lowered slightly as though the world has started spinning too fast for him to keep up. His breathing is uneven, shoulders rising and falling in a way that makes him look... weak. Pathetic, even.

A slow smile spreads across my face as I watch him. So this is Alpha Liandria’s pride?

This is the Alpha who thinks he’s clever enough to look at me with suspicion and dream he can uncover something I’ve spent weeks carefully building.

I watch him for a moment longer, just to be sure I’m not mistaken.

There’s no tension in his stance. There’s no... awareness in the way he holds himself. If anything, he looks worse now than he did in the square.

Whatever he drank is settling into him fully.

And that’s awesome because it makes things much easier!!

My gaze shifts briefly to the ground beside me, and I reach down without hesitation. My fingers wrap around a thick log of wood. It’s heavier than I expected, but solid with enough weight behind it to do what I need without wasting time.

I balance the log in my hands and begin to move. I don’t rush because there’s no need to. Rhydian is too wasted to defend himself against me. And I wouldn’t find a better opportunity than this in a long time.

I step forward slowly, closing the distance between us— careful not to let my sandals crunch too loudly against the scattered leaves and loose soil.

The form I’m wearing isn’t built for strength, but it listens when I need it to, and knows how to move when I tell it to. That’s all that matters.

Rhydian doesn’t react. Too gone to sesne my presence.

He doesn’t so much as flinch when I’m right behind him. Not even when I raise the log.

With my breath held firmly in my lungs, I pull the log back and swing with all the strength I can muster.

The log lands cleanly against the side of his head with a dull, cracking sound that echoes slightly in the quiet space. The force travels through my arms... Satisfying in a way nothing has been since I arrived here.

Rhydian collapses immediately.

His body drops hard against the ground, the bottle slipping from his hand and ploping uselessly into the dirt. Blood begins to spread from where the wood struck him— dark and thick against his temple, and soaking through his silky silver hair and turning it dark. I take a deep breath as sweet glee arrests me.

For a second, he doesn’t move, and I freeze. Oh, he can’t be dead! Not yet! I just wanted to render him immobile. I still have a few things I need to tell him.

If he does now, it takes the fun out of it!!

"Hey!" I call as I kick him, and his eyes snap open. They’re wide, unfocused, and shocked.

Oh, thank heavens! This is the only fun I’ve had in so long. I thought he was about to ruin it for me.

"Y–you...?" He breathes, with his voice rough and unsteady, and I tilt my head.

What does he mean by ’me?’ What was he expecting to visit him in the woods after he drank so much? The tooth fairy!??

I let out a short, humourless scoff as I drop the log in my hands and dust my palms against each other.

"You’re a really hopeless piece of shit, you know that?" I say, with my voice slipping easily into Alana’s voice.

I take a step closer, looking down at him with open contempt.

"All you can do is drink?" I speak, glancing briefly at the pouch near his hand. "Three bottles tonight. I watched you. And that one would have been your fourth." I note with my nose crushed, and I watch him battle with the pain from my hit.

Pathetic!

I shake my head slowly, crouching just enough to keep him in full view.

"And you thought you could figure me—Bram Lunarstone—out?" I ask as I stare at his blood-stained face.

"You thought you were clever enough to expose me? When will you learn that you can never beat me, Rhydian? I played you while we were at Howleroot, and here we are again... The tables refuse to turn." I mock, and his jaw tightens as he tries to push himself up, with one hand pressing weakly into the ground, but the movement is slow, unsteady.

I kiss my teeth at how helpless he is right now.

Even if he screams, we’ve come so far from the village, and the music will drown out his voice.

I stand up am foot connects with his side, kicking him back down. The impact isn’t as strong as I want it to be, and irritation flares immediately in response.

Useless body!

I glance down at my hands briefly, flexing my fingers as annoyance sharpens in my chest.

"This form is weaker than I expected," I mutter under my breath before looking back at him.

He’s still watching me. Like the puzzle pieces, he suspected, were all falling into place.

He doesn’t need to think much and hurt that small brain of his. I will make things easier fr him tonight.

I look down at him with a thin, cold smile as I start pacing slowly beside him.

"You’re a fool, Rhydian," I say plainly without looking at him.

There’s no need to dress it up. It’s the truth.

"You think suspicion is enough? You think looking at someone a little too long, and asking the right questions, will somehow expose something that was concealed so meticulously?" I ask as if I gesture vaguely to myself.

"You were right to suspect me. But what’s your suspicion gonna do? Even if you told people, they’d say you were crazy." I mock as I take another step closer, with my gaze locking onto his.

"Do you even understand what it took to make this work?" I ask as I place a hand proudly on my hip.

He doesn’t answer. Of course, he doesn’t.

He doesn’t know. None of them do!

But it’s okay... tonight, I’ll do him the honour of letting him know— Letting him know something he’d never be able to tell anyone else, or change.

"The witches and warlocks didn’t just throw a disguise over me," I say, with my tone sharpening slightly.

"They built this carefully. Every detail. Every movement. Every breath." I add, suddenly feeling like a work of art.

I crouch again, leaning in just enough to watch his reaction.

"This body is sustained by magic you can’t break," I whisper, and he blinks weakly at me.

"As long as I’m here, as long as this magic holds... You can’t expose me." I add, and his eyes flicker.

I smile.

"And do you know what’s keeping it stable?" I ask.

He doesn’t respond... But I don’t need him to.

"They’re draining her," I whisper wickedly, letting the words settle slowly.