𝑻𝑶 𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑶𝑵𝑬𝑺 𝑾𝑬 𝑶𝑵𝑪𝑬 𝑳𝑶𝑽𝑬𝑫 || 𝐅𝐈𝐕𝐄 𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐆𝐑𝐄𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐒 (ON HIATUS)

𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝟿

FIVE'S POV

The moment we stepped into the forest, the cold night air hit like a slap to the face. The soft rustling of leaves in the wind and the faint chirping of crickets might have been soothing under different circumstances, but now it felt like the world was holding its breath, waiting for something to break.

Y/N stayed close behind me, her footsteps barely audible on the forest floor. I could hear her breathing—uneven, ragged. She was scared. Who wouldn’t be? Matthias had almost succeeded in killing her, and now we were being hunted by more of his men. But that wasn’t what concerned me most. No, it was the bigger picture—the one I still didn’t fully understand.

Something about Y/N was important, more important than even she knew. Matthias’ obsession with her, the way he’d looked at her like she was the key to everything… It had set off every alarm bell in my head. I’d learned to trust my instincts over the years, and right now, they were screaming at me that we didn’t have time to waste.

“We’re not out of this yet,” I muttered, more to myself than to her.

She didn’t respond. I glanced back briefly, catching a glimpse of her in the moonlight. She was trying to be brave—her chin up, her eyes hard—but I could see the tension in her shoulders, the way her hands kept clenching into fists. She was struggling to hold it together.

I turned my attention back to the path ahead. The escape route was clear enough in my mind—I’d scouted it before all this went down. But there was still the issue of Matthias’ men. They wouldn’t stop hunting us until Y/N was dead, and given what I’d overheard in the ballroom, they weren’t just ordinary mercenaries. They were working for something much bigger, something that made even me pause.

“They’ll be coming soon,” I said quietly, quickening my pace. “We need to get as far away from the palace as possible before they regroup.”

Y/N nodded, though I could tell she was pushing herself harder than she was used to. I didn’t slow down. She would have to keep up. There was no room for weakness right now. Not if she wanted to live.

We moved through the forest in silence for a few minutes, the tension between us thick and heavy. I knew she had questions. Hell, she deserved answers. But I didn’t have time to explain everything, not yet. Not while we were still in danger.

Finally, after what felt like hours, we reached the edge of the forest. The faint glow of the moonlight illuminated an open field ahead, leading to the foothills beyond. I stopped, scanning the area for any sign of movement. Nothing. For now, we were safe.

But only for now.

Y/N came to a halt beside me, her breath coming in short gasps as she looked out at the field. “What now?” she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

I didn’t answer right away. My mind was already calculating our next steps, weighing the risks. We needed a safe place to regroup, but more importantly, I needed to figure out what the hell Matthias had meant about her being the key to something. It was clear she didn’t know, but that didn’t mean others wouldn’t. And whoever did know… they were dangerous.

“We keep moving,” I said eventually, my voice low. “We need to put more distance between us and the palace. Find somewhere they won’t think to look.”

She looked at me, her eyes searching mine for something—reassurance, maybe, or just answers. “Five… what did Matthias mean? Why was he so focused on me? I’ve been hidden away my whole life because I’m supposedly ‘sick.’ But this... this feels bigger than that.”

There it was. The question I’d been expecting. I could feel her gaze boring into me, waiting for an answer, but I wasn’t ready to give it to her. Not until I had more information. I didn’t like operating in the dark, and right now, I was fumbling around without a clue.