Chapter 350 - 84: The South River Road

A team of trackers was crouched near a patch of soft loam beside the drainage ditch. One of them pointed to the ground, prompting Destiny to lean in closer.

At first, she saw a series of barefoot human prints sunk deep into the mud—small, uneven, and dragged through the soil as though whoever made them had been struggling to keep upright. Three paces farther, however, the pattern changed completely. The stride length doubled, and the impressions stretched into long, jagged claw marks that cut deep into the mud, with dark blood gathering in the center of several prints.

Destiny stared at them.

"She shifted while running?"

Dane crouched beside the trail. "Looks like it."

One of the trackers moved farther along the ditch, carefully examining the ground without disturbing the prints. He stopped beside a broken branch and pointed out another smear of blood on the bark.

"She was losing blood as she ran," he said. "The trail is still fresh."

That only made Destiny’s stomach tighten further. Fresh meant Aurora could still be close. It also meant they were running out of time.

The priestess pointed toward the brambles. "Those pieces of silk came from her clothes. The shift tore them apart."

Destiny looked at the torn fabric caught among the thorns. Aurora had run into the wilderness half-dressed and bleeding. For some reason, that image frightened Destiny more than the broken altar had.

Dane followed the trail with his eyes. "She’s in her Lycan form now."

A scout came running down the ditch from the direction of the main road, breathlessly calling out, "Alpha!"

Dane stood. "Report."

"We found a heavy blood trail on the gravel ridge," the scout said, pointing southeast. "She didn’t head north toward the high pine ridges or the mountain caves."

"Where is she heading?"

The scout hesitated. "She crossed the King’s Road toward the lowland valley. Toward the South River Road."

A tense silence fell over the group.

Destiny knew the South River Road. It cut through fertile farmland and passed through three populated farming hamlets before reaching the lower trade port. During harvest season, the road could be crowded from morning until sunset with children, farmers, merchants, and families. People would be everywhere.

Destiny’s chest tightened.

"If the Hollow Death curse drives her into those villages..."

"It will be a slaughter," the priestess said flatly, looking at Destiny. "Those villagers have no idea what is coming. If they see a Lycan bleeding and behaving violently, they will try to defend themselves with pitchforks, axes, and torches. They will surround her."

"And she’ll fight back," Destiny whispered.

"She won’t understand that they are trying to help or defend themselves. She will see threats."

Ramon looked at the blood dripping from the brambles. "How long before the Hollow Death completely overwhelms whatever remains of Aurora’s human consciousness?"

"An hour. Maybe less."

The priestess studied the trail, leaving the inevitable follow-up unsaid. She didn’t have to answer Destiny’s unstated fear. Destiny already understood.

Dane turned toward his captains.

"We split into two strike teams immediately. Ramon, take six mounted warriors down the forest line. Flank the valley road and cut off her path to the hamlets."

Ramon nodded as Dane continued.

"Blane, take the trackers along the direct spoor. If she enters a settled area, do not attack to kill unless human lives are in immediate danger. Use heavy nets and silver-tipped pikes to box her in."

"And if she turns on the men?" Blane asked.

"Pin her," Dane ordered. "Do not let her reach the village square."

The guards nodded and immediately broke toward the stables.

Destiny remained where she was, her hand beginning to ache from how tightly she was gripping the Heartstone.

She turned to the priestess. "Can the stone draw the curse out from a distance?"

"No."

"Not even if we get close?"

"It requires direct contact," the priestess explained. "The Heartstone must be pressed against her chest, over the sternum, while her blood is exposed. We have to physically subdue her first."

Destiny looked down at the pale fabric wrapped around the relic.

"So we’re carrying the cure while she’s out there becoming something else."

"We are carrying a chance," the priestess corrected softly. "Nothing more."

Destiny gave a humorless breath. "That doesn’t make this any easier."

"It isn’t supposed to."

Dane approached and placed a hand on Destiny’s shoulder.

"You did your part. You got the stone."

Destiny looked toward the road. "It won’t mean anything if we find a corpse. Or if we have to kill her ourselves because she tears apart a family in the valley."

Dane didn’t argue. He simply reached down and squeezed her trembling fingers.

Behind them, the estate grounds erupted into disciplined action. Horns sounded from the stable yard as mounted warriors climbed into their saddles, and hooves struck the cobblestones as the first group thundered through the estate gates.

The quiet sanctuary was gone. Everything had become movement and noise.

Destiny looked down the gravel slope toward the southern valley.

Only an hour ago, Aurora had been a weeping woman collapsed in the courtyard grass, begging someone to end her misery. Now she was somewhere beyond the estate walls, bleeding into the wilderness while the Hollow Death curse tore at what remained of her control.

Destiny had hated Aurora—there was no point pretending otherwise. She had hated the way Aurora had forced herself into their lives, the danger she brought with her, and the pain she had caused.

But watching the blood trail disappear into the trees made that hatred harder to hold.

Aurora had asked them to kill her, and Destiny had thought she was being dramatic. Now she wondered whether Aurora had understood something they hadn’t. Maybe she had known exactly what would happen if the curse took control.

Dane released her hand, his arms shifting as bones and muscle altered, his werewolf form surfacing only in the parts he needed for battle.

"Stay behind my shield shoulder."

Destiny nodded. She pulled the Heartstone tightly against her chest and followed him down the embankment.

Ahead of them, the trackers disappeared into the trees.

Somewhere beyond the road, Aurora was running, and Destiny could only hope they reached her before the curse turned her fear into something no one could bring back.