Aurelia's POV
The wild horse reared beneath me like a beast possessed, its eyes wild and untrusting. The wind whipped my hair across my face, and panic clawed up my throat. Heights. Fear. Forgotten memories or not, my heart hammered as I gripped the reins tight, but it was no use.
Suddenly, the horse bucked violently. Time slowed as I felt myself tossed into the cold, unforgiving earth. Pain exploded through my leg — sharp, searing. The world blurred and tilted as I gasped for breath.
Behind me, the horse thundered off, free and furious. I tried to push myself up, but darkness crept in, cold and endless. My vision dimmed to nothingness, and the last thought in my mind was a desperate, broken whisper:
Not again… please… not again.
Mystery Man's POV
The scent of fear was thick in the air — sweet, sharp, and clinging to the cold night. He moved like a shadow, silent steps on broken ground. A flash of movement caught his eye: a figure fallen, vulnerable, fragile in the face of chaos.
Instincts, honed sharp as a blade, kicked in. He sprinted forward, muscles coiled and precise. The wild horse was a threat — unpredictable, a storm of hooves and fury — but he was colder than the beast's fire.
In one swift motion, he seized the reins and guided the horse to a halt. Then, bending low, he lifted the girl's fragile form into his arms. Her breaths were shallow, her body trembling with pain and shock.
Her scent was like a tangled web — fear mixed with something deeper, something unspoken. His eyes darkened. This was no ordinary girl. She carried a storm beneath her fragile skin.
As he carried her away from danger, his mind churned. She was a puzzle, a flame barely contained. A life saved, yes. But what game was fate playing, threading their paths so cruelly?
He didn't know. Not yet.
Mireya's POV
Jealousy twisted inside her like a serpent's coil. That stupid girl — so fragile, so lucky. The duke's attention, the whispers from the sons, the quiet respect she somehow earned.
And now this? Rescued by the devil duke's son, a shadow no one dared to cross.
Mireya's lips curled into a venomous smile. This was far from over.
End of Chapter 7