The smell of mint and wild thyme filled the air. Damian knelt beside her and pressed the cup to her trembling hands.<\/p>\n
\u201cDrink this,\u201d he said quietly. \u201cIt\u2019ll warm you from the inside.\u201d<\/p>\n
Elena hesitated, her eyes darting between him and the fire. But something in his gaze \u2014 tired, honest, desperate \u2014 made her trust him. She sipped the liquid, grimacing at the bitter taste, but a faint warmth began to bloom in her chest.<\/p>\n
He moved to the hearth, adding more wood to the flames. For a long moment, neither spoke. Only the storm howled outside, like a wounded animal pacing around the cabin.<\/p>\n
Finally, Damian broke the silence. \u201cYou shouldn\u2019t be alive. No one survives a storm like this.\u201d<\/p>\n
She looked down. \u201cMaybe I wasn\u2019t meant to.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her voice was so soft he almost missed it. He turned to her \u2014 really looked at her \u2014 and something shifted inside him. Beneath the blanket and exhaustion, she looked fragile, yes, but not broken. There was fire behind those eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy were you out there?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n
Elena hesitated, then whispered, \u201cBecause dying seemed easier than the life I had.\u201d<\/p>\n
Damian froze, the poker in his hand halfway to the fire. He had seen death, treated madness, and buried too many souls on this mountain \u2014 but her words cut deeper than the cold.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou ran away,\u201d he said, not as a question.<\/p>\n
She nodded. \u201cFrom a man. From my stepfather\u2019s deal. From everything.\u201d<\/p>\n
Silence settled again, heavy and alive. He sat down on the edge of the bed, his movements slow, careful.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re safe here,\u201d he murmured. \u201cNo one climbs this far in winter. The mountain keeps its secrets.\u201d<\/p>\n
But Elena shook her head. \u201cNo one is safe from the kind of men I\u2019ve met.\u201d<\/p>\n
Damian\u2019s jaw clenched. \u201cThen they haven\u2019t met me.\u201d<\/p>\n
The words came out sharper than he intended, like steel against stone. For the first time, she smiled \u2014 faintly, wearily.<\/p>\n
The firelight painted her face in gold and shadow. He noticed the small scar near her temple, the bruises along her wrist, the story her body carried without words.<\/p>\n
He stood abruptly, as if the sight of her pain burned him. \u201cRest. I\u2019ll keep watch.\u201d<\/p>\n
But when he turned toward the window, he froze. Two flickering lights moved through the darkness outside \u2014 torches, weaving closer through the snow.<\/p>\n
His heart dropped. \u201cDamn it,\u201d he whispered.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat is it?\u201d<\/p>\n
He looked at her. \u201cSomeone followed you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Elena\u2019s face went pale. \u201cNo. It can\u2019t be.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cStay quiet,\u201d he ordered, grabbing the rifle from the wall. The old wood creaked beneath his boots as he crossed to the door. The wind slammed harder, pushing snow through every crack.<\/p>\n
He peered through the frosted glass. Shadows danced beyond the trees \u2014 three, maybe four men. One of them shouted, the words torn away by the storm, but Damian caught a name: \u201cElena!\u201d<\/p>\n
She gasped. \u201cIt\u2019s him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHaralamb?\u201d<\/p>\n
She nodded, trembling.<\/p>\n
Damian\u2019s mind raced. There was no time to plan, no time to think. He turned back to her, his voice like a whip. \u201cUnder the bed. Now!\u201d<\/p>\n
She obeyed without question, curling beneath the heavy furs just as fists began pounding on the door.<\/p>\n
\u201cOpen up, doctor! We know she\u2019s here!\u201d<\/p>\n
Damian tightened his grip on the rifle. The storm shrieked outside, the fire hissed and popped, and his pulse pounded like thunder in his ears.<\/p>\n
The door shook again.<\/p>\n
Then \u2014 silence.<\/p>\n
He stepped closer, every muscle coiled, every breath sharp. He was about to reach for the latch when a voice, low and venomous, came from the other side.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can\u2019t hide her forever, Cristea. The mountain has eyes. And so do I.\u201d<\/p>\n
The wind swallowed the sound. Footsteps faded. The torches disappeared into the night.<\/p>\n
For a long moment, he didn\u2019t move. Then he exhaled, long and heavy, and lowered the rifle.<\/p>\n
\u201cElena,\u201d he said softly. \u201cYou can come out.\u201d<\/p>\n
She crawled out from beneath the bed, her face pale, her eyes wide. \u201cThey\u2019ll come back.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes,\u201d Damian said. \u201cBut next time, they won\u2019t find her.\u201d<\/p>\n
She looked at him, confused. \u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d<\/p>\n
He stared into the fire, and for the first time, a faint smile touched his lips. \u201cBecause tomorrow, the mountain will bury every trace of her path. And if fate allows\u2026 it will give her a new one.\u201d<\/p>\n
Outside, the storm began to calm. The snow fell slower, gentler \u2014 as if the mountain itself had heard his vow.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The smell of mint and wild thyme filled the air. Damian knelt beside her and pressed the cup to her trembling hands. \u201cDrink this,\u201d he said quietly. \u201cIt\u2019ll warm you from the inside.\u201d Elena hesitated, her eyes darting between him and the fire. But something in his gaze \u2014 tired, honest, desperate \u2014 made her […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2172,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2171","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tappyli.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2171","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tappyli.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tappyli.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tappyli.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tappyli.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2171"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/tappyli.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2171\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2174,"href":"https:\/\/tappyli.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2171\/revisions\/2174"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tappyli.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2172"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tappyli.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2171"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tappyli.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2171"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tappyli.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2171"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}