Cold air rushed into Elowen's lungs.
The wooden door creaked open.
"Take your things," Maris Vale said.
Elowen didn't move.
She simply stood there, staring at the door, the worn wood grain, the chipped paint near the handle.
The same door.
The same words.
The same moment.
Again.
But this time, her heart was not racing.
Her hands were not shaking.
She had already cried.
She had already begged.
She had already tried to warn them.
None of it mattered.
The world did not change for her grief.
It only repeated.
Behind her, the villagers had begun to gather again. Their whispers drifted through the cold morning air.
Curse.
Omen.
Misfortune.
Elowen bent slowly and picked up the small bag lying at her feet.
She did not look at her mother again.
She did not argue.
She simply walked away.
The door slammed behind her.
The lock clicked.
The sound echoed faintly down the empty road.
Elowen kept walking.
Her mind was moving faster than her feet.
South meant soldiers.
The forest meant bandits.
Running blindly meant death.
But there was one thing she remembered.
One thing different.
A face.
A soldier's voice.
"You shouldn't be on this road."
He had looked at her hair.
And he had not flinched.
He had not called her cursed.
He had not stepped away.
He had spoken to her like she was… normal.
Captain Rowan Hale.
Elowen slowed as she reached the crossroads.
The three paths stretched before her once again.
South.
East.
North.
This time she chose the southern road.
But she did not walk carelessly.
She watched the sky.
The fields.
The distant hills.
Everything.
Every step felt sharper now, as if the world had become a puzzle she needed to solve.
Hours passed.
Eventually she saw them.
A group of soldiers marching along the road toward the city.
Exactly where she remembered them.
Exactly when.
Her heart began to beat faster.
It was them.
She recognized the dark military coats.
The horses.
And then—
Him.
Rowan Hale walked near the front of the column, speaking with another officer. His posture was straight, his expression focused.
The same man.
The same soldier she had met before.
Elowen stepped into the road.
The soldiers immediately raised their weapons.
"Halt!" one shouted.
Rowan turned.
His eyes fell on her.
For a moment his expression remained calm.
Then he noticed something strange.
The girl standing in the road was not frightened.
She looked like someone who had been waiting for him.
"Move aside," one of the soldiers ordered.
But Elowen did not move.
She looked directly at Rowan.
"You're about to be attacked," she said.
The soldiers exchanged confused looks.
Rowan stepped forward slowly.
"Is that so?" he said.
Elowen nodded.
"From the west field."
She pointed toward the tall grass beyond the road.
"They'll come from there."
Rowan studied her carefully.
His eyes drifted briefly to the ribbon holding back her red hair.
The color was impossible to miss.
But he did not react the way most people did.
Instead, he asked calmly,
"How would you know that?"
Elowen hesitated.
She could not tell him the truth.
Because even she barely understood it.
"I just… know," she said.
One of the soldiers laughed.
"Captain, the girl's mad."
Rowan did not laugh.
His gaze remained fixed on Elowen.
Something about her expression bothered him.
She wasn't guessing.
She looked certain.
And then—
A distant rustling sound rose from the tall grass.
Rowan's head snapped toward the field.
His voice cut through the air.
"Form a line!"
The soldiers moved instantly.
Just as the first enemy rifle fired from the grass.
Gunfire exploded across the field.
Chaos erupted.
But this time the soldiers were ready.
They returned fire immediately.
The ambush that should have destroyed them collapsed in seconds.
Elowen stood frozen at the edge of the road.
She had changed something.
The battle ended quickly.
The enemy soldiers fled into the hills.
Rowan turned back toward her.
Slowly.
Carefully.
He walked closer.
"You warned us," he said.
Elowen nodded quietly.
The other soldiers were staring now.
Some looked impressed.
Others looked suspicious.
Rowan stopped only a few steps away.
His gaze moved to her hair again.
Still no fear.
Just curiosity.
"Who are you?" he asked.
"Elowen."
"And how did you know about the ambush, Elowen?"
She hesitated again.
Then answered honestly.
"I've seen it before."
Rowan frowned slightly.
"Seen it?"
"Yes."
He studied her face carefully.
There was something strange about this girl.
Something he could not explain.
But she had saved his men.
That much was certain.
He sighed quietly.
Then said something that surprised even her.
"You shouldn't be walking these roads alone."
Elowen blinked.
Rowan turned toward his soldiers.
"Bring her with us."
One of them frowned.
"Captain?"
"She stays with the column."
He glanced back at Elowen.
"At least until we reach the city."
Elowen felt something shift inside her chest.
For the first time since the loops began…
Someone had chosen to help her.
But war was still war.
And fate had not finished with her yet.