I undress and crawl in beside him, pressing against his warmth and falling into a deep sleep.
A sharp pain in my belly jolts me awake, that strange tugging in my void pulling at me insistently. The tent is pitch-black,and Heartwood is silent outside. I have no sense of what time it is.
When I reach for Domanikk, my hand finds only empty space. Panic rises in my chest, that creeping dread of something being terribly wrong.
I fumble for my discarded clothes in the darkness and pull them on, leaving my boots behind since I can’t locate them. I trip over something on the floor as I make my way towards where I think the door should be, relief flooding through me when my hand finally finds the smooth flap. I step through.
Outside, stifling silence blankets Heartwood, but it only amplifies the forest sounds—high-pitched animal calls and rustling leaves carried on the breeze. The moment I step outside, a sharper pain doubles me over. That insistent pull in my belly grows stronger, and without thought or caution, my feet follow it. Not far from the back of Domanikk’s tent, a barely visible track leads into the forest. As I pass between the trees, a surge of power washes over me, bringing with it a wave of anger and pain. Voices drift towards me the further I go, and an orange glow appears ahead. The strange pull slackens slightly, but as the voices grow louder, I step off the track and creep closer, hidden in the thick vegetation.
Domanikk and Reth stand in a small clearing, a lit torch casting dancing shadows across their tense faces. Even from my hiding spot, I can feel the anger radiating between them.
“What the hell is wrong with you, Reth? I can’t help if you won’t tell me. You’ve shut yourself off, and we all know that’s dangerous,” Domanikk says, his tone measured and careful.
“Nothing that’s any of your concern,” Reth replies, his throat so tight the words are delivered in a strained, choking whisper that’s more terrifying than a growl.
“You make it my business when you start acting irrationally. That’s my job—keeping you grounded while you lead Heartwood.”
“I’m in control.” He bites back sharply.
“Ceira mentioned you went for a run in the Barrens. Was that control?”
“That bitch should keep her mouth shut.”
Domanikk laughs. “I’m not the biggest fan for your choice of mares, but in her own twisted way, she cares about you.”
“You know what she’s like. You were there when she killed Tanna. She loses her mind to jealousy,” he replies, his tone dismissive.
“Does she have a reason to be jealous?”
Reth stills, staring at Domanikk from under furrowed brows, his eyes flaring. “What do you mean?”
“I’m not fucking blind. I see how you look at her. She intrigues you.”
Reth moves lightning-fast, grabbing Domanikk around the throat. “She’s Earthbound Fae, Dom. Do you forget what her kind—what that bastard King—has done to us?”
I gasp as the realisation hits—they’re talking about me.
“You know I don’t,” Domanikk replies, covering Reth’s hand with his own, his fingers caressing his skin, his thumb swirling against his wrist.
Reth drops his hand, teeth clenched. “I don’t forget my Herd—slaughtered like animals and left discarded like nothing. I don’t forget my mother’s eyes—that terror and hopelessness—as she watched her mate and children cut to pieces and then suffered the same fate. I don’t forget his Thorn Gift tightening around my body, crushing me. Being trapped in that thorny prison in the Barrens heat for days, knowing I was going to die. I never forget, Reth.”
His voice breaks as he kicks a fallen log across the clearing.
“It’s there every time I close my eyes to sleep, every time we ride into battle against that fucker. As I know it is for you. But she’s not him. Those aren’t her fingers you still feel digging into your chest. If you got to know her, you’d see she’s nothing like them.”
“What’s the point, when we both know she can’t stay?”
The silent pause hangs in the air, heavy and uncomfortable.
“Why not?” Domanikk almost whispers, as if he didn’t even want to say it out loud.
Reth growls low and threatening, lunging at Domanikk with his fist raised. Domanikk simply steps into him, grabbing his wrist before it connects. They stand chest to chest, Domanikk’s face tilted up towards his.
“Too much time between her legs has made you soft, Domanikk. We can’t keep her here—she’s too dangerous to everything we’ve built. Unlike Quinn, he knows she’s here. I don’t know how much he knows about her, but his son will stop at nothing to get his wife back. And if she returns into their hands, she becomes a threat to all of us.”
“She really is quite alluring.” Domanikk brings his hand up and cups Reth’s cheek. Reth closes his eyes and leans into the touch.
The gesture feels intimate and private. I turn to leave, uncomfortable with spying on this moment.
