“Speak,” he commanded. His English was flawless—each word slicing through the air like a blade. “Explain why you requested this audience.”
I flinched at the power behind his tone. My heart hammered in my chest as his golden-brown eyes locked on mine—predatory, precise, like a falcon preparing to dive with talons bared.
I pointed shakily toward John James, who stood off, speaking with a white-haired woman. My mouth was dry, my defenses crumbling beneath Dancing Fire’s unrelenting stare. I hated how easily he unraveled me—how small and exposed I felt.
He stood tall, unyielding, as though carved from stone, his presence alone enough to smother the air around us.
“I… I came to John James for help,” I managed, my voice thin and trembling. “I was involved with a dangerous man. I’m hiding from him now. John James knows about two daggers—the Sun and Moon Daggers—that can help me stay safe.”
Dancing Fire’s eyes narrowed, but he didn’t move. “Don’t trifle with me, woman,” he said coldly. “I’ve recently lost both of my sons—Swift Hawk and Hunting Wolf. I am in mourning. I only allowed this meeting out of respect for John James, who is like a brother to me.”
The mention of his sons struck like thunder.
I looked around at the elders seated in the circle. Their faces were etched with sorrow—lines carved not just by time but by freshgrief. Even Dancing Fire, fierce as he was, carried a hollow look behind his strength—a quiet ache that dulled even his harshest edges.
I shifted uncomfortably, a foreigner amidst their pain. I didn’t belong here. Not among their loss. Not among their silence.
My voice dropped to a whisper. “I’m a time traveler,” I confessed. “John James said it wasn’t safe for me to search for the daggers alone. He told me… you’re one, too.”
For a breathless moment, Dancing Fire didn’t respond.
Then his face hardened, every muscle turning to stone. He shook his head, a subtle, crushing gesture that made my stomach sink.
Dancing Fire had me in his sights, his presence suffocating, his gaze like flint striking against my soul, intent on extinguishing the fragile flame I clung to.
But I summoned strength somewhere deep within the pit of despair. Of courage.
“I’m sorry your sons are gone,” I said, my voice quiet. “But maybe now’s your chance to do something good. To help someone in need.”
“No.”
One word. Final. Cold.
My heart plummeted to my stomach.
His eyes, once bright with fury, dimmed to something darker. Duller. And far more dangerous. I stood frozen before him, facing a man who seemed to see right through me. A man who, perhaps, already knew every sin I’d ever committed.
But I refused to back down.
I forced a smile onto my lips, casting off the chill of fear as I sauntered closer, my hips swaying with deliberate grace. I let my fingers drift across his bare, sun-warmed chest.
“I can comfort you,” I murmured, voice laced with seduction. “In your time of grief. Let me help you forget.”
His hand shot up like a snake, seizing my wrist with crushing force. I cried out, panic seizing my lungs as I struggled to pull away—but his grip was iron, his rage barely contained.
“I don’t trust you,” he growled, voice like gravel over flame. His eyes had turned black, void of mercy. “You wear the face of anangel… but there’s something vicious beneath it. Beautiful mask. Rotten core.”
With a grunt of disgust, he flung my hand away.
I stumbled back, clutching my wrist, fury rising like bile. My hands shook, not just with pain, but with humiliation. Rejection.
“Me?” I snapped. “You thinkI’mthe monster here? I’vesavedpeople! I’ve risked everything!”
But he didn’t flinch.
His eyes burned into mine—unrelenting, unmoved.
“You’ll never fool me,” he said, his voice glacial. “I can smell a liar from across the veil of time.”
