I find him just past the west edge of the property line, standing too close to the ward-stones, squinting at one like he’s trying to figure out how it works. He doesn’t hear me approach. Doesn’t see me until I’m close enough to see the flash of gold in his cufflinks.
And when he turns, the smirk already forming on his face dies real quick.
“What the hell,” he mutters, stumbling back a step like he thought I was part of the damn trees.
I don’t say a word.
Just keep walking toward him.
He lifts his hands like I’m some kind of animal. “Easy. I’m just… getting some air. Thought this was public land.”
I stop inches from him.
“You don’t breathe our air,” I say, slow. “You don’t walk our soil. You don’t come near that house.”
He tries to square his shoulders, but I see the fear flinch behind his eyes. “Look, I know who you are. The boyfriend. Very territorial. Very noble. But this isn’t a backwoods love story. There are real laws here.”
“You don’t speak for law.”
“I speak for my daughter’s rights. And I’ve got friends in my circle that’d eat this place alive.”
My jaw ticks. Not because of the threat. But because I want to make it true. I want to show him what eating alive really looks like.
“You touch that girl,” I say, stepping forward so our noses almost touch, “and you’ll learn real fast that courts don’t mean shit in the Hollow.”
He scoffs, but his voice trembles. “Is that a threat?”
“No,” I growl, “it’s a promise.”
He stares for a second too long, and I feel it then: his doubt. That crack in the confidence. He’s starting to see the difference between a man who wants control and a man who protects what’s his.
“I’ll file a complaint,” he says, backing up. “This kind of intimidation? It’ll go on record.”
“You think records protect you out here?”
I watch him fumble back through the trees, shoes catching on roots, branches tugging at his stupid blazer. He doesn’t look back.
And when he’s gone, the woods settle again. Not calm, exactly. But satisfied.
Next morning,the council calls me in.
They’re not pleased.
Vess stands straight-backed with that cool stare that always makes me feel like I’m about to be weighed and measured. Sariah’s got her arms crossed, tapping a finger against her forearm like she’s holding back a storm. Roderik watches with that lawyer’s stillness, and Therrin… Therrin just looks amused. Not smiling. Just ready.
“You threatened a civilian,” Vess says, voice clipped. “On protected ground.”
I don’t bother with excuses.
“I did.”
“You know better than this, Hardin. Especially after last time.”
“Last time,” I say, quietly, “nobody warned me a man like that could just stroll into Hollow and demand a child.”
“He hasn’t taken her,” Sariah snaps.
“He wants to,” I shoot back.
