The iron-tainted air wafted to me as boots scraped for purchase against small stones and dirt. Gasping breaths cut through the struggle and finally, a rattling exhale. The last breath of a life exiting its mortal constraints.
“By the fucking Four,” the voice murmured to themselves. My eyes popped open at the sound. The scent of pine and freshly spilled blood claimed my senses and I looked up to meet Dommik’s stormy gaze.
Relief flooded through me. Its waters gathered everything in its path as it rushed out of me in appreciative tears. I stared up at him in complete disbelief. That I—yet again—had escaped a horrific fate because of him.
“How did you find me?” I rasped.
The bindings around my wrists were cut loose and fell free to my sides. My feet followed. His gloved hands cupped my cheeks. “No man, no realm, no obstacle could stop me from finding you. Ever. You hear me?”
He ran a thumb over my bottom lip, holding my gaze, until it was pulled to my neck. Blood trickled from the small slice the attacker had given me.
“I’m just sorry I didn’t get here sooner.”
Pure darkness peered down at the cut, the torn garment, the scrapes on my legs, the tears staining my cheeks.
“Did they?—”
“No,” I breathed without hesitation, thankful he’d shown up before they could go further with their demented fantasy. His fury doubled as he discovered new details across my body.
“I’ve got you, Reyva,” he assured me. Streams of blood coated his chin and neck. Monstrous and murderous, his gaze was pure fire as he searched me for signs of injury. His broad arms squeezed me tighter as if to say, ‘Rest. You’re safe now.’
Chapter 30
Probably
Dommik cradled me as we rode away from the assailants’ campsite. My tired limbs were curled into him, my torn clothing covered by his cloak. I was surrounded by the scent and safety of him.
Leather, pine, and the unmistakable metallic tang of freshly spilled blood. He was earth…and death. My savior and my sword.
He hadn’t just killed the men. He’d ripped them apart and thrown their severed limbs into their campfire. No hesitation, no questions. And I found a twisted comfort in knowing there were at least two less monsters to fear in the world.
Asher bobbed beneath us but Dommik held me so tight and so close, my cheek didn’t bounce against the leather covering his shoulder. I nuzzled deeper into the crook of his neck and said weakly, “I don’t want to go back yet.”
Dommik squeezed me tighter. “If that’s what you command, I’ll see it done.”
Everything about me was heavy. My limbs. My lids. The thoughts weighing on my mind. “I’m too tired to command.” I sighed.
“Home, Asher.”
For the first time in nearly two weeks, I didn’t dream of the shade. I dreamt of a meadow bathed in sunlight. Of a man fishing in a nearby stream in casual dress. I was pouring us each a glass of wine as he turned to show me what he’d caught. Dommik’s wide, dimpled grin—a fabrication of my imagination—gleamed back at me, fangs and all.
Waking was a painful return to reality. My mouth was dry as sand and my head pounded like a war drum.
“Fuck…” I groaned, pressing a hand to my clammy forehead.
“Regretting your night out?” Dommik chided from a perch next to the bed. The room around me was strangely familiar, but definitely wasn’t the Hive. I peeked an eye open and recognized not just the stack of wine barrels, but shelves of worn books.
We were in the cellar of Dommik’s family estate. He’d called it a safe house the first time we’d taken shelter here. At this rate, it was becoming more a recovery ward than a refuge.
My eyes reluctantly slid to Dommik, my lids heavy with hangover and shame from my dream. About him.
“Only slightly,” I said. “It was fun…until it wasn’t.”
I remembered the music, the buzz of the ale, and Alba. Alba.Where was Alba?Acid bubbled in my gut. I’d abandoned her. Well, not by choice. I hoped Shaw had been a gentleman and seen her home safely.
Clunk.
“Just in case,” Dommik said, setting down a wooden bucket next to me.
