I weighed my response, Rina’s expectant gaze pressing me. What did she want to hear? I stretched, exhaling heavily. “I’ll rest in your town, then return to my mission—finding Dakor, taking his head.”
I turned the sizzling lamb over the fire, its aroma—rock salt, peppercorn, and rich fat—filling the night air. Rina snorted. “You speak like you fear nothing, not even Dakor. He’s a beast in a brawl, you know.”
Her taunt stung, though I masked it with a smirk. “You’ve never seen me fight. And you were close to Dakor—maybe you’d bet on him.” I winked. “Where’s your child? Surely, spending so long with him, he played husband for a night.”
She flung a piece of meat at me, her eyes flashing. “I had no child with him,” she said. “He never touched me, though he wanted to.”
I raised a skeptical brow. “Not the Dakor I know.”
“He wouldn’t force me,” she said, returning to her meal. “Said he loved me, that I reminded him of someone from a rough past. Tried to win me, but it was futile—he kidnapped me.” Her smug smile hid a flicker of pain.

Her words stirred a bitter fire. Dakor, claiming love? Calling his betrayal of Keiya a “rough past”? I clenched my jaw, hiding my fury. “Had he kept at it, you might’ve fallen for him,” she said, scoffing. “He was kinder to me than you’ve been. You’re the harder man.”
Her words burned like coal on silk. “Dakor, kinder?” I smirked, masking my irritation. “If I were harder, I’d have stolen you long ago.”
“Maybe he fancied me more,” she teased, her gaze softening. “He entertained me—danced, even. Can you, Dorack, son of Dun?”
I leaned back. “I don’t dance, but I cheer well,” I said, smirking.
“Dance with me,” she urged, her voice playful.
“No,” I said, firm but amused.
“As I thought,” she scoffed, dropping her meal. In a flash, she sprang up, her body swaying to an unseen rhythm. I grabbed the steel cups, banging them like we did at clan feasts, my roars spurring her on. Rina danced with grace, her twists and steps fluid, her fingers and feet weaving a spell. She could’ve won gold from any crowd.
My cheers faded, replaced by a hungry stare. Her form, lit by the fire, was captivating. Her eyes roamed my chest, my carved frame, and I knew she felt the pull too. Our gazes locked—her green orbs burning into me, mine into hers. The night held its breath.
Where was the vengeful Dorack, lost in her spell? This was madness, craving a stranger I’d part from soon. I had to stop it, but the strength eluded me.
“Beautiful,” I said, breaking the silence. She grinned, but the quiet returned, heavy.
“Why didn’t you kill Dakor in the barn?” she asked, her voice sudden, piercing.
I hesitated, her gaze urging me on. “I want him to feel every pain when I take his life. Honorably,” I said coldly. She shifted, uneasy, and I savored her discomfort.
“You act so dark, so formidable,” she said, her face serious. “But you’re softer than you seem.”
“Soft?” I scoffed. “I’m anything but.”
“You mask your pain with anger,” she said. “You’re not so different from Dakor. He held me by force; I’m here with you by choice.”
Her words struck like a blade. “Never compare me to him,” I growled, my voice low.
“Why? Afraid to see the truth?” she pressed. “You’re becoming as hard, as vengeful as he is.”
“Who are you to judge?” I snapped, rising, my meal forgotten. “How does a man move on when his wife and unborn child are taken, her last breath whispering my name? Dakor’s torment follows me to the earth’s end.”
I exhaled, forcing calm, and sat. Rina’s eyes were wide with fear, a thin trickle of blood on her arm—my doing, from my reckless spring. Guilt stabbed me.
“What madman kills an innocent child?” I said, my voice hoarse. “My darkness is his creation. It’ll end only with his blood.” My smile was cold, sinister.
“Would Keiya want this?” she asked softly.
“The dead don’t speak,” I growled.
“Dakor made you dark, but it’s consuming you,” she said, wincing as she moved to her blanket, refusing my help.

I stared into the fire, her words echoing. She was right—I was becoming the shadow I hunted. I craved escape, but how? The steppe stretched dark around us, the night alive with whispers of war and fate. I’d chosen this path with Rina, her mystery a fleeting distraction from my oath. But Dakor waited north, and I’d face him soon, honor or ruin be damned.