The ash hit Rein's face the mont he stepped out of the den.
Not just dust—but heat, grit, and the kind of wind that scraped at your eyes like guilt that refused to blink. His boots hit cracked black stone. His breath stead in the cool air.
He didn't look back.
Every part of him ached. His ribs. His thighs.
His neck, where teeth had almost claid him.
His thoughts rattled inside his skull like they were trying to escape too.
She wasn't violent anymore.
That's what scared him most.
The deeper he'd slipped into her den, the softer her touches had beco.
The more possessive.
The more... certain.
Rein sprinted over a narrow ridge, leapt across a shallow ravine, nearly twisted his ankle on a chunk of dragonbone—and kept going.
He passed the old trap he'd set days ago, now half-covered in ash.
Passed a broken tree where her claw marks still carved his na.
His lungs burned. His side ached.
Still he ran.
Because deep down, he knew: Zeraka wouldn't stop him.
She wouldn't need to.
When he reached a high ridge overlooking the valley below, Rein stopped.
Just for a breath.
The land stretched wide—cracked cliffs, slow fires burning in the distance, roiling clouds sared across a sky that refused to turn blue.
He exhaled.
And for a mont, he felt...
Not free.
But loose.
Untethered.
Then a whisper.
A ripple in the stone behind him.
"Good."
Rein turned.
Zeraka stood on a ledge a few dozen paces back, arms crossed, one fang tugging the corner of her lip into a grin that was sohow even more terrifying because it wasn't angry.
It was delighted.
"You really ran," she said.
Rein's heart thudded. "Don't follow ."
"I'm not."
She stepped forward, slowly.
"I'm chasing."
Rein stepped back. "You think this is a ga?"
"No." She licked her lips. "I think this is mating season. And I like when my mate has stamina."
Her claws flexed.
"Run faster, little fla."
Her smile widened, and this ti, her tail wagged.
"Because next ti I catch you... I'm not letting you sleep in your own bed."
And then she was gone—a blur into the haze, vanishing into the valley below.
Rein swore under his breath.
And ran again.
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