Rein didn't move.
Zeraka, however, lunged.
She was across the room in a blur of claws and snarls before Valaithe could finish her next breath.
Rein barely shouted, "Wait!" before the beast queen's arm swung in a vicious arc aid directly at Valaithe's throat.
But the blow never landed.
Valaithe didn't dodge.
She dissolved.
For a blink, her body collapsed into a swirl of black spores and ash-smoke, Zeraka's claw tearing through empty air.
The spores reford behind her, and in an instant, Valaithe stepped back into shape—unhard, smiling.
"Feral instinct," she said, brushing dust from her shoulder. "Predictable."
Zeraka whipped around with a snarl. "Try that trick again, pollen rot."
Valaithe tilted her head slightly, almost sympathetic. "I understand. You're territorial. But he's not yours. He's dicine. And dicine belongs to the world."
"I marked him," Zeraka growled, stalking forward again. "I fed him. I slept beside him."
Valaithe smiled. "So you were the kennel girl."
Rein groaned. "Gods, not again—"
Zeraka charged.
This ti, she didn't go for the throat.
She tackled.
They crashed through the half-collapsed wall of the cottage in a tangle of claws, robes, and shrieking rage.
Rein stumbled out after them, coughing from the burst of spores and smoke, already regretting not setting up a murder-curbing bell or—better—leaving them both behind.
Outside, the rain had started again—thin but stinging.
Steam hissed where it hit Valaithe's skin.
Zeraka didn't care.
She was on top, claws digging into dirt beside Valaithe's head.
"Say you're done. Say it!"
Valaithe exhaled a sickly-sweet breath into her face.
"Say thank you for not infecting you the mont you breathed my air."
Rein stepped between them. "Enough!"
Zeraka snarled. Valaithe raised one brow from the ground.
"She started it," they said at the sa ti.
Rein wiped water from his face. "You're both insane."
Valaithe sat up, brushing soil from her sleeves. "She's instinct. I'm intellect."
"I will gut you," Zeraka snapped.
Rein stepped closer to Valaithe. "What do you want?"
She stood slowly. "To follow you."
"To what?"
Valaithe's smile softened. "To learn your warmth. To be near your breath. To na your hands in my rites."
Rein's face twisted. "That's a lot of weird phrasing for stalking."
Zeraka crossed her arms. "If you let her follow, she'll poison your dreams."
Valaithe t her eyes. "If you chase again, I'll lt your spine and drink it with root wine."
Rein rubbed his temples. "I need a nap."
Zeraka growled, stepping forward—but stopped short when Rein winced and grabbed his side.
His shirt ca away damp with blood.
Fresh.
From the child rescue, the sprinting, the everything.
Both won went completely still.
Then, at the exact sa ti:
"Who hurt you?" "You're bleeding."
They turned to glare at each other.
Zeraka grabbed his arm, sniffing the wound like a wolf ready to tear apart a world.
Valaithe leaned close to the other side, her fingertips trailing just above the cut, eyes glowing green.
"Let heal you."
"Let kill what hurt him."
"He needs purification."
"He needs rest."
"He needs ."
Rein staggered backward. "I need space!"
The two won turned back toward each other, eyes narrowing.
A heartbeat of silence.
Then they said—at once:
"Back off."
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