Valkhara
I stumbled through the trees like a lunatic.
Still half-naked.
Still covered in sweat, dirt, and blood.
Still dripping from two different men.
My thighs were shaking. My mind was screaming. The voices in my head hadn't stopped since Azric came inside me and lit the entire bond system on fire. I could hear them. All three of them.
Azric.
Sevrin.
And the third.. silent but looming. Watching. Waiting.
She's breaking.
She's running again.
Don't let her go.
I nearly screamed.
I couldn't shut them out. Couldn't breathe. Couldn't think with three damn heartbeats pulsing through my skull and magic crawling beneath my skin like it wanted out.
I dropped to my knees in the clearing. My cloak pooled around me like a crumpled flag of surrender. My hair stuck to my face. My chest heaved with short, panicked breaths.
"Fucking godsdamn fuck, this is not, this is not real—"
"Ohhh, sweet bleeding hells."
The voice didn't come from my head.
It came from behind me.
And it was very, very mortal.
I whipped around, ready to throw fire or knives or both.
Instead, I found… a girl. A young woman, about my age, standing with her hands on her hips, a satchel slung across her chest, and an expression halfway between concern and oh-no-she-didn't.
She blinked at me. Looked me up and down once. Slowly. Then pointed at me.
"You're… naked. You're covered in bruises. You're glowing. You smell like cum and chaos. So either you got gang jumped by a really aggressive orgy cult—or you just got mated."
I blinked.
"Who the fuck are you?"
She snorted. Loudly. "Wow. Okay. Yeah, we're skipping pleasantries. You're feral."
She dropped her satchel and walked toward me like she'd seen this shit before. I didn't know whether to light her on fire or hug her.
She crouched in front of me, hands resting on her knees.
"Name's Nyra. I'm not in the Trials. Don't want the drama, don't need the trauma. I just make potions, talk shit, and mind my damn business."
She gestured around the forest.
"Except when I'm out here collecting deathroot and I hear someone screaming like she's being impaled against a pine tree. So naturally, I had to investigate."
I just stared at her.
She pointed again, slower this time. "So… was it your mate? Or did you fall on a sword?"
I covered my face with my hands. "Two."
Nyra paused. "Wait—what?"
I peeked at her through my fingers. "Two. Two of them. I… I think I've bonded with two of them already."
Nyra's mouth dropped open. "Oh shit. You're double marked?"
I moved my cloak aside, just enough to show her Azric's bite on my thigh and Sevrin's on my ribs.
She hissed. "Ohhhh, that's gonna be a bitch to explain at brunch."
"It gets worse," I croaked. "There's… another."
Her eyebrows nearly hit her hairline. "You've got a triple bond?"
"I think so. I don't even know who the third one is! But I can hear him. In my fucking head."
Nyra blinked.
Then she sat back on the grass and let out a long, low whistle. "Girl. You didn't step in shit—you jumped face-first into a cursed orgy."
I couldn't help it, I laughed. Just a little. Just enough that it broke through the shaking.
Nyra grinned. "There it is. Sanity. I was starting to worry."
She reached into her satchel and tossed me a flask.
"Drink. It's not a potion. Just some really illegal calming tea laced with anxiety herbs and a splash of wine."
I drank it. It tasted like cinnamon and sass.
I exhaled.
Nyra leaned closer, voice softer now. "You okay?"
"No."
"Wanna cry?"
"Yes."
"Wanna throw a rock?"
"Also yes."
"Want me to help you fake your death and flee to the outer isles where you can run a bakery under a fake name?"
That made me laugh harder. And cry. At the same time.
I wiped my face. "I don't know what to do."
Nyra shrugged. "Well, for starters, you do not go back to the castle right now. You let those three stew. Let 'em wonder if they broke you. Let 'em panic."
I looked at her. "You're kind of evil."
She smirked. "I prefer emotionally strategic."
We sat in silence for a moment.
Then she nudged my shoulder. "So… were they hot at least?"
I groaned. "Unfortunately, yes."
"Like, ruin-your-life hot? Or ruin-their-kingdoms hot?"
"Both."
Nyra sighed dramatically. "You lucky, tragic bitch."
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