ROVIAN
I started down the hill toward the ravine.
The descent was steep and the rocks were slick from water spray, but I kept my eyes locked on Daphne the entire time.
She tracked my movement like a predator watching prey.
Her knuckles had gone white around that stick she was holding like an actual weapon.
She looked ready to swing at me the second I got within range.
My soldiers were lining the ridge above us, watching this entire scene unfold with varying degrees of confusion.
About half of them looked completely baffled by her audacity. A woman standing in a ravine threatening the Alpha King with a stick. They probably thought she'd lost her mind.
The other half wore expressions I recognized immediately. They'd been with me five years ago. They remembered her. They'd watched our marriage fall apart in real time and knew exactly who she was.
They knew exactly what this was.
A love spat between a couple. At least that's how I was choosing to see it.
Daphne clearly saw it very differently.
"Stay back." Her voice cut across the water as my boots hit the edge. She raised the stick higher. "I mean it, Rovian. Take your men and leave."
I kept walking toward her. Slowly, like I was approaching a wild animal that might bolt at any second.
"I can't do that."
"Yes, you can. It's incredibly easy. You turn around and you go back the way you came."
"Daphne, just listen to me for a minute—"
"Don't come any closer."
I stopped about ten feet away from her. Close enough to see the water dripping steadily from her hair. Close enough to see the way her chest was heaving with each breath. Close enough to feel the bond humming between us like a living thing that had its own heartbeat.
Every instinct I had was screaming at me to close the distance. To pull her into my arms and never let go. To mark her right here in front of all these witnesses so she couldn't run from me ever again.
But she wouldn't like that.
And I was trying very hard to stop doing things she didn't like.
I held up both hands slowly where she could see them. Then I turned and looked up at my soldiers lining the ridge above us. "Back up and give us space."
They hesitated for a moment, but they all obeyed anyway.
The stick in Daphne's hands lowered slightly.
I felt so thick with emotion I could barely force air into my lungs.
I was staring at her face and trying to memorize every last feature before she disappeared on me again. The shape of her eyes. The curve of her mouth. The way her wet hair was clinging to her cheeks.
Three years. I'd spent three years searching for this face.
I'd been looking for her with every resource I had. Sent scouts to every corner of the realm. Followed every lead no matter how thin. And when I finally gave up and decided to focus on finding the healer instead, I found her anyway.
"What do you want?" Her voice came out exhausted. Almost defeated.
I swallowed hard. "You."
Daphne's breathing stuttered. Her lips parted slightly.
We just stared at each other across the water that separated us.
Then commotion erupted from somewhere up on the ridge.
A woman's voice cutting through everything else like a blade. "DAPHNE!"
We both turned our heads at the same time.
A woman with dark hair was fighting hard against the soldier holding her arms. She looked older than Daphne. She twisted her body hard enough to break free from his grip and started running down the hill toward us without any regard for the steep angle or slippery rocks.
"Mira!" Daphne's voice was sharp with real concern.
The woman stumbled her way down the slope and splashed into the water without slowing down. She ran straight into Daphne's arms and Daphne dropped the stick she'd been holding to catch her.
One of my soldiers started to advance down the hill after her.
"Stand down," I said without taking my eyes off the two of them.
The soldier stopped moving immediately.
The woman I now knew was named Mira pulled back just far enough to get her hands on Daphne's face, then her shoulders, checking for injuries with the kind of thoroughness that spoke to real care.
"Are you hurt? Did they hurt you? What the hell happened?"
"I'm fine. I'm okay. I promise."
The Mira woman seemed satisfied enough with that answer after a few more seconds of inspection. She tucked Daphne firmly against her side and turned to face me and all my soldiers.
Her glare was absolutely venomous. Protective in a way that made it clear she'd throw herself between Daphne and danger without a second thought.
I looked past them to where two of my soldiers were making their way down the hill. They had a man gripped between them. He was struggling against their hold but not making much real progress against their combined strength. He was built solid and looked like he could probably hold his own in a fight under normal circumstances.
Just not against two of my best warriors at the same time.
This had to be their leader.
The Mira woman made a sound that was somewhere between a gasp and a cry when she saw him. "Garrick!"
There it was. Confirmation.
The man stopped struggling the second he heard her voice. His eyes found hers across the water and something in his expression softened despite the situation.
"I'm fine, Mira. Both of you just stay calm. Don't do anything stupid."
Then he turned his full attention to me. I watched his eyes spark with recognition first. Then fear followed right behind it.
He was strong. But he was smart enough to know exactly what he was dealing with right now.
Stories were told about me across the entire realm.
At first encounter, only a complete fool wouldn't show at least some measure of caution in my presence.
Some measure of fear.
I turned my attention back to Daphne, then I gestured at the man my soldiers were still holding. "Is this the leader of this place you made into a home?"
Daphne's jaw clenched so hard I could see the muscle jump. She was looking at me like she wanted to personally rip my throat out with her bare hands.
I took a step closer to her.
The Mira woman immediately pushed Daphne behind her and stepped directly between us. Her chin came up in defiance. She was barely five and a half feet tall but she stared me down like she actually had any chance of stopping me if I really wanted to get to Daphne.
I almost respected the attempt.
My gaze shifted to hers for just a brief moment. Then I stepped around her entirely and spoke directly to Daphne instead.
"Do you care for this man?"
"Of course she does." The Mira woman's voice was sharp and angry. "He's the reason we're all still alive. He took us in when we had absolutely nowhere else to go. He protected us when no one else would."
I didn't acknowledge her words at all. I kept my eyes locked firmly on Daphne's face.
"Do you care for him?"
Daphne held my gaze without flinching. Her jaw was tight. Her hands were clenched into fists at her sides. But after a long moment, she nodded once.
"Yes."
The single word hit me harder than it probably should have.
She'd built an entire life here without me. With these people. With this man who'd given her the protection and safety I should have been giving her all along.
But I could use this information to my advantage.
"Then I'm willing to offer you a deal," I said slowly. "In exchange for sparing his life."