Page 229 of The Doll and The Domination

I straighten my back and wipe my face of the splattered blood smearing from the drops of rain. I nod reluctantly, leading the sprint through the dark, muddy forest. Warrose runs with Ruth in his arms now, Marilynn keeps a good pace next to Niles in the back.

Clear your mind of these fucking memories.

Go, son.

The look that alpha gave me sits in my stomach, churning and twisting into nausea.

Forget it!

My eyes water at the mental images of those boys being crushed by the weight of those iron bars. I could have freed them!

Bloom comes close to the front, drawn in by the fact that I now have a memory that’s disturbing my performance.

I’m fine!

We run through this rotting, mucky forest aimlessly, taking turns I’m unsure if we’re supposed to take. I’ve never been in Vexamen before. My understanding of its geography isn’t like how I know my way around the many forests that surround the Chandelier City.

That wolf got hit by those flaming arrows. He tried to get back up to keep fighting. Why can’t I stop thinking about this? Why is this ripping my stomach to pieces?

Warrose matches my strides on my left side, holding Ruth who is silently whimpering into her hands.

“Reset your mind on getting us to Skylenna and DaiSzek. Think only of them,” Warrose instructs.

His sentiment jolts my heart back to life. A brief, fleeting memory of Skylenna holding DaiSzek as a puppy skips over my mind, and it comes from Kane.

Did you see that? Kane shifts closer.

Fondness, longing, and deeply rooted love penetrates my heart cavity. Through all of the demented memories I have of her, that moment pierces my veil of hatred. And nothing sounds more motivating than running to her right now.

I’m coming, baby.

“Gahhh!” Niles wails, his body flopping into a puddle a few strides behind us.

His leg is entrapped in something that blends into the earth. Dark green with slimy skin. Huge jaws.

“Forest gator,” Warrose says. “Here, take her.” He passes Ruth off to me. She reaches her arms out, wrapping them around my neck, trembling like a dry leaf in the autumn wind. I hug her close to my chest, needing this comfort more than she probably realizes. It grounds me to swallow the dishonor down my throat and concentrate on saving our family.

Warrose rushes to Niles’s side, bashing the reptilian creature over the head with his mace. It takes three swings before those wide jaws unlatch their grip on Niles’s calf. He moans, rolling away from the hideous beast as it retreats back to the swampy area it crawled out of.

“You alright Niles?” I call out.

He’s panting as Warrose inspects his leg, dumping a canteen over the bite marks. Niles inhales through his nose as he gets back to his feet, testing to see if he’s able to hold his own weight.

“It wasn’t too deep, just broke the skin,” Warrose assures him.

“I’m okay,” Niles says, cracking his neck. “Let’s keep going.”

Warrose comes back to my side to hold Ruth again, but I shake my head, tightening my grip around her. “I’ll hold her for a while longer. You keep watch for more animals until we find our way out.”

Warrose locks eyes with Ruth for half a second, then turns away to take the lead.

The harder I run, the tighter Ruth’s body coils around my neck and shoulders. She shields her eyes in the crook of my neck as Warrose slays more stray beasts that block our path or try to sneak up on us. And although sprinting with someone in my arms isn’t ideal…it sparks a feeling in Kane.

It feels like we’ve been here before, Kane says with a feeling like nostalgia stirring inside both of us.

It’s the act of carrying someone while we run. That’s the trigger. The feeling of being responsible for a trembling woman in our arms.

I think I’ve carried Skylenna before. I don’t know. It feels like I have. Kane grows impatient and agitated by this thought.

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