Page 56 of Mane Squeeze
She had never meant it before, but now, finally, she did. Her soul. Her magic. Her name. The parts of herself she’d spent decades protecting.
She stood slowly, her face pale and set. Because sheknewnow. Dominic hadn’t left. He’d been taken.
And she was going to get him back. Even if it meant walking through fire. Even if it meant calling down the wrath of every realm.
She was done running. Because somewhere out there, Dominic was fighting to come back to her.
And this time, she’d fight too.
25
DOMINIC
Darkness pressed in like wet velvet, thick and suffocating. The air smelled like overripe fruit and crushed nightshade, and every breath burned. Dominic wasn’t sure how long he’d been drifting but the longer he stayed, the more it felt like drowning in slow motion.
He wasn’t alone. Not entirely.
Whispers skittered through the dream-realm like dry leaves across stone, voices he couldn’t place but felt down to his marrow. His lion prowled inside him, pacing, snarling, every inch of the beast coiled in furious restraint.
He should be dead. That much was clear. But he wasn’t. Not yet.
The fae binding held him like chains of silk and steel—no visible ropes or cells, just pressure. Pressure in his bones, on his thoughts, around his will. Every time he tried to move, the world folded back on itself, warped by Thaloryn’s cruel magic.
And still… Dominic fought. Because in the haze of it all, hesaw her.
Lillith.
Not the real one—at least, he didn’t think so. This vision of her stood across a field of black glass and stars, barefoot and trembling, her eyes rimmed red with tears. She didn’t speak. The hurt on her face said it all.
He reached for her, and the world yawned wider, swallowing her whole.
His lion roared. The magic cracked.
Dominic dropped to his knees, panting, sweat—or was it dreamblood?—dripping down his spine. The glamour shimmered at the edges now, pulsing, faltering.
He shoved upward, fists clenched, forcing his limbs to obey. “Let me out,” he growled into the void.
The air shifted. The dream darkened. And Thaloryn appeared.
He stepped from the shadows like mist condensing into something hateful, silver hair falling around his shoulders, pale eyes like shattered ice. Beautiful in that eerie, hollow way fae often were. Beautiful and terrible.
“You’re louder than I expected,” the prince drawled, voice laced with a mockery of amusement.
Dominic bared his teeth. “Guess I’m not dying as quietly as you hoped.”
“Oh, Dominic,” Thaloryn sighed, circling him like a predator. “You weren’t supposed to last this long. The curse was designed to unravel you.Her.Both of you. Slowly. Beautifully. Painfully.”
Dominic flexed his hands. The air around him cracked again—just faint, like the echo of thunder far off.
Thaloryn noticed. His smile thinned.
“You ruined it,” the prince said, sharper now. “You weren’t meant to grow closer. You weren’t meant tothrive. You were supposed to burn each other out. And yet…”
Dominic straightened to his full height, despite the tremble in his legs. “We took down your beast.”
“And saved your little town,” Thaloryn hissed. “For now anyway. So quaint. So… pathetic.”
“You’re scared,” Dominic said suddenly. “That’s what this is.”
