The imprints of his tight grip remained plastered on my arms and my skin immediately started itching with the excess of blood flow that rushed to feed the areas.
“Are you alright?” Dahr’s voice came out gruff, slightly apologetic.
“Like you care,” I snapped back and moved away. From him. From both Karisha and Markos, who had remained by theentrance, unknowing that they were doing Dahr a favour by blocking it.
“We did not mean to intrude,” Karisha started speaking, her melodious voice so at odds with the atmosphere in the tent. “We wanted to check on Nora, since we haven’t seen her in a while…”
“Now you’ve seen me,” I retorted as I placed my behind on the bed once again, enveloping myself in the full grasp of defeat. “You are free to go.”
“Nonsense,” Dahr interfered. “You are just in time for dinner,” he said with a cheery tonality to his hard voice, probably surprised by my rudeness. My eyes widened at Dahr and if they could shoot daggers, they would have, but the warrior paid me no mind and continued speaking, suddenly turning into a housewife.
“Weren’t we just saying, little flame, that we would like to return the favour? After all, Markos and Karisha were great hosts to us last time, so it’s our turn,” he invited, motioning the couple to the table and urging them to take a seat. Then, he turned towards where I was sitting on the bed and arched his brows to me in question. “You have to eat, do you not? Unless you want to start another hunger strike?”
Rage burnt through me to the point of exploding as I forced my body to the table and took a seat, the surprised gazes of the tribe lord and lady weighing heavily on me. But I would not let Dahr bully me into this. I would not give him another win. And if that meant sharing dinner as a messed-up double date, then so be it.
The food arrived minutes later, with Mira and two other women arranging plates and drinks as we all waited and watched in silence. Mira smiled at me a time or two, but I did not return the gesture, so her face turned sombre and continued with her tasks.
“I understand your hatred for me, little flame, but these women truly care about you. Dropping a little kindness will not diminish your rage, in case you were wondering,” Dahr leaned into whisper into my ear just as the women finished setting the table.
“Thank you, Mira,” I forced a smile because… the bastard was right. “Thank you,” I dipped my chin to the other two women, who curtsied slowly to me and left the tent. Mira remained behind for a second later, to add an apologetic smile that weighed an entire conversation. The relief I felt when I let go of a single shred of the hatred I had forced myself to keep gave me such relief, that I immediately wanted to do it again.
“Thank you for your visit, Karisha. And for checking on me,” I tried to force another smile, but this time, it came natural. My heart almost melted when Karisha reached for my hands across the table and grabbed them into hers to reforge that connection we’d missed. Her eyes filled with tears when she muttered an ‘I’m sorry’ to me, which I shook away. Understanding the situation she was in.
The men remained quiet for a minute or two, allowing the tribe lady and I to exchange gazes and say everything we couldn’t through blinking stares until Markos took the lead and cut the moment short.
“Now that everyone is back on track, what are you waiting for?”
I didn’t realise the question was directed to Dahr, until the warrior stretched his arms and placed one over my shoulders, playfully.
“I’m waiting for Nora here to admit her feelings so we can fight this together,” he said and reached for my face with puckered lips, as if to give me a kiss, which I immediately shrugged away.
Markos sighed heavily. “Looks like it’s going great, cousin.”
Dinner lasted long into the night and, once we talked about different topics and abandoned the awkwardness of the situation, it started to feel quite nice. I got a better glimpse into Markos’ life as he told stories about their childhood and family, and Karisha made a point to talk about their mating rituals yet again, ‘just in case the need arises in the future’.
Even though there was still tension at the back of my mind, I let myself relax and enjoy this dinner. Maybe the last semi-normal dinner I would ever have. I tasted every kind of food that was laid for us and I drank one or two extra glasses of wine as the reverie of the night enveloped me and more comfortable topics of conversation slithered their way through.
Dahr did not push any uncomfortable subjects, to my surprise, and sat back to enjoy the evening and refilled my glass after every few sips. His attention kept returning to me from time to time as I lost myself in conversation. I felt his gaze lingering and warming up my skin from a distance, but I forced myself to focus on Karisha and her stories rather than deign his attention with a reply.
Hours after the evening fell over the camp, the tribe lord and lady excused themselves, not before Karisha asked for a quick hug and we both agreed to have a separate conversation the following day, since there was so much more to discuss, and we did not feel comfortable to do it in front of the men.
When the guests left, Dahr asked if I needed anything else before he removed his clothes and placed himself on his side of the bed, turning his back to me and falling into sleep. He was so calm and relaxed, as though dinner had just reinforced a message he knew all too well. Like the lyrics of a song he’d been murmuring for days finally came back to him. I listened to how his breaths evened out. I watched how his body relaxed and muscles loosened, those flame tattoos on his back flickering from the world of dreams.
And sensed the danger.
I was yet again, falling into his trap.
He’d stayed with me for days, he’d captured my every moment and every wish, and with a simple whisper into my ears, he’d removed slices of the hatred I had so carefully nourished.
He was doing it again. He was toying with me. He was using the same techniques as before: kindness, care, compassion, friendship. Everything I was missing from my life. Everything I was desperate to claim as my own. Four days before the attack and I was, once again, falling into his trap.
But no more.
Never again.
Determined to listen to the impulse that pushed my heart into beating faster, I walked to the table and grabbed the dagger Dahr had casually left resting there and walked to the bed where the drake warrior slept.
This time, my hands did not shake.
