"There is a scent in this tent. A cold scent that does not belong to the land."
I swallowed hard. Here we go.
"Damar… you remember that one week promise I made to you guys?" I started, stepping closer to him. "The one about taking Thalor as my mate."
I watched his body turn rigid and his face began to harden.
"Right. I'll tell you that I didn't hurry to take him as my mate after the one week ended," I said, walking towards him. "I missed you too much and decided to get busy, so I made him wait as well."
"Ari," he called as I reached my hand towards his, interlocking out fingers. "It happened, didn't it?"
His voice sounded strained, hard and a mix of something bitter.
"Yeah," I answered, my voice coming out in a faint whisper. "I took Thalor as my mate,"
I felt the air in the tent grow heavy, as if the oxygen was being sucked out of the room.
Damar didn't pull his hand away from mine, but his grip hardened—not hurting me, but locking us together in a way that felt desperate.
