“I love you so much. Letting her take you away to a world I couldn’t reach was the scariest thing I’ve ever done. But now here you are, safe. And mine.”

“All yours.”

He kissed her again but broke it off suddenly. “I hear something.”

Grace didn’t, but she trusted that he was right and she stayed silent.

“Go back to the village,” he whispered. “I’m going to check it out.”

She grabbed her clothes and slipped through the trees as fast and quietly as she could to warn the others of possible danger. The hiss of metal on metal sounded behind her as he drew his sword.

Chapter 28

Tori followed Grace to where she waited at the edge of the village, just inside the trees. The woman seemed to be okay, but then, what Tori had seen Torr do to Grace was nothing like what she was used to seeing back in the caves.

Grace seemed to want Torr to touch her. She seemed to enjoy it when he hurt her—although hurt wasn’t the right word. Grace didn’t seem to be suffering at all, except for one part where she cried out.

And even that didn’t seem like pain to Tori.

She was confused, off balance. The calm she’d found earlier tonight vanished, leaving her fighting her rage once again.

She stepped out where Grace could see her and asked, “Why did you let him do that?”

Grace jumped and hugged her clothes to her chest. “Tori,” she said on a relieved exhale. “What are you doing?”

“I saw you. I watched. You let him hurt you.”

“He didn’t hurt me. And you shouldn’t have watched. It was private.”

It was never private in the caves where Tori had grown up. But now that she thought about it, her sisters did the same thing—hiding their pain behind closed doors, letting their husbands touch them. “Then why did you do it in the open?”

“I didn’t plan to. It just kind of happened.” Grace’s skin glowed. A small smile widened as she spoke. She wore a strange look on her face—one Tori couldn’t quite figure out. It was almost like Grace was thinking about letting Torr near her again.

“You… liked it,” said Tori, unable to believe what she saw. She was used to lies, but never from Grace.

Grace blushed and smoothed her hair. “Of course I did.”

“Why?”

There was a slight pause, then a brief flash of sympathy on Grace’s face. When she spoke, it was with the patience of someone speaking to a child. “Because I love him. Because it feels good.” She pulled her tunic over her head to cover her nakedness. “You’ll understand one of these days.”

Nicholas’s scarred face flashed in Tori’s head for a second. He was one of the few men who’d dare to touch her. She’d plunged a knife into his chest, but it hadn’t killed him. He was too strong for the puny girl she’d been then to kill. She was stronger now. More skilled with weapons. Maybe she could kill him now if she tried.

Strangely, she wasn’t sure she wanted to try again.

“Torr will hurt you, Grace. He’s being nice now so you’ll let your guard down, but if you do—if you sleep—you’ll wake up in pain.”

Grace’s eyes softened with sympathy, and it was all Tori could do not to plunge her sword into one of them.

Grace was kind. Gentle. Tori had to remember she wasn’t the enemy. She was one of the people Tori needed to protect.

Don’t kill Grace, kill for her.

Tori repeated the phrase in her mind, over and over, until her hands stopped shaking. She let go of her sword and took a deep breath.

“It’s not like that,” said Grace. “Not with me and Torr. I know you lived through something so horrible that few people would have survived, but what was done to you was abnormal. That was rape. What Torr and I did is love—that’s the way it’s supposed to be.”

Love, rape, it was all the same. Grace’s words were just pretty lies. Tori had heard enough of them to know. Zillah had held her captive for years. He was the worst liar of all, making her think the pain was over—leaving her alone just long enough for her to be lulled into thinking she was safe.

Tori knew better than to think she’d ever be safe again. But as long as she was still armed and breathing, she would fight.

Don’t kill Grace, kill for her.

Next time someone tried to hurt Grace, Tori would kill them. Maybe then, if she killed enough, Zillah would stop haunting her dreams.

For now, she would slip into the forest and hunt, to quiet her hungry rage.

The village would eat well tomorrow.

•   •   •

“I didn’t see anything,” said Torr as he came out of the woods.

“It was Tori,” said Grace. “She saw us together. It upset her.”

He winced. “Poor kid. I’ll go talk to her.”

“No, she won’t trust you. Not that she really trusts anyone, but you being a man makes you a villain. Besides, it wouldn’t matter what you said. She’s so messed up.”

“She was sent here because she tried to kill Nicholas. Has Brenya been able to help her control her violent outbursts?”

“She’s less violent now than she was a few years ago, but she’s still a long way from being a pacifist.”

“She’ll need to go home soon. We need all the female Theronai we can find.”

“I understand, but she’s not ready yet. If you’d seen her just now…”

Torr hugged Grace, unable to go another second without touching her. “We’ll help her. Whatever she needs.”

“Mostly, I think she just needs time. Every night that she goes to sleep warm, safe and fed is another victory. Maybe after enough of them, she’ll find some kind of life for herself.”

“Time moves faster here than it does on Earth. That makes it a bit easier to be patient, but sooner or later, she’ll need to step up.”

“I’m sure she will. And when she does, there won’t be a force in the universe powerful enough to stop her.”

He grunted. “Yeah, well, let’s just make sure she’s nice and sane before we give her access to a giant pool of magical power.”

Grace’s body shifted. The languid feel of her leaning on him changed until she was standing firmly on her own feet. “Will you touch her before you go? Maybe see if you’re compatible?”