’I told you I would find you!.... You will never be free’ Again and again his words ring through her mind as silently he herds her towards the lagoon. Stories heard over the years of the hard men that made this place their home cause her pale skin to shudder uncontrollably. The fates were against her, of this she can only be certain. There is no other way to explain how again he had found her.

She had begun to believe she was free. Torvi hidden away under the care of her own sire, her other offspring left to the cold hands of the Inlet that had so long been her prison. She blamed herself for its death, blamed the twisted confines of her mind that had allowed herself to enrapture in the carnal pleasures that Ironclad’s brother offered her. Only later did she realize what they had done but it was too late. At least he too seemed appalled by their coupling for he did his best to avoid her after that. Not that she blamed him. She would not want to be around the likes of her either. Despite herself she could not find the instinct to mother the creature as she had forced upon herself with Torvi. The girl was tenacious and for that Tuari felt was the main reason she survived. Torvi refused to go hungry, even if it meant following her mother from one end of the Inlet to the other to suckle.

Now the girl was old enough to be without her mother. Though Tuari felt the absence of her daughter, she could not risk Torsten finding her. What would he do? His desperation caused her heart to tremor even now. Torvi is safe here. the words of Requiem ring in her mind. Far from Tinuvel and any island that Torsten might think to look. To the shadows of the jungle she could be hidden, away from prying eyes and sinister eyes. At least Torsten could not use her. She would merely have to stay strong and keep the knowledge to herself.

Slowly she turns her gaze back down the narrow pathway that she found herself on. Not far behind, she knows Torsten lingers, waiting for the chance that she might run again. He had been persistent when he found her, appearing from the shadows like a starving beast eyeing its prey. She had fled from him, horror shining in the whites of her eyes but this time she found no escape. No savior to rescue her from the clutches of the devil. His teeth scored her back, welts arising from where they found purchase. ’You are mine…’ he hissed, pressing his muscular shoulder into her hip with the same lustful hunger that gleamed in his eyes. Her voice fell upon deaf ears as she tried to reason with him. She whimpered desperately that their coupling had been wrong. That the gods would curse them and that she was already lost. He did not hear it. He never did. He wanted her to resign herself to this fate, to agree to be his mate once more and follow blindly at his bidding and warm his bed. He whispered sweet nothing against her ears, whispered that no one needed to know of their shared family tree and yet she could not force herself to see beyond it. If only Requiem had never told her the truth. If only mother had been around a bit longer… perhaps then it might have been different. She could have lived the life mapped out for her in denial and yet try as she might she cannot turn it off.

A flood of tears anew gather in the crevices of her pale eyes as she calls to him. ”Please… Torsten. Let me go. You can have another… You can find someone to worship the ground you walk upon. Please…” the voice is desperate now as she does her best to draw herself up, curving her neck to press her small muzzle against the concave of her breast. Long lashes blink slowly, forcing the tears from her eyes with the shake of her head. Long silver white tresses cascade down the arch of her neck, veiling pale eyes filled with sorrow and regret from his view. ”Please.”