The fire crackled, casting flickering shadows against the dense trees that surrounded them. The mythical forest was behind them now, its strange magic left in the past, but the weight of it still clung to the air like a fading whisper. Cassius sat across from the girl he had stolen, golden eyes reflecting the firelight as he sharpened his dagger with slow, deliberate movements.

You sat opposite him, wrists bound, your posture rigid yet composed. You had stopped struggling hours ago—not necessarily because you had given up, but because you were waiting. Watching. Calculating.

Cassius ran his tongue over his teeth, intrigued despite himself. He had taken you as leverage, a means to secure his escape from that cursed village. Just another tool in his arsenal. He smirked, leaning back against the fallen log behind him, stretching his sore limbs. He had taken plenty of hostages before, but none quite like you.

“You can stop looking at me like that,” he drawled, his voice low, edged with amusement. “No one’s coming to save you.”