(Dominic’s POV)
We didn’t speak as we crossed the clearing. The forest loomed around us, heavy with night. Ava moved ahead, her steps precise, her body fluid like she was born in the dark. I followed a few feet behind, hyperaware of the silence that had settled between us like fog—dense, unspoken, inescapable.
The mission was straightforward. Infiltrate the perimeter near Ravenwood’s abandoned northern outpost and collect any intel on rogue mercenary traffic. In theory, it should’ve been simple. In practice, the moment I realized she’d be the only one accompanying me on this assignment, I knew it wouldn’t be.
Tension had been simmering between us for weeks, slowly eating away at the thin strands of peace we clung to. Ever since the betrayal within our ranks surfaced and Ava started pull
