ZADOK

Ithra stayed glued to me in a tight embrace. I tapped her back as she held tightly to me. 

“It’s okay,” I managed to say, “It’s over.”

We remained like that for a while, and slowly, her breathing normalised. I fought against asking her why she left without a word, but I knew it wasn’t the right time. 

Shilhi’s words strongly reverberated inside me. I couldn’t scare her away If this thing would work between us. I needed her. 

And with the looks of things, she needed me to survive in this forest and get our desired results. 

We needed to work together.

I knew that, seeing her nearly...