Page 104 of Her Orc Healer

And when it was done—when the final thread of red light vanished into the soil—he crumpled.

Like a tree felled at the root.

Like a man with nothing left to give.

Chapter 29

Hewasfalling.

Not through space or time, but through something deeper. Thicker. Like sinking into mud that had no bottom.

The battlefield had vanished. The light. The voices. Even the weight of Maeve in his arms.

All gone.

Only the dark remained.

And for the first time in years, Kazrek felt nothing. No pain. No fear. No ache in his chest, no roar in his mind.

Just stillness.

He could rest here. That was the promise. No more wounds. No more choices. No more hands slipping through his fingers while he tried to hold the pieces together. No more failure.

Something in the dark moved. Not a figure—just a presence. Vast. Patient. It didn’t speak. It didn’t need to. He knew what it was offering.

You gave what you had. You can let go now.

Kazrek closed his eyes.

And then—he saw her.

Maeve. Not limp and flickering on an altar, but alive. Laughing. Whole. The compass still clutched in her hand like a secret she hadn’t yet told.

And Rowena. Her hands stained with ink. Her jaw tight with worry. Her mouth pressed to his shoulder like she hadn’t meant to lean close, but had anyway.

They were safe.

Because he’d stayed.

He felt it then—sharp and sudden. Not pain. Not yet. Just a pull.

The dark didn’t fight it. But it didn’t help either.

You can leave it behind, the silence said.You’ve done enough.

He thought of the mark on Rowena’s neck. Of the way she’d looked at him just before the spell closed. Not with anger. Not with fear.

With hope.

And he realized—startling, shattering—that he wasn’t ready to be gone. Not this time. Not when he’d finally found something worth coming back to.

Kazrek opened his eyes.

The darkness wavered.

And he pushed.

Chapter 30