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Looking at her in the aftermath of battle, dirty, bleeding, and more beautiful than any dryad could ever be, I finally admitted to myself what I'd known for weeks. Fate hadn't just assigned me this fierce, stubborn human. She'd fought her way into my heart with the same determination she brought to everything else.

Eight

Acaia

I leaned against the ancient oak, my muscles aching from the battle we'd just survived. Thornix moved with quiet grace, tending to the wounds of the forest itself. His hands glowed with soft green light as he pressed them to scorched bark and withered leaves.

"You're still bleeding," I pointed out, gesturing to the gash on his side that my clumsy healing had only partially closed.

He glanced down as if noticing the injury for the first time. "It will heal," he said dismissively. "The forest needs attention first."

I rolled my eyes. "There you go again, putting everything else before yourself." I pushed off the tree, wincing as my own injuries protested. "Come on, tough guy. Your turn."

Thornix hesitated, his ancient eyes filled with an emotion I couldn't quite name. Finally, he nodded and allowed me to guide him to a soft patch of moss. As I channeled what little healing magic I'd learned, I marveled at how much had changed. Just weeks ago, I'd been a reluctant captive, viewing Thornix as my jailer. And now I am healing him using forest magic.

"What are you thinking?" Thornix's low voice broke through my musings.

I met his gaze, struck by the vulnerability I saw there. "I'm thinking about how different things are now," I admitted. "How different we are."

A ghost of a smile touched his lips. "Indeed. I never expected a human to fight so fiercely for this forest."

"Yeah, well, I never expected to fall for a tree-hugger," I quipped, then froze as I realized what I'd said.

Thornix's eyes widened, and I felt a blush creeping up my neck. Before I could stammer out an explanation or backtrack, he caught my hand in his.

"Acacia," he said softly, "there's something I want to show you."

Grateful for the distraction, I helped him to his feet. "Lead the way, forest man."

He guided me deeper into the woods, to a part of his territory I'd never seen before. The trees here were older, their trunks massive and gnarled with age. The very air seemed to shimmer with ancient magic.

"This is my sacred grove," Thornix explained, his voice hushed with reverence. "The heart of my domain."

I stepped into the clearing, awestruck by the beauty surrounding us. Flowers bloomed in impossible colors, their petals glowing softly in the dappled sunlight. A small stream bubbled through the center, its water so clear I could see rainbow-hued pebbles at the bottom.

"It's incredible," I breathed.

Thornix nodded, a faraway look in his eyes. "This place has been my sanctuary for centuries. My home, my strength, and…” He hesitated for a moment. “And my prison."

I turned to him, surprised by the pain in his voice. "What do you mean?"

He sighed, lowering himself to sit by the stream. After a moment's hesitation, I joined him, our shoulders barely touching.

"Long ago," he began, "before humans built their terramares, before the monster districts were formed, I loved another."

The admission hit me like a physical blow. Of course he had loved before, he was ancient and immortal. Why did the thought bother me so much?

"Her name was Willow," Thornix continued, oblivious to my inner turmoil. "She was a dryad, beautiful and wild as the forest itself. We were young then, by the standards of our kind. Foolish, perhaps."

I remained silent, sensing the weight of the story he was about to share.

"There was a war," he said, his voice growing distant. "Not between monsters and humans, but between the old magic and the new. Forces of corruption sought to twist the natural order, to remake the world in their image of chaos and decay."

Thornix's hand clenched into a fist, and I reached out to cover it with my own. He glanced at me, surprise and gratitude flickering in his eyes before he continued.

"Willow and I fought side by side, defending this forest and all who called it home. We thought ourselves invincible, drunk on our own power and the strength of our love." He closed his eyes, pain etching deep lines in his face. "We were wrong."

"What happened?" I asked softly, though part of me dreaded the answer.