Willow
OUTSIDE, BRISK AUTUMNAL AIR FILLS MY LUNGS. REDWOODS TOWER OVER me, their canopies dissolving into the mist. There's an otherworldly beauty to this place. If, at any moment, a dinosaur emerged from between the tree trunks, it would only seem fitting. My footsteps slow as I take in the almost alien majesty of it. "There are wards all around here," comes Dominik's voice from behind me. "Escape attempts won't go undetected."
"I'm not trying to escape this place. I'm trying to escape the paranoid brute who misinterprets my every move."
I'm going to wind up in that detention cell after all. Maybe it will be a blessing in disguise. Except Dominik doesn't look angry at me. He has the audacity to look amused as he approaches me.
He reaches out to touch my braided hair hanging over my shoulder. "Is that any way to talk about your devoted husband-to-be?" "My devoted hostage-taker, you mean."
"I wear many hats around here."
