Barrett stepped out of the cave, blinking against the harsh daylight. The forest shimmered gold under the twin suns. For a moment, everything felt too still. No birds, no wind, just the echo of dripping water behind him and the hush of the adjacent river.

  Something in that silence made the hair on his arms rise.

  “Rei?” he called.

  She emerged from between the trees, her silhouette sharp against the glare. “You got it,” she said smoothly, walking closer. The smile didn’t quite reach her eyes.

  Barrett relaxed a little. “Well, look who it is. What brings you to my mountain lair?”

  “Came to check on you,” she said, eyes scanning the clearing. Her gaze slid over the collapsed bear corpse, the scorch marks on stone, the banged up faces of Team Donovan. “Seems I had reason to worry.”

  Barrett grinned. “That little guy? Team Donovan finished him like an appetizer.”

  The group gave a weak cheer. Even Pippy, half-asleep against a rock, raised her tiny fist in victory.

  Rei chuckled softly. “You’re ridiculous.”

  She brushed her fingers along his shoulder, testing the skin there. “You hurt?”

  “Negative,” Barrett said proudly. “Bear got a few lucky swings, but Granny patched me up. Right, Granny?”

  The old woman gave a tired smile. “My name’s Ida, you know.”

  “Ida never guessed,” Barrett said with mock seriousness. Rei actually laughed, a clear, practiced sound.

  “So,” she said, tilting her head, “did you get anything good in that cave?”

  Barrett smirked and reached into his pocket, pulling out the glowing red gem. “Just this beauty. Says it can give someone a lot of XP in an instant.”

  Rei’s eyes flickered gold. “That’s…quite useful,” she said, her voice steady, but her stare didn’t leave the gem.

  “Yeah,” Barrett grunted, tucking it back into his pocket. “Not sure what to do with it yet. Maybe I’ll hold onto it till I figure it out.”

  Rei stepped behind him, her palm warm on his back. The touch lingered long enough to raise goosebumps along his arms.

  “You sure you’re okay?” she asked softly.

  Barrett swallowed. The river breeze cooled the sweat on his neck, but her touch burned hotter. “Appreciate the concern,” he said with a grin. “But I’m rock solid.”

  She laughed again, then her eyes narrowed slightly. “Good. Wouldn’t want you out of commission…”

  She lingered on the words.

  “…not before the fun part.”

  Barrett blinked. “The fun part?”

  Rei only winked, already turning away as she gestured for him to follow.

  Barrett drew a steadying breath and glanced back at his team. “Alright, Team Donovan take five,” he called. “I’m, uh, gonna brief Rei on the mission.”

  A chorus of groans answered him.

  “Have fun, dear,” Ida said sweetly, lifting a hand in a small wave.

  Barrett chuckled and followed Rei into the trees.

  —

  Barrett followed Rei along the narrow ribbon of creek that wound its way deeper into the trees, the sound of rushing water growing louder as the camp fell behind them. Sunlight filtered through the leaves in broken patterns, turning the water to scattered gold. By the time they stopped, the voices of Team Donovan were little more than a distant murmur.

  “This should do,” Rei said quietly, turning back toward him.

  She closed the distance with an easy confidence, her hands brushing over his arms and shoulders as though she were checking for wounds, and then, just as casually, she leaned in and kissed him. It caught him off guard, and he responded without thinking, the world narrowing to that single, electric moment.

  Then she pulled away, holding up a single finger between them. “Ah-ah,” she murmured, a teasing smile on her lips. “Why don’t you get cleaned up first? You smell like you wrestled a wet bear.”

  Barrett laughed under his breath. “Fair point.”

  She watched him with that same unreadable look, half amusement, half something sharper as he undressed. He almost asked her to turn around, almost made a joke about modesty, but stopped himself. Whatever this was, it wasn’t about shy glances. He wasn’t about to deprive a woman of his physique. Would a sculptor spend hundreds of hours carving a statue, only to lock it away in a closet?

  Still smiling faintly, he removed his beater.

  A thought struck him.

  “You know,” he said, pausing, “it’s kind of funny.”

  Rei tilted her head. “Oh?”

  “I go out, kill a giant bear,” he said, “and suddenly you’re all over me again.”

  “Something very primal about it,” she replied lightly.

  “Yeah, primal,” Barrett snorted. “Back home, people used to call drinking raw milk primal.”

  She smiled, then studied him more closely. “You never talk about what you did back home.”

  Barrett hesitated, his fingers still hooked in the fabric of his beater. “Not really my favorite subject.”

  “And how did you even know to come up here?” She asked, voice deceptively casual. “Did you know there’d be a bear? A gem?”

  Barrett chuckled. “Let’s call it masculine instinct.”

  For a moment, she said nothing, only watching him.

  “Right,” Rei said at last, turning away. “I’m going to help set up a camp here. We may as well stay the night and head back in the morning. No point wandering around in the dark.”

  “Yeah…sounds good,” Barrett replied, though a faint crease formed between his brows. Something about the moment felt like it had slipped just out of reach.

  As she moved off, he stood there a second longer, staring after her, a strange tension curling in his chest. Part of him wondered if he should finally come clean—tell her everything he knew.

  But he didn’t.

  Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.

  He was finally cool. Finally, a mysterious badass, and mystique, he’d learned, was its own kind of armor. He wasn’t ready to take it off just yet.

  —

  Barrett made his way back toward the camp, boots crunching over gravel, already irritated, and then he saw them.

  Of all the places.

  The bear’s corpse still loomed nearby, half-slumped and cooling, the ground around it torn up from the fight. And standing there, framed by firelight and shadow, was the last combination of people Barrett wanted to see together.

  “What in the name of liberty is he doing here?” Barrett barked.

  Fred stood close to Rei, their heads inclined toward each other in quiet conversation. At the sound of Barrett’s voice, Fred glanced up and rolled his eyes. Nearby, the bald, barrel-chested man lingered like a guard dog, his thick arms crossed, his stare openly hostile. The look he gave Barrett was sharp and venomous, raw resentment still simmering after Barrett had humiliated him earlier.

  Rei turned smoothly, unfazed. “Fred and Jason were kind enough to escort me up here,” she said calmly. “We finished our tasks early and wanted to check on you all. Make sure everyone was okay.”

  Barrett narrowed his eyes at Fred.

  “Just don’t go rifling through my stuff again,” he muttered as he dropped down beside Granny and Pippy.

  He sat hard, elbows braced on his knees, jaw clenched. The fire crackled between him and Rei as she resumed speaking with the two men, her voice low, posture relaxed. Too relaxed. Barrett felt heat simmer behind his sunglasses as he watched them lean in, conspiratorial and familiar.

  “Trouble in paradise?” Granny asked gently, her tone light but perceptive.

  Barrett didn’t answer. He just exhaled through his nose.

  Arthur, Lance, and Pippy watched him with concern but didn’t say anything.

  He was angry—at Rei, at himself, at the way she’d drawn him in only to stand shoulder to shoulder with his biggest rival. He knew she was upset that he hadn’t trusted her with everything—but this felt like a line crossed. He didn’t need her. He’d been fine before she showed up, and he’d be fine after.

  “Hey.”

  He looked up. Rei stood across the fire now, the flames painting her face in warm light.

  “What’s up?” he asked flatly.

  “Do you want to take a walk?” she said. “Talk for a bit?”

  Barrett leaned back, crossing his arms. “Maybe another time. I’m due for a masculine rest.”

  She frowned, then tilted her head, trying to soften it. “And what exactly makes a rest…masculine?”

  Barrett smirked despite himself. “Masculine rest requires masculine hardware.”

  “Gross,” she said without missing a beat. “Anyway, let me know if you change your mind.”

  “Not all of us change our minds on a dime,” Barrett shot back.

  He turned away from her, laying back with his shoulders to the fire and his back to Rei, signaling the conversation was over.

  It was petty. Immature, even. But he was hurt, and right now, he didn’t care in the slightest how it made him look.

  —

  Barrett woke with a dull pressure in his bladder and the cold biting through his coat. For a few stubborn seconds, he lay there, eyes closed, hoping sheer willpower might let him drift back under.

  No chance.

  “Damn it,” he muttered.

  He rolled up with a groan, the night air snapping him fully awake. The camp was quiet, embers glowing low in the fire pits, the steady rush of the river a constant presence beyond the trees. He grabbed his machete on instinct. Even half-asleep, he knew better than to wander these woods unarmed.

  He moved toward the treeline, boots crunching softly over dirt and stone.

  That was when he heard it.

  A shout, followed by crying.

  It was coming from downstream.

  Barrett’s fatigue vanished in an instant.

  He broke into a run, branches clawing at his arms as he pushed through the brush toward the river and the distant roar of the waterfall. The sounds grew clearer with every step.

  He burst into the clearing and froze.

  Arthur lay crumpled near the water’s edge, curled in on himself, arms wrapped around his middle. Blood streaked his clothes, dark and wet in the moonlight.

  Standing over him was the bald, barrel-chested man.

  Jason.

  His boot came down again, vicious and deliberate.

  Something inside Barrett snapped.

  “You bastard,” Barrett snarled as he stepped into the open. “You’re a dead man.”

  Jason turned slowly, a sick grin spreading across his face.

  “Coach, be careful,” Arthur choked out, blood bubbling at his lips. “He…he took your gem.”

  Barrett’s heart slammed against his ribs.

  He reached into his coat.

  Empty.

  “You what?” Barrett breathed.

  Jason laughed. “Had to try it,” he said. “Feels…real good.”

  “You used it?” Barrett dropped to Arthur’s side, hands already moving, checking wounds. “Damnitt Arthur, why didn’t you wake me?” He said softly to the injured boy.

  “Sorry, Coach,” Arthur whispered, clutching his stomach. “I wasn’t gonna fight him. Just…followed him. Thought I could gather intel.”

  “You’ve been playing games,” Jason sneered. “Thought you could use us. Thought you were smarter than everyone else.”

  Barrett exhaled slowly and stood.

  “I owe you an apology,” he said, turning toward Jason.

  Jason blinked. “Huh?”

  “You asked for instructions earlier,” Barrett continued, voice calm now in a way that should’ve been terrifying. “Guess it’s time you learned.”

  Jason lunged.

  The punch came fast. Far faster than a man like him should’ve been capable of. But [Iron Reflex] screamed through Barrett’s nervous system, stretching the moment thin. He slipped the strike by inches and drove his own fist hard into Jason’s ribs.

  The impact boomed.

  Jason staggered but didn’t fold. Vines burst from the earth at Barrett’s feet, lashing upward. Barrett rolled through them, caught Jason’s legs, and slammed him down into the dirt.

  Barrett was on him instantly.

  Punch after punch. Elbow. Fist. Rage poured out of him, dark and overwhelming, every blow fueled by the sight of Arthur broken on the ground.

  Then hands grabbed him from behind.

  “Barrett!” Rei shouted.

  Fred’s voice joined hers. “What the hell is going on?!”

  Barrett tore free with a roar and lunged again—

  Pain exploded through his abdomen.

  Cold. Sharp.

  Barrett looked down.

  A goblin knife jutted from his stomach, buried to the hilt.

  His fury drained away in an instant, replaced by shock.

  “Rei?” he whispered.

  Her eyes were hard. Unforgiving.

  “Sorry, Donovan,” she said. “This isn’t a game.”

  “Coach!” Arthur screamed.

  Fred stared between them, horror dawning. “Rei—what the hell?!”

  “I did what I had to,” Rei snapped. “We can’t have this unstable idiot tearing the team apart. He was about to kill Jason!”

  Barrett sagged slightly, one hand pressed against the wound as blood seeped through his fingers.

  “Let us go,” he rasped. “You’ll never see me again.”

  Rei’s gaze flicked past him—to Arthur.

  “It’s not just about you,” she said.

  Understanding hit him like a hammer.

  “Ah,” Barrett breathed, voice cracking. “You want my team.”

  “They have potential,” Rei replied coolly. “They deserve better leadership.”

  Barrett dropped slowly, looking her in the eyes. “Guess this is what it means to lead, huh?” His grin returned, sharp and bitter. “Fine by me.”

  Just when I thought things were finally looking up.

  Barrett closed his eyes. He tried to think of beaches, lambos, women, but all that came were faces. His crew. Granny’s smile. Pippy’s freckles. Lance’s dumb grin, and Arthur’s brave face.

  He’d never see the people he knew they could become. A lone tear travelled down his cheek. He’d heard of such a thing as manly tears before and prayed with all his might that this was one of them.

  Rei’s fireball formed in her palm, brighter than before, heat distorting the air around it.

  Barrett inhaled slowly. He was bleeding badly, but he could still fight. He mapped the angles in his head. Distances. Timing.

  Jason lurched upright and grabbed Arthur, hauling him close.

  “I’ll break his neck if you try anything,” he snarled.

  Arthur cried out.

  Barrett’s eyes burned. “Congratulations,” he said softly. “You just bought yourself a one-way ticket to hell.”

  Rei’s eyes glowed hotter. “Still clinging to that hero fantasy, huh? Wake up, Donovan. This isn’t some game. It’s life and death.”

  Barrett let out a short, bitter laugh. “I’ll take my stupid little fantasy over your cold little ‘reality’ any day.”

  She stepped closer, voice even and sharp. “Then how about your reality? The one where a loser thinks he can be a winner just by waking up in a new world?”

  “You don’t know a damn thing about me,” Barrett shot back, the words rough as gravel.

  Her eyes gleamed. She’d hit a nerve and knew it. “Thought so.”

  “Let us go,” Barrett said again. “I can help you find more gems.”

  Rei smiled faintly. “You mean your comic book?”

  Barrett’s jaw trembled. He stared at her for a long moment, searching her face for something—anything—that might still mean she cared.

  “Tell me,” he said quietly. “Was any of it real?”

  She didn’t hesitate.

  “That first night,” she replied. “When your bag got ransacked?”

  Barrett swallowed. “Yeah…”

  “That was my plan,” Rei said. “All of it.”

  The truth landed harder than the knife had. Barrett looked away, shame and fury knotting together in his gut. He’d wanted to believe. Wanted so badly to believe someone could fall for him.

  In the end, that might’ve been the real weakness.

  “Fine,” he said at last.

  [Iron Reflex] flared one last time as Barrett hurled himself backward, plunging into the river.

  Rei’s final blast followed him.

  It struck him midair.

  Fire consumed him as the river rushed up to meet him, the roar of the waterfall swallowing the world.

  Light.

  Then nothing.

  Barrett Donovan vanished over the edge.