An Understated Dominance Novel (Dahlia & Dustin) by Marina Vittori updated 2025-26 - An Understated Dominance Chapter 2679

Chapter 2679 

Iker’s warning lingered in the air like a curse, pressing down on the cave until even the sound of breathing felt heavy.

After the supplies were distributed, there were no more surprises—only a wary silence, the kind born from exhaustion and despair.

The water and dry food were divided evenly. Grace kept the box of healing pills close, saving them for emergencies.

Everyone ate in silence, chewing the coarse rations that tasted like sand and ash.

In the far corner, two gravely wounded guards slumped against the rock wall, their faces ghostly pale. One of them, still suffering from the mist shadow’s wound, had a patch of bandages across his chest already darkened by a creeping gray hue. The deathly aura continued to spread; his shallow, ragged breaths betrayed how close he was to the end.

The other had lost an arm. Though the bleeding had stopped, the agony and blood loss left him half-conscious, groaning incoherently in fevered delirium.

Their suffering was unbearable to watch—each labored breath a cruel reminder of what awaited the rest of them.

“Awu… I don’t think he’ll make it through the night,” a scar-faced guard whispered, glancing at the man beside him—a wiry, sharp-eyed figure known as Housan.

Housan’s gaze flicked toward the dwindling pile of food, then toward Logan—still seated in silent meditation—and Grace, whose expression was drawn with worry.

He swallowed the dry crumbs stuck in his throat and muttered, his voice barely audible, “If he dies, that’s one less mouth to feed. Brother Zhaotie, look around… The path ahead is a dead end. Even Iker fell here. What chance do we have?”

He didn’t need to finish the thought. The message was clear.

Zhaotie’s expression darkened. His grip tightened around his water skin. “We swore to protect Her Highness. That’s our duty… but this—this is suicide. I’ve got a wife and children waiting for me at home.”

“Who doesn’t?” grumbled another guard missing half an ear as he staggered closer. “If I’d known this island was cursed, I would’ve never taken this job. No way forward, no way back—just the gates of hell ahead. How long do you think we’ll last with what little we’ve got left?”

The complaints spread like a slow, poisonous fog, seeping through the camp.

The men’s eyes, once steady and determined, now shimmered with fear and hopelessness. And when they glanced at Grace and Logan, there was no longer admiration in their gaze—only doubt, and something darker.

Grace noticed. Of course, she did. But she said nothing.

Instead, she knelt beside the dying Awu, gently lifting his head and letting him sip a little water from her flask.

Awu swallowed with effort. For a moment, gratitude flickered in his dim eyes—but more than anything, there was a longing for peace.

“Hold on, Awu,” Grace whispered softly. “We’ll find a way out.”

He tried to smile. Only a faint, gurgling sound escaped his throat before his head slumped sideways. The light in his eyes went out.

Silence fell like a stone.

The man with the broken arm stared at his fallen comrade, his body trembling violently. Then he broke.

“Dead! He’s dead!” he screamed hoarsely, clutching his head. “We’re all going to die! All of us! No one’s getting out alive!”

His outburst ripped through the group’s fragile composure.

Kui, one of the stronger guards, jumped to his feet, eyes bloodshot. “Shut up!” he yelled, voice shaking. “I don’t want to die! I want to go back!”

He turned to Grace. Though he still spoke with the barest hint of respect, anger laced his tone. “Your Highness, it’s not that we’re cowards—but even Iker couldn’t make it through this place! What can we rely on? Mr. Rhys?” He pointed toward Logan. “No matter how strong he is, can he protect us all? Awu’s dead! Laozi’s useless! Who’s next? You? Me?”

“Kui! Watch your mouth!” the captain of the guards, Alongi, barked, though even his voice trembled with weariness.

Grace stood, her expression composed but her heart heavy. Fear pressed down on her chest like iron, yet she couldn’t afford to show it.

“Kui, I understand your frustration,” she said quietly, her voice calm but cold. “But panic and infighting will only get us all killed. Mr. Rhys is doing everything he can to find a way forward. We—”

“Find a way?” Housan interrupted, his tone sharp and mocking. “Your Highness, it’s not disloyalty—it’s reality. There’s no way out. Rather than starving together, we should divide the food and let each man fend for himself.”

His eyes slid toward the corner, where the remaining supplies were stacked.

Stevie’s hand flew to her dagger, fury flashing in her eyes. “You dare speak of rebellion?!”

“Rebellion?” Zhaotie barked out a bitter laugh, stepping forward and resting his hand on the hilt of his sword. “We just want to live. Hand over the supplies and the pills, and we’ll go our own way. Whether we live or die after that—it’s none of Your Highness’s concern.”

The air grew taut.

Zhaotie, Housan, Kui—their stance and the fire in their eyes said it all. They’d made up their minds.

Grace’s heart sank as she looked at the faces of men who once stood by her side with unwavering loyalty. Now, twisted by hunger and fear, they looked more like strangers—desperate, feral, and dangerous.

She steadied herself, her voice firm but calm. “If we separate now, no one will survive. The only chance we have is to stand together.”

Zhaotie sneered. “Together? Following you is what got us here in the first place. We’ve already lost too many chasing after this so-called elixir. If we keep going, none of us will leave this cave alive.”

“That’s right!” another guard shouted. “I’ve got an old mother at home, a wife, children! I can’t die here for nothing!”

“Your Highness,” Kui said through clenched teeth, “please… let us go.”

Their voices echoed in the cavern—fear, defiance, desperation—all blurring into one chaotic roar.

And in that moment, Grace realized something chilling.

The greatest danger on Fairyharbor Island wasn’t the poison, the illusions, or even the beasts that hunted in the dark.

It was the fear festering inside the hearts of men.