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“Dover?” That caught her by surprise. She would rather talk about any of the past lives she’d visited in the Announcers than her experience at Dover.

They passed a barren tree trunk, which looked like it hadn’t seen a leaf in centuries. They passed a dried-up river and a dirt path that didn’t lead anywhere. There was no one around to judge her. Only Daniel.

“It was three years of boredom followed by one catastrophe that left a boy I knew dead,” she said finally. “It makes me sick to think about because I—”

“Trevor’s death wasn’t your fault.”

She swerved around to face him. “How did you know?”

“There was someone else behind it. Someone who knew you would feel terrible about that fire—andwantedyou to. Someone who wanted you to believe that what happens inside you when you care for someone is fatal.”

“Who would do that?” Luce whispered.

“Someone who wanted you never to fall in love. Someone jealous of what you and I have together.”

“A person died because of that jealousy, Daniel. An innocent boy who had nothing to do with our curse or our love.”

“I didn’t know it was happening. I would have stopped it. I’m sorry, Luce. I know you’ve suffered.”

Luce rubbed her forehead. “You’re saying the person behind Trevor’s death killed him so that I wouldn’t fall in love with you?”

“Yes.”

“Only…it didn’t work.”

“No,” Daniel said. “It didn’t.”

“Because of the curse? It still brought us together—”

“Because no curse is stronger than our love.”

They climbed another mountain, then another. The sun beat down like hands upon their shoulders. They slid off Woody to walk to the edge of a cliff. The drop was steep and scary, but below them the ocean crashed against the shore, a fantastic bolt of blue after so much brown. They could never get down there without flying. But Luce looked at Daniel and Daniel looked at Luce, and they smiled, knowing they had made a pact: a simple date, no wings. That was fine with both of them.

“Come here.” Daniel touched a flat rock at the edge of the cliff, motioning for Luce to sit down. They watched the ocean for a moment, saw two back container ships like glaciers near the horizon.

“It feels like the world is ours today, doesn’t it?” Luce said sadly.

Daniel spun her to him, touched the tip of her nose with his. His hand parted the buttons on her jacket, then slipped under her shirt, caressing the small of her back.

He kissed her with a new brand of abandon. His touch was smooth and soft and desperate all at once. Her mouth bore down on his as he squeezed her, lifting her on top of him, burying his free hand in her hair. Their limbs overlapped, taut with expectation. Their mouths were hot and tangled. Luce felt dizzy and alive, as if their souls had twined together. It was almost too much to bear. She could never get enough. But she would try.

“I love you, Daniel,” Luce said between breaths.

“I love you, too,” he replied. “More than anything. More than—”

Boom.

It sounded like thunder, the brewing of a dark tornado. Luce jumped awake inside the cave, where she must have fallen asleep on Daniel’s shoulder.…