Page 6

Spring storms on the island were brutal. She’d never been able to sleep through them—either the noise dragged her out of bed, or the nightmares they always made worse.

Once, it had been the fire—the heat and smoke. Now, if it wasn’t the time loop—the feeling of being caught, trapped in a cycle that refused to let her go—it was the visions.

The Weave had bled into her dreams before, back in the palace. But at least then, she’d understood why. Understood the focus. And once she’d managed to rein in her worry for Skye, the dreams had quieted—still uneasy, but bearable.

All of that was gone now—every coping mechanism scattered. Every night brought a new barrage of vivid, searing images she couldn’t parse. Strangers’ faces. Unfamiliar cities. Moments stolen from futures that might never come.

That’s what gnawed at her—thenot knowing. Because her dreams weren’t just dreams anymore. She needed to know.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Skye’s voice rumbled close to her ear.

She shook her head. “I can barely remember it now.”

“I told you to wake me next time.”

Skye was no stranger to her nightmares. Growing up, his room was right across the hall, giving him a front-row seat to every terror that stalked her through the night. And while it was sweet that he still wanted to help her, they weren’t kids anymore.

“There’s no reason for both of us to lose sleep,” she said.

“Right, because I’m supposed to sleep soundly while you play dodge-the-lightning.” His tone was light, but something else was beneath it. “You might be immortal now, but you’re not indestructible.”

Taly would’ve rolled her eyes if they weren’t closed. Yes, spring storms could get nasty, but they were past the brunt of it. “I think you’re overestimating the danger here.”

“And I think you’re underestimating how easy it would be to get trapped beneath a fallen branch.”

Then his lips brushed her neck. A hot, sensual press of lips that lingered.

“It only takes a few inches to drown, you know.” His voice had that lazy, cocky edge that drove her crazy. “Immortal, Fey, only to drown in a puddle?” He smirked against her pulse. “Pretty pathetic way to go out. Just saying.”

Taly swallowed, refusing to react, refusing to give him the satisfaction.

She knew what he was doing.

And she would’ve fired back something effortlessly witty and brilliant,obviously—if not for the distracting heat of his lips against her skin. Every teasing press seemed designed to steal her words, unravel her resolve, and leave her wits scattered.

“You’re still adjusting to being outside the time loop,” he murmured. “You haven’t slept for more than a handful of hours since we left it.”

“I can’t control when I have nightmares,” she shot back breathlessly.

“But you canwakeme.”

She walked right into that one, admittedly. And once more, Skye stole away any clever comeback, dragging his teeth over the sharpened tip of her ear.

A sharp gasp escaped her before she could stop it. Fey ears were…sensitive. Truly, she had no clue why that little point connected directly to other parts of her anatomy. Only that the second drag of his teeth nearly had her seeing stars.

She twisted away, hoping for distance, for a breath of clarity—

And instead turned right into him.

Their lips nearly brushed. Liquid, green eyes pinned her. He had a way of looking at her now, like she was something precious. Something a littlewildthat he meant to have

A shiver slid down her spine. She’d imagined this, every night while the world fell apart outside her window—what it would be like to finally be with him, to find out what came after that kiss in the library. But this was nothing like the soft, weightless fantasy she’d clung to in the dark. This was real, and it was electric. Sparking not on her skin, but beneath it, threading through her veins.

Every inch between them made the current stronger, like it needed touch to ground it.

“Just wake me next time,” he commanded gently.

Did he feel it too? That building charge as his mouth hovered just a breath away from hers.