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I rush for the door and find Kellyn striding away, about fifty feet down the hall.

“Hey!” I shout after him. He stops and turns.

I don’t want to yell this conversation down the hall, so I jog over to him, hating the way he watches me the whole time.

“Why did you leave?” I ask.

“You left first. I assumed you were politely giving me the brush-off.”

“No! I really did have to use the washroom.”

“You took a while.”

“Well, I needed to prepare myself to talk to you first, and then I came out to find you gone.” I realize how stupid that must sound, but it’s too late to take back the words.

“You needed to prepare yourself?”

“Yes. Sometimes I have to calm myself down before a conversation.”

“Were we about to have a serious one?”

I can’t look him in the face, so I settle for just below it, at his strong neck. “I don’t know, but you know how I am. I get all worked up and have to talk myself off a ledge.”

“Then shouldn’t you have been relieved that I left? No scary talking?”

My eyes flit to the ground. “I should have. But I wasn’t.”

“No?”

I force my gaze to meet his. “No.”

“Tell me, why is it so different talking to me now than it was when we were traveling on the road together?”

“Because before it was a necessity to be together. Silences weren’t awkward”—not always anyway—“because you can’t possibly talk all day every day. But now, if there’s silence, it’s because I’m failing at the conversation.” I groan. “Does that make any sense at all?”

“Yes.” His fingers twitch, as though he wishes to reach out and touch me, but he holds himself back.

Does he… want to touch me?

I remember his words back in the woods, when he was likelyconcussed. He wants an equal partner. He doesn’t want to be the one to do everything. Instigate everything.

And I do want to hold his hand.

So even though it terrifies me, I reach out and brush his fingers before clasping his hand in mine. Kellyn’s brows jump up on his forehead, but he schools his features in the next moment.

“You really scared me,” I say. “You were delirious with fever on the road. I wasn’t sure if you were going to make it.”

I step up beside him, and we both walk wherever it was that Kellyn was headed before. My heart beats quicker than usual at our close proximity. I try to make myself relax.

“With you taking such good care of me?” he asks. “How could I not?” He gives my hand a gentle squeeze before threading our fingers together. Somehow it feels even more intense than simply having our palms pressed together.

I really do like touching him.

Kellyn seems to know exactly where he’s going, so I let him lead.

“How long was I asleep?” I ask.

“About twenty-six hours. I only just woke up in the middle of last night. Temra asked if I’d keep watch over you while she went to the training grounds. She’s practicing even harder than before with the news of Ravis on the way.”