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“Thank you.” I breathe, following after her as she starts to storm back to the mansion. “Although, I guess Iwasn’tstuck in the end. But I don’t know if I could’ve pushed through it without that extra motiva—”

Skye whirls around, and I stop in my tracks at the look on her face. She is firmly past storm clouds. This is lightning and thunder territory. “That wasidiotic,Maya. What the hell did you think you were doing?”

I start, taken aback. “I wastryingto get a leg up on the competition. If tomorrow’s a speed run, I figured learning the route would be smart.”

“Smart?You thought sneaking off in the middle of the night to climb a cliff without telling anyone where you were wassmart?”

“It’s more of a hill, and I wasn’t going to climb it if it looked dangerous.”

“You were alone.It was going to be dangerous.”

“It was a risk I was willing to take.”

Skye’s mouth drops open, and she brings her hands up in front of her as she speaks for emphasis. “Maya, nothing is worth risking yourself over, okay? Jesus! Screw the getaway, and screw Jordy. You could’ve been hurt, and forwhat?”

“But I wasn’t. And now I think I can win this tomorrow, I really do—”

“Who cares?” Skye shouts, throwing her arms up.

I raise my own voice as outrage bubbles up in my chest. “Ithought we did? Isn’t that what we’ve been working toward? Why are we here, otherwise?”

“There’s aline,Maya. And if you don’t know where yours is, you need to rethink your priorities.”

“Look, if you don’t want this as badly as I do, that’s fine. I swear, I didn’t mean to get you involved in this. I’m sorry. I didn’t think anyone would notice I was gone.”

“Thank god I did,” Skye snaps.

“What are you mad at me for? Youchoseto come after me, and to climb down. And thank you for that, but you didn’t have to.”

“Why am I mad?” she repeats incredulously. “I woke up in the middle of the night and your bed was empty. I looked around the whole mansion and couldn’t find you anywhere, then I remembered the cliff. I thought, no, there’s no way she would’ve done something like that, but I went to check anyway, just in case, and what do I find? You’re halfway down, standing on crumbling rocks, and you almost fell right in front of me. I thought I was about to watch youdie,Maya.”

I shake my head. “You’remad at mebecause I almost got hurt?”

She runs a hand over her mouth, shaking her own head right back at me. Then, out of nowhere, she steps forward and pulls me into a tight embrace. We press together so tightly I can feel her heart thudding against her ribs. Can smell the faint remnants of her perfume from the day. Could press my lips against her neck if I turn my head a fraction to the right.

No sooner has the final thought crossed my mind than she takes my chin between her fingers and kisses me, fierce and deep. Usually, she kisses me in a gentle and lazy way, full of feather touches and soft hair and velvet skin. Tonight, there’s fire underneath it. She digs her fingernails into theflesh of my neck, and grasps my waist, and scrapes her teeth along my lip.

Then, all at once, she tears away. Her fingers flutter against her lips, and her eyes are fixed on me so intensely I wonder if she’s aware of her hands at all. “Figure out where your line is,” she says. “Okay?”

“Okay,” I say. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to put you in danger.”

She just shakes her head.

The walk back to the mansion is almost totally silent. My mind scrambles to process that kiss, to assign meaning where there was none. There was something different about it, wasn’t there? Or do I just want there to have been?

DoI want there to have been?

The thought surprises me, but as soon as it pops up, I shove it back where it came from. Making a sappy romance out of this would only complicate everything. I can’t afford complications.

I know where my lines are. And as long as she’s clear on hers, we won’t have a problem.

TWENTY-FIVESkye

“It’s a piece of cake,” Perrie assures me after I’m fitted out in climbing gear. “I promise, they couldn’t have chosen an easier route.”

“It could be a staircase and I still wouldn’t climb it at that height,” I say.

Not again, anyway. Once was more than enough. My heart is pounding just looking at the drop.