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Can she hear my heartbeat from there? My deafening pulse nearly drowns out the rest of my thoughts and her words. I open my mouth to reply, and the door swings open. Slipping the journal behind my back and into the band of my pants, I tug my tunic over it.

In walks Cole, his focus bouncing back and forth between Marge and me. “Marge, my apologies for the intrusion. But may I borrow my sister for a few minutes?”

Marge nods, turns, and adjusts the jars on a top shelf to make space for the fresh bottle she poured earlier. I swipe my satchel off the ground, sneak the journal into my bag, and nearly run for the door.

Once we are in Cole’s room, the door shut, he asks, “Did you get it?”

“Yes…but she found it first.”

Stress flashes a twinge in his jaw, his eyes wild as he grabs my shoulders. “Fuck, we don’t have a lot of time then. I need you to go, I need you to—”

“It’s okay, I don’t think she’s going to turn us in.”

His eyebrows bunch. “Why wouldn’t she?”

Retrieving my journal, I present the cover to him and trace the emblem on the front with my fingers. “See this symbol? She knew it. She knew details about dragons and repeated what my father wrote—”

“So, she read it, then?”

“No. Sheknewit. And she asked to go to the Dragon Lands.”

He’s slow to respond as he processes. “She’s…testing you. She’s trying to see what you know.”

“I don’t think she was. And if she was, it’s too late to worry about it now.” I place the journal back into my bag.

Cole grabs my hands and rests them on his chest, leaning his forehead against mine. His heart hammers underneath my palms.

“I need you to listen to me, Kat. You need to go. You’re not safe here.”

“I’mnotleaving you.” I enunciate each word and pull back to look him in the eyes.

His eyes soften. “I’d rather die a thousand times over than live in a world without you again. This may be the worst place for you to be right now—”

“I’m not leaving. We stay together, remember? She’s not going to turn us in. The way she spoke, Cole, I know it.”

He sighs, shaking his head in conclusion as he unlaces his fingers from mine.

My throat tightens, and I see no other way around it, blurting the words aloud, “We’ll burn it.”

My heart sinks at the thought of destroying the only piece of my father I have. The last tangible thing tying me back to my family, my heritage. But I would rather lose it, than lose Cole.

His expression softens, hinting he knows the significance of what this means to me. “I…I can’t let you do that.”

“Yes, you can,” I beg. “We’ll burn it tonight, and even if she turns us in, there will be no proof of it.”

He stares blankly at my bag for a long moment, before flicking his gaze up to me. “Are you sure?”

I nod, biting my lip.

He sighs. “Very well then. We keep it here until then. And if Marge reports it—it’s mine. And you get out of here as fast as you can.”

My heart swells, knowing damn well I can’t let him make such a sacrifice but not bothering to argue with him. Not right now.

We shove the journal deep inside the trunk in his room and leave. When we get back to the healer’s quadrant, Marge is gone. My stomach turns sour as my thoughts gallop to all the scenarios of her turning us in and being wrong about her.

“Fuck,” I hiss.

Cole squeezes my hand to slow my thoughts. “If she’s not here, she might be at the sparring ring. Maybe someone was injured.”