Page 48

"Jackson," Airos says. "I hope you know what happened wasn't your fault."

"Huh?" I say, caught off guard.

"Clarke. And everything else."

"Yeah. I just can't shake the thought that I shouldn't be alive. Or that maybe things would've somehow gone differently for everyone had I not followed McScott. Pretty narcissistic of me, right? That's always been my excuse. My big purpose." I let out a harsh laugh. "Either way, I guess I would've ended up dead."

"Instead, you were brought here," he reminds me. "For your big purpose." Then, he does something I don't see coming—he reaches out and places his hand on top of mine. "You aremeantto be alive. And I'm glad for it."

My brain just fucking stops. It's such a simple thing—just skin on skin—but it sends this jolt through my entire body. I just sit there like an idiot, staring down at our hands and trying to ignore the way his touch makes my chest feel tight and warm. The pain is still there. The guilt is still there. I want to pull away, tell him to keep his hands to himself, but I can't make myself move. No, I don't want to. For the first time in my life, I want to stay exactly where I am.

Airos suddenly perks up. His hand leaves mine, leaving nothing but a tingling warmth. "Hold on a moment," he says, and he stands up. "By the Gods. It was there the whole time."

I stand up too. Airos points to a spot just above the horizon. I have no idea what I'm looking for.

"That constellation," he says, grinning. "I believe we've almost found our way there. The well is not far. Come on."

"Wait," I say before he starts his way down the plateau. I hold up my end of the rope. "Should we...?"

Airos considers this for a moment, then comes to me. I take his end of the rope. How do I tie it?

My hands seem to start moving on their own. It's the least obvious way possible, and yet it's the only way I can think of. Out, around, make a loop, slide the end through, tighten it, and repeat. I don't know how I can still recall this so many years later, after only having watched Rachyl do it once.

"An interesting knot," Airos says, examining it.

Does he know what it means?

It doesn't matter.

Together, we carefully start down the side of the plateau, keeping in time with each other's steps.

14

AIROS

Jackson gives my shoulder an excited shove. "Holy shit, there it is! You found it!"

The well sits like a gift from the Gods on the distant sand. We sprint like men possessed, and it isn't until we reach the stone trough that I realize what we've just accomplished. We ran in perfect unison—not a single stumble, not one moment where the rope pulled taut between us. All of the obstacles had been cleared without conscious thought, as though the rope didn't exist at all.

We carefully remove the stone cover and peer down into the pit. The sweet, cool scent of water drifts up from below, and I see a shimmer, like a window to the sky above. It's clean, and it's still untouched by any corruption.

Jackson unties the rope from around his waist, and I do the same. We then tie the separate sections together, fasten them to the neck of my wine gourd, and lower it down into the well.

It doesn't reach.

"Damn," I say. "The surface was higher before."

"We'll have to extend the rope," Jackson says, and he immediately begins to strip off his cloak.

Gods.

Once again, I'm enthralled by the sight before me. And again, I have to remind myself to quell the things I feel when looking at him.

But heisgorgeous. And it's not just his appearance. His omega presence is subtle but undeniable, like a heat that seems to radiate from him even when he's trying to maintain distance. He has no control over it. I doubt he's even aware of it.

I feel a weakening of my resolve over the things I promised myself I would never do. The things I would neverfeelabout an omega. And now I feel as though a gap between us has lessened. I don't know what it is or why it happened. There's an opening in his armor, and it's like his very scent has shifted, becoming richer, more complex—something that makes my mouth water and my hands itch to reach for him.

This is dangerous. Incredibly dangerous.