Page 35

Marin

I burst into the orchard, branches tearing at my sleeves.

Gavin's shouts still echoed faintly behind me, fraying at the edges.

Then they went quiet against the frantic pounding of my heart.

I bent at the waist, sucking in the night air like it might be taken away from me.

My head spun. Legs were weak and shaken.

What had I done?

Digging into my pack, I found my light, stringing it around my neck as the magic activated and filled the dark with its beam. The knotted tree trunks rose out of the overgrown grass like gnarled fingers. They looked like giants, ready to scoop me up and crush me in their wooden grip.

I sank to my knees, still pulling in ragged breaths. I knew Gavin would be angry… but that? His ferocity shook me to my core. Made me question. Made me fearful, not of harm, but that I’d made a horrifying mistake.

We were broken before, but now, we were shattered into a million razor-sharp pieces.

And this time, I’d betrayed him.

My fingers were numb as I searched for the seeds and removed them from my pocket. The two oval-shaped seeds rolled in my palm, looking innocent, as if they weren’t the cause of so much anguish.

Blame the seeds, not my heart.

I steadied myself, taking a few moments to clear my head and let the silence sink in. What’s done is done, I had to keep moving forward.

Climb or die.

Digging a small hole into the earth, I dropped both seeds in and pushed the dirt over them. Then, I uncapped my leather flask and poured fresh water over the mound. I hooked my pack over my shoulder and watched the ground.

Nothing happened.

Minutes ticked by, my hopes withering like the abandoned trees in the orchard. Was I missing something? Cass had said the roots should take hold immediately, but there was just wet dirt and not a single sprout.

If I stole dead seeds, then I’ll—

The ground shook.

I stumbled backward as a vine burst from the dirt. It twisted and writhed, shooting into the air, growing thick with tangled branches.

The force of the vine knocked me off my feet, and I landed in the dirt, head back as the rest of it vanished into the dark sky. I couldn’t see it, but I heard it continue to grow, echoing like a thundercloud.

I tore at the grass, dragging myself upright as the shaking finally stopped. The silence that followed was eerie. It chilled the perspiration dotting the back of my neck. If the apple trees had been giants, this stalk was far worse—a colossal monster. And I planned to climb up its back.

Good thing I had claws.

Dropping my bag at my feet, I pulled out my grappling hook and climbing rope. Then I attached a leather harness to my waist. So long as I made sure the hook was secure on the vine, the harness should stop me in a fall.

Hopefully, I wouldn’t need to test its limits.

My gloves were next, the fingers rough for better traction. I studied the vine, searching for the best place to start. The base of it was massive. Easily the width of a house, maybe larger with branches jutting off in all directions.

“Going somewhere?”

My heart stopped.

No way. It wasn’t possible!

I turned to face the lion.

Gavin stood in the tall grass, one end of the shackle still cuffed around his wrist. The beam of my light illuminated his harsh features, the severe line of his mouth, and his stony gaze. A streak of blood smeared the back of his hand.

“How did you get free?”

His boots struck the ground as he stalked toward me.

“Luck. Never chain a man to a rusted rail.” His voice turned savage. “I’m here because I never fixed that damned railing!”

Chest rising on a sharp inhale, Gavin ripped the rope from my fingers and tossed it into the dark. Fists clenched, I lurched to find the rope, but he clamped a hand on my arm and dragged me back.

“You’re not leaving without me.” Gavin cornered me against the vine, my back pressed against the coarse stalk.

I felt myself unraveling, losing control as I fought to speak against the twisted knot wedged in my throat.

“Why?” I cried, wrenching my arm out of his grip. “You wanted gold? I said I’d bring you some. You wanted my house? You have it!” I shoved at his unmovable chest. “I’m fighting for my life. Why can’t you just let me go? ”

Gavin’s body jerked, absorbing my words like they were knives. Then he was still. Barely breathing.

“Let you go?” There was that hollow tone again, the kind waiting to be filled.

And then, the dam broke. “You don’t have a clue what I want—what I’m fighting for!

” A broken laugh tore from his throat. “For three years, all I’ve heard are your screams in my head, begging me.

” His fingers circled my wrist. “I lost my grip. I let you go. It haunts me. Do not ask me to do it again.”

His grip on my wrist tightened. A spark of warning flashed in his eyes before his head dipped, mouth crashing down on mine.

Heat and fury surged through me as I gasped against his mouth.

But he took advantage, roughly tilting my chin back with his hand and kissed me harder.

There was no restraint in him. No veiled meanings twisted into a teasing joke.

He was raw, desperate. A man I’d pushed too far, who’d decided to take me over the edge with him.

My knees buckled. He caught me. One hand shackling my wrist against the vine like I'd shackled him to the rail.

Shock melted into something liquid that flowed like molten fire through my veins. I curled my free hand into his shirt and pressed myself closer. When I opened for him, it was instinct. The way you grab a rope in a fall, grappling for the one thing that could save you.

Gavin groaned in the back of his throat; the sound was addictive, essential. He gripped my chin, thumb stroking my cheek as his mouth slanted over mine. Again and again. Like he’d never stop—couldn’t.

And I didn’t want him to. Gods help me, I didn't.

He finally broke the kiss, but his mouth lingered above mine, breath uneven as he rasped, “Going in the same direction?” He laughed roughly, echoing my words from before. “I’m your partner. You’ll rely on me. Need me. You will want me, Mare. So start getting used to it.”

I shivered as he unlatched my harness. Then he dropped it at my feet.

“Go back to the house and get some sleep. The climb will be hard enough. We're not starting in the dark.”

“What are you going to do?”

He wrapped his hands around my waist and switched places with me, his back facing the vine.

“I don’t trust you. I’m guarding the way up.”

Gavin angled his chin toward the house, and I bent to pick up my gear. My mind was still reeling from his kiss as I left him standing in the orchard.

This round went to the lion.