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He leaned in, his voice dropping to a whisper meant only for me. “But it’s time you learned the first rule of Gavin Blackwood: you're my compass, and I'll follow you to the end.”

“You’re impossible.”

“So you tell me. Insufferable, reckless—”

I shook my head, flattening my palm against the solid warmth of his chest.

“Loved.”

Gavin went still. “What?”

My voice didn’t waver this time. “You don’t have to steal my heart, Gavin. It’s already yours. You might be a thief, but you’ve never taken from me. You only give. And I love you. ”

His forehead dropped to mine, almost like he couldn’t believe what I was saying.

“Look at me, Gavin.”

I rubbed my fingers over his jawline until he did.

“You’re right. We never do anything the easy way. We’re standing on a cloud bridge a hundred feet in the air, stone creatures to our right, a giant to our left, and all I can think about is how no one has ever held me the way you do. Kissed me. Kept me safe. Shared my stories. Made me laugh.”

My palm cupped his cheek as I leaned in and pressed a soft kiss against his lips.

“There are endless reasons why I love you.”

My words hung between us like the mist curling in the air. He heard every one of them, taking them in like I was scattering jewels at his feet. And I saw it then, the greed in his eyes. Not for gold or power, but for me, and everything I was offering.

It was staggering. How had I missed it before? This was Gavin. He’d been looking at me that way for years. Like I was his horizon, or stars, charting his course home.

Then his brow arched, a teasing glint flashing in his eyes, because we were still us. And that was never going to change.

“You can admit it. You’re also thinking about me without a shirt.”

I laughed, the sound breaking free and competing with the wind.

“All day, every day.”

“I knew it.”

I wrinkled my nose. “Don’t let it go to your head.”

“Too late for that. First, it’s my beard, then it’s my body. What’s next? My irresistible charm? Stunning intellect? Let’s face it, Mare. You can’t resist me.”

Heat splashed my cheeks. “I’m going to feed you to the giant. It’s not too late to change my mind.”

He winked. “Drizzle me in honey first. Might as well make it a tasty treat.”

My eyes flared as he dragged me against him, and this time, teased my mouth with a kiss. A gust of wind battered us, and Gavin immediately braced me in the rushing air.

He pulled back just enough to brush the hair off my face. His thumb traced my cheek as if memorizing me, and this fragment in time before our hunt started again.

Another messy moment made beautiful by us and not the sinister surroundings.

But then Gavin’s smile faded, his fingers still tangled in my hair.

“You said you found Reid’s journal. You should have said something sooner. I could have explained.”

Guilt twisted inside my chest. “I know. But I was horrified by the way I treated you. I’m so sorry for believing—”

“No.” Gavin’s voice cut through mine. “Don’t apologize for anything. You were tricked. We all were. Even Reid. That day on the ship, when I left you that note… I didn't just want to tell you how I felt. I wanted to show you.”

He reached into his satchel, his fingers curling around something.

A compass.

The breath rushed from my lungs.

“This is what I really left you. Reid switched it with the comb. I didn’t know that until recently. I always thought you saw it.”

Tears streaked down my cheeks. I shook my head, unable to speak.

“I told you in the market to stop searching for the crest, not because I didn’t care, but because the answers didn’t matter to me anymore. Where I came from wasn’t as important as where I wanted to be. And that was with you.”

Gavin’s fingers tightened around the chain. Then, slowly, he held it out to me. His voice thickened.

“Will you wear it?”

The question struck me deep. Because it wasn’t just about the compass. It was about trust. About choosing us.

The thief who was asking for my heart.

Vulnerable Gavin may be my new favorite.

“Yes,” I breathed.

His fingers worked the clasp. Then he leaned in, his breath warm against my skin, and fastened the compass around my neck. I wrapped my palm around it, pressing the cool weight to my heart.

“At the ball,” I whispered, “I was angry you weren’t wearing it. I thought it was proof you’d betrayed me. That you’d found your family and left me behind. But the truth is, even on my darkest day, part of me still wanted you to find where you belonged.”

Gavin framed my face in his hands. “You’re my family, Marin. I found you.”

“And you’re mine.”

I wrapped my arms around his neck. He was like the ocean’s tide, always pulling me back to him again and again. An unmovable force

And that gave me hope.

Because I’d been so sure that I’d won this time. That the future was certain.

And I was wrong. I could be wrong about the bridge, too. Maybe it wasn’t invincible. Maybe it was a game the giant always won because he anticipated what we would do. Always a few steps ahead.

Like Gavin, hedging his bets.

If we wanted to win, we’d have to play differently.

I pushed to my feet, one hand clutched over the compass, the other outstretched toward him.

“We have to be absolutely silent,” I said, voice steady. “And even then, we’ll most certainly die. End up at the bottom of a pit, crushed by a giant’s fist.”

Gavin slipped his hand into mine, lacing our fingers tight. “Always tempting me with a good time, Mare.”

I glanced at the castle rising like a mountain on the other side of the cloud walk. This was it. No turning back.

But we were hunters. This is what we did best.

And now, there wasn’t just treasure waiting across that bridge. It wasn’t just the key to my freedom. It was the promise of the life I’d always wanted.

All I had to do was outsmart a giant to claim it.