Larkin stumbled through the mist, rain seeping from her hood to run in freezing streaks down her back. Darkness fell, bringing with it the scent of death and the grave. It grew stronger with each step she took. Until she ran blindly.

A sound behind her. She slammed into something and fell back. Above her, a body swayed, turning. She didn’t want to look. Couldn’t look away. His face pale and dead, Bane looked down at her. “I can’t die for you twice, Larkin.”

She staggered to her feet and backed away from him, only to bump into another body. Talox, his eyes black. “It’ll be your turn soon.”

She turned and fled, running until she reached the edge of a ravine, a frothing river rushing far, far below. The updraft blew at her hair. She turned as the Wraith King slipped from the shadows.

Ramass reached for her, one gloved finger trailing down her cheek. “Every mortal has a price.” It was not the wraith’s horrible voice that said it, but Denan’s.

Larkin gasped awake to early morning. She wrenched herself up, away from the sweat-soaked sheets. She drew her knees to her chest and panted, letting herself orient to the simple elegance of Denan’s bedroom—their bedroom now. Through the magical barriers, the White Tree gleamed opalescent gold in the dim morning light.

Denan lay beside her, one arm over his face. She longed to curl up beside him, feel the impossibility of his body—all hard softness—against her own. But he slept so fitfully, when he slept at all.

Letting him rest, she slipped soundlessly from the bed and tugged on a long tunic. She left their room, padded down the stairs of their hometree and through the main room. Not far above the water, the training platform jutted out.

She took a long staff from the hooks embedded into the tree and centered herself. She went through the motions Tam and Denan had been working with her on—slowly at first, perfecting each movement before she increased her speed.

Not long after sunrise, Denan appeared at the entrance. He watched her a moment and then left, returning with a pitcher of water and two gobby fruits. Still, she didn’t stop until she was too tired to picture the faces of the dead.

She slumped down beside him, drinking directly from the pitcher. She wiped her mouth and tore into the gobby.

“What is it?”

Her first instinct was to shrink away from him. But she had made that mistake with Nesha once. She wouldn’t make it again. “I saw Bane and Talox dead. A wraith hunted me. And when he caught me, the wraith was you.”

“Oh, Larkin.” He wrapped an arm around her.

She considered all she had risked. All she had lost. All she might have lost but didn’t. “They died for me. Why? Why is my life worth more than theirs?”

“It has nothing to do with worth. It has to do with love. They laid down their lives because they loved you and they loved me.”

“I can never repay them.”

“You can make their sacrifice worth it.”

She rested her head on his shoulder. “I didn’t find the ahlea amulet.”

“We will.”

“The wraiths are still out there.”

“We will defeat them.”

“How?”

He kissed her temple. “The same way we have always faced the darkness: together.”

She sighed, pushed herself up, and held her hand out to him. “The delegation from the Idelmarch should be arriving in a few days. We have a lot to do to prepare.”

He allowed her to pull him up, but instead of letting go, he tugged her until she stumbled into him. He pressed his lips against hers. The kiss tasted of the sweet tartness of the fruit, with an undercurrent of salt from her lips. He deepened the kiss, which started a low fire in her belly.

She pulled back. “We don’t have time for this. And I’m all sweaty.”

“I’m a prince. We have time for whatever I say we have time for.”

She tried to wriggle out of his arms. “At least let me shower.”

“Certainly.” He swung her into his arms and stepped up to the edge of the platform.

She squealed and kicked her feet. “Denan! What are you doing?”

He looked at her, perfectly serious. “Giving you a shower.”

Then they were falling, dropping through crystal clear water, pulsating fish darting for cover all around them. She flung out her limbs, which wrenched her from Denan’s arms. She swam for the surface. Light rippled through the plants around them, indicating Denan had touched down at the bottom.

She risked a glance to see him arrowing toward her. She broke the surface, took a gasping breath, and swam for the edge of the tree. Hands wrapped around her waist from below, rolling her under him.

Denan grinned at her, clearly thinking he’d won. She flared her magic and pulsed, sending him shooting away from her.

He skidded like a skipped stone across the water, bellowing, “Cheater!” before he sank.

She pulled herself out of the water, laughing. His head popped up, and he glared at her. She laughed harder. His eyes slid down her wet tunic, her bare legs, and his gaze turned hungry as he swam toward her.

“You’re not sweaty anymore,” he said as he climbed the length of her.

She trembled inside. She was so grateful for this man. For letting her be sad. For making her laugh. For letting her fight when she needed to fight. “Thank you. For coming for me.”

He kissed the palm of her hand. “Larkin, I will always come for you.”

 

 

 

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