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Rue woke when Mother rumbled for the family to join her in the social room for breakfast. She stretched, taking time to comb out the tangles in her hair with her fingers, then slung her bag over her shoulder and hurried to Mother’s side. Mother passed her a cup of berries, still early in the season, and she sat by the fire to ward off the morning chill. Father was barely awake, slowly plopping one berry after another on his tongue, and even the brothers were subdued and tired, not yet awake enough for their usual bickering and snapping.
Rue forced herself to eat slowly enough so as not to arouse suspicion, but all she could think about was getting back to Henry before he became brave enough to wander into plain sight. The man had no idea what dangers awaited him here.
Finally, Rue passed the cup back to Mother, bowing low to show her respect before slipping out into the forest like she usually did. Hopefully none of the brothers would be active enough to follow her, but just to be sure, she took her time wandering the shore to collect bait for fishing, plucking a basket of berries for Mother and leaving them outside the door, and then, finally sure no one was watching, making her way to the haven.
Rue leapt from stone to stone as she followed the path, still paranoid enough to look back at the forest every time she landed, but there was no sign of pursuit. And, luckily, no sign of Henry. Hopefully that meant he’d taken her hint to stay hidden.
She landed in the cool, soft sand with a thud and hurried down the passage toward her haven, ears attuned to the sounds of the caves. As always, there was the rushing of the waves from the lake, the rustling of bat wings, and the steady drip of water, faster than normal today after a rainstorm overnight.
She turned the corner and stepped into the haven, eyes roving the space quickly to find Henry.
The room was empty. Where had he—?
“Argh!” Henry leapt out from her left, a large log she hadn’t yet chopped down for the fire raised over his head. His eyes widened as he saw it was Rue, and he threw his weight to avoid hitting her.
Rue’s reflexes were fast, though, and she dodged to the side, rolling forward and then popping to her feet, fists raised. “Hey!”
Henry dropped the log, holding up his hands and smiling sheepishly. Rue blew a strand of hair out of her eyes and shook her head.
They had to learn how to communicate better.
Rue sighed and picked up the log, making her way to the low fire. She dropped Henry’s makeshift weapon back on her wood pile, then built the fire back up and huddled near it. The air was cool today, especially inside the cave, and the heat eased her tension.
Henry settled down on the grasses across from her, sitting cross-legged and looking to her expectantly. Waiting for her to make a move? To say something? To try to tell him something?
He pointed at the fire and said a word. Rue paused, pulling her fire stick from the pit. What was he trying to do?
He was unfazed. He put a hand on his chest. “Henry.” Then gestured at her. “Rue.” Then at the pit. “Fire.”
“Fire,” she said, his language clunky on her tongue. She repeated his sequence of movements and words, adding her own word for the fire at the end.
He smiled, rising to his knees. He let out a stream of words she couldn’t follow, gesturing toward the door of the cave, moving his arm like the waves of the lake.
Wait, the lake? Could he want something at the lake?
Rue shook her head slowly, unsure how to respond. Once he sat back, as frustrated as she was, she stood and grabbed something off the shelf. She mimed drinking, then pointed to the object. “Cup.”
He sat up slightly again, repeating her word, then his own word for the object.
Rue took a deep breath, heart thrumming. It would take time, but perhaps this was the only way to communicate. To learn to talk.
To figure out how they could escape.
They spent the rest of the morning running around the haven, pointing excitedly to any object in reach, teaching each other their own words.
***
RUE BIT HER LIP AS she watched Henry trying to fit himself through the crevice to her garden. This was exactly why she almost never left the haven this way, but Henry had seen the gap in the ceiling and insisted on coming out here. It hadn’t taken him long to spot the hole, only a couple of days—the first sunny day since he’d been in the haven. And how could she keep him from a little sun?
But watching him struggle through the tiny opening and glancing around the too-open space on top of the cliff—divided as it was from the main island by a steep drop-off to the forest below—Rue would have to figure out how to explain they couldn’t do this often. It was too hard, too risky.
She pulled another rock away, trying to make more room for him, and reached down a hand. He grabbed it, and she did her best to pull him up and through.
Finally, he came free, and they tumbled to the ground together. She laughed awkwardly as he flushed as red as a radish, quickly pushing himself up and away from where he’d fallen on top of her.
She sat up with a smile, enjoying the way the sun carved out the lines of Henry’s muscles, the way the wind tossed his hair. Then, as he caught her staring, she flushed as scarlet as he had.
How had she already moved past suspicion and fear to this magnetic attraction? This admiration?
He reached a hand down to her, and she set hers lightly in his. He pulled her to her feet so quickly and easily that she found herself flushing again as she flew into his chest. He steadied her, but even after she found her feet, he kept his hands on her shoulders a little longer than was necessary. Those eyes... she could get lost in there.
He mumbled something and jumped back, like she had turned into a snake, and she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and looked to the ground. She couldn’t help imagining how it would feel to be held by him, to really let him hold her, and the thought sent her heart fluttering like the wings of a cloud of butterflies.
He cleared his throat, and she looked back up at him. He gestured toward the neat rows of dirt, the tiny seedlings that were reaching for the spring sun, and she caught her breath, bringing herself back to the whole reason they were up here. He wanted to see what it was, and this was a great opportunity to try out a few more words.
She reached for his hand, but hesitated, fingers twitching. Would it bother him if she touched him? It always bothered the family.
But she had no need to worry. His eyes flicked down to her outstretched fingers, and he wrapped his own around hers. She smiled again, heart as high as a bird in the sky, and her feet floated across the ground to the garden, through the waving stalks of white and blue flowers, the bright green grass.
She pulled him down into the dirt with her, and he immediately set about pulling weeds from around the seedlings. Wherever he’d come from, he was no stranger to farming.
Rue shuffled a few feet away, toward the tall, round stalks that were already ready for harvest. She carefully dug around one of the plants, pulling it free from the dirt.
“Onion,” Rue said patiently, holding up the bulb for Henry to see.
He repeated the word, reaching for it. As he took the plant, he said another word, holding it up again for Rue to say it in his language.
And so the afternoon wore on, plant after plant, word after word, drawing them closer as Rue imagined what it would be like to have a friend like Henry.
***
RUE LED THE WAY THROUGH the cave’s passages toward the gently lapping waves of the lake. Henry had been on the island for an entire week already, and she still hadn’t allowed him outside the haven. Enough guilt was nagging at her for depriving him of sunlight and fresh air that she’d finally decided to teach him some useful skills, things he could safely do without fear of discovery.
Today, Rue would teach him how to get food for himself, something that would also give him a chance to feel the breeze in his hair and maybe even a touch of sun on his skin.
They emerged onto the hidden beach, the same shore where her boulder path ended, completely sheltered from view. The cool spring breeze, warmer than it had been even yesterday, swirled around the round opening, and the lake sparkled beyond the edges of the cliff. Here, it was shaded and sheltered, but only twenty feet out from the edge of the water inside the cave, the lake bed dropped out below, and the world stretched on. Yet still, this tiny beach was completely hidden from the view of anyone on the main shore of the island, where she’d first found Henry.
Rue held up her hand, indicating for Henry to wait where he was, and she crept forward to the edge of the water, peering into the protected water inside the mouth of the cave. It wasn’t deep here, no higher than her knees, but sometimes she could catch fish. Sure enough, a small school of silvery minnows darted between the smaller rocks, flashing in the dim sunlight that managed to find its way inside.
Rue dropped her bag to the sand and walked forward, watching to make sure Henry was paying attention. He followed her, straight into the water several feet from the shore, and she handed him one of the carved spears in her hand.
She was going to teach him to catch fish. Just in case she couldn’t make it back in time to bring him food one of these days. In case... In case the family stopped her.
Her mind drifted to Grun and Mother’s proclamation that their mating was approaching. This year.
What would the ceremony be like? Would it be as gruff and short as Grun’s temper? Or would Rue be permitted to add her own touches to it? If she was to be joined with Grun for the rest of her life, she hoped she would be allowed to make it a beautiful ceremony, if nothing else.
The rest of her life. A fist locked around her heart, like Mother’s strong grip. Rue had been here longer than she could remember. She’d spent every moment on this island, learning its every crag, its every tree.
No one but the family for company.
And that was how it would continue to be. Henry would eventually leave, either once they were able to build him something to get him across the waves or once the family found him, and then she would be alone with them again.
Forever.
How could she have forgotten Mother’s words? Rue was still just flotsam. She wasn’t smart enough to devise an escape with Henry. How many times had she failed to save one of the castaways before? She’d stopped counting, each loss hurting more than the last.
She was a failure. Stupid. Useless, except for her one true purpose: matriarch, mate, captive.
“Rue?” Henry’s voice cut through her thoughts.
She caught her breath, refocusing her gaze and looking to him. His brows were lowered in concern, and he reached toward her. His fingers brushed her cheek, and the breeze cooled her skin. She was... crying?
Henry said something else, but Rue could only understand a word or two. One week was not enough for a discussion this abstract. All their talks had been focused on objects and trying to figure out how to get him home.
Not about feelings. Not about Rue’s circumstances.
Yet, no words seemed necessary. Henry reached his arms around her, pulling her close to his chest, holding her ear against his heart.
Mother had held her before, but not like this. Mother’s touch was rough, business-like. Usually full of rage. Henry, though... this embrace was full of compassion, tenderness. His heart beat loud and strong under her ear, and it was almost like her own heart synced to his. She allowed her eyes to close, releasing a tear to soak the front of his shirt, but the feeling of his arms around her and his cheek on her head made her feel safer than she’d ever felt. Hesitantly, she raised her arms to wrap around him, pulling him closer.
A roar echoed across the forest and into the cave, sending a flock of birds into the air, and Rue jumped back. How could she have forgotten them so easily?
Henry was kind and thoughtful and gentle. Good, smart. Even without words, even in the short time they’d known each other.
And he could never, ever, belong to Rue.