All fatigue burned away in a flash of anger and fear as his gaze stormed.
He straightened fully, wobbling but fierce. “What about him?”
My throat tightened. I forced the words out. “He’s here, Keegan. In Stonewick. I found him. Or he found me. Or Skonk sent him. I don’t even know anymore. But he’s sick. As sick as you, maybe worse.”
Silence stretched, brittle and dangerous.
“Let him die.” He wrenched the last word.
“We can’t do that. He’s the key to unwinding this mess just like you. Even if we destroy Malore, he’s already started the hunger path, and we need a complete circle.”
“You… youwhat?” His voice was low with a growl undercutting every syllable.
“I hid him,” I admitted, each word tearing from me like bone from skin. “At your inn. Stella and Twobble helped me move him. Nova, Ardetia…they know. He’s been slipping away, Keegan. And I,” My voice cracked. “I couldn’t leave him in the Wilds to die.”
The air between us was thick enough to choke. He stared at me, with his chest heaving, his hands curling at his sides. For one terrible moment, I thought he might turn from me.
But then his knees buckled, and I caught him.
“Don’t,” I pleaded, pressing my forehead to his shoulder, feeling his heat and his tremor. “Don’t shut me out. Please. Just listen.”
I could feel his breath coming fast, rough against my temple.
“Why?” he ground out. “Why would you bringhimhere? After everything, after what he’s done to this place, to me, to…”
“Because he’s tied to you!” The words tore out of me louder than I meant, echoing in the corridor. “Because whatever Malore cast, it’s eating you both. And I think the only way forward is together. All of us. Whether we like it or not.”
He stilled, my words hanging in the space like frost.
“You think we’re intertwined,” he said, his voice raw.
“I know we are.” I pulled back just enough to meet his eyes, even as tears blurred mine. “I tried to search him through the Hedge, Keegan. I saw things like his childhood, his choices, the moment Malore turned him. But you…” I touched his chest, over his racing heart. “You’re feeling him too. You knew about something being taken from him, didn’t you? That wasn’t your memory. That was his. The curse bound you. You’re connected in ways even I can’t untangle.”
His eyes widened, fury warring with something softer. Fear, disbelief, and grief churned through his expression. “And you kept this from me?”
“I didn’t know how to tell you,” I whispered. “I was afraid. Afraid you’d hate me. Afraid you’d hate yourself for feeling anything of him inside you. Afraid of losing you before I even had you.”
His breath shuddered, and for a long moment, he said nothing.
Then, slowly, his hand came up, trembling, and cupped the side of my face. His palm was hot, his touch achingly gentle.
“You’re a fool,” he murmured.
My lips parted, ready to protest.
But then he added, voice breaking, “A brave, stubborn fool. And I love you for it. Maybe I’m more foolish for making you think you couldn’t tell me.”
The words hit harder than any curse.
I leaned into his hand, tears slipping free.
“We don’t have much time,” I whispered. “Not for you. Not for Gideon. Not for Stonewick. The Hunger Path, the curse, Malore, it’s all circling tighter. We can’t keep pretending the pieces don’t belong to the same puzzle.”
His thumb brushed away one of my tears. His expression softened, though the storm didn’t leave his eyes. “And what if the puzzle is missing a piece?”
“We hunt it down,” I answered.
“And if one of the pieces is poisoned?”
