“B-Baron,” I choked out as I sank beneath the surface.
Darkness swept in, and this time, I couldn’t fight it off.
I came backto consciousness very slowly, gradually gaining awareness of my surroundings bit by bit. Was I dead? I must be—the last thing I remembered was slipping under that freezing water. I couldn’t have survived. And yet…I was still breathing. My lungs were still functioning—shallowly expanding and contracting, even though I still felt colder than I ever had before.
Did people breathe in the afterlife? I kept my eyes closed. The effort to open my eyelids would require more energy than I had. Every muscle in my body was useless, somehow knotted from the tension of the cold and simultaneously too limp to move. Even if I’d had the energy to open my eyes, I wouldn’t have. I had a pounding, throbbing headache that made my thoughts slow and painful.
But despite the cold that chilled me to the bone, I also felt warmth—soft and steady. I lay face-down at a slight incline, cheek pressed against the faint heat. Instinctively, I nuzzled closer to it, trying to burrow in as my frozen muscles twitched in protest.
A fire crackled somewhere nearby, its pops and hisses echoing softly off stone walls. Pine, woodsmoke, and leather scented the air, all familiar, comforting smells I’d always loved. Strange… I hadn’t thought the afterlife would smell so earthly. Or if it did, I must have been sent downward instead of up. With the way I’d behaved lately, I wouldn’t have been shocked. Eternal torment by a warm fire while still feeling this cold? Fitting.
I forced my eyes open. Everything blurred at first, the world smearing as things slowly came into focus. I was in a cave lit by a dancing, flickering campfire burning not far away. I blinked hard, trying to sharpen the edges, but my eyelids kept drooping, heavy and stubborn.
Something weighted my back, warm and comforting. I tried to lift a hand to investigate, but my arm hung heavy in protest, too cold to move. So I turned my head instead. An arm, thick and muscled, lay draped over me, anchoring me in place.
I blinked again. That was definitely not my arm.
Panic fluttered weakly in my chest, but I still couldn’t move enough to act on it. I looked down at what I’d been using as a pillow and saw skin.
I blinked again, harder this time, and the shape beneath me finally came into focus.
I shrieked and pushed myself away, suddenly wide awake and full of adrenaline. It wasn’t just Baron, it was ahalf-dressedBaron, with nothing on from the waist up. I put a hand up to my face to shield him from my view. It was then that I noticed whatIwas wearing. My outer dress was gone, with only the thin, soggy under slip remaining. I felt exposed.
“What did youDO?” I asked accusatorily, folding my arms tightly across my chest. Luckily, nothing was visible; my dark green slip covered from just below my collarbone down to my knees. But I still felt violated nonetheless.
“I saved your life. You’re welcome,” Baron responded tersely. He got up and tossed more wood on the fire. I tried to avert my eyes from his bulging muscles. It was difficult—even Little John didn’t look likethaton wash days.
“Saved my life by taking my clothes?” I snapped, determined to stay angry.
“Yup.” He crouched beside the fire, hands stretched over the flames. To avoid looking at him, I stared at the ceiling of the cave we were in. The last thing I could remember was falling from the cliff into the water below.
“What happened?”
“Dorian shoved you off the cliff, and I knew if I didn’t go down too, that collar would have hung you.”
I paused, digesting this information. It took some time; my brain seemed to be working at half-speed.
“Wait, you jumped?”
“Yeah. I know, it was a stupid move. I had less than a second to decide.”
“Why?”
“You are important to…to the sheriff.” His eyes didn’t meet mine.
I was stunned. Baron had leapt off a cliff to save me. Whatever his reasoning was, he had saved my life. “Thank you.”
Baron met my gaze. “You’re welcome.”
The adrenaline that had initially flooded my system began to fade, and the cold took hold of me again. He moved to his previous seat and we both sat in silence, shivering against the frigid air, and tried not to look at each other. I saw our cloaks, boots, Baron’s shirt, and my dress all stretched out to dry. Of course, Baron would have had to remove them. We would’ve both died from frostbite otherwise. We still could, if I didn’t get warm soon. The fire’s glow didn’t seem to reach very far.
“I remember hitting the water,” I said, teeth chattering. “But nothing after that.”
“You wouldn’t. You passed out,” Baron said, and rubbed his arms to try and coax some feeling back into them. “I swam you back to shore, brought us to this cave, built up a fire, and here we are.”
“Here we are,” I repeated, imitating Baron and trying to rub some warmth into my hands and arms. It didn’t work. It felt like I was just rubbing two ice blocks together. There was no sensation at all in my fingers.
“How long until the clothes are dry?” I asked.
