“No idea.” I turned my head to study him. “Are you okay? Does everything feel normal?”
Ben laughed. “I feel twenty years younger.”
He froze. “Evie.”
Ben was a Healer. He knew what I’d done, what I could do. If he told anyone, I’d be in danger from all sides.
His eyes were wide and frigidly blue. “How long have you been able to do this?”
I shrugged. “I’m not really sure. Maybe always. I never had the chance to fully test until recently.”
“Do you know how much danger you’d be in if anyone knew about this?”
“Yes,” I said quietly. “I do. Are you going to tell anyone, Ben?”
His nostrils flared. “Evie. How little you must think of me.” He shook his head. “And I deserve it. I have not been on my bestbehavior with you.” He interlocked our fingers once more and squeezed my hand. “The answer is no, I would never betray your confidence.”
A pregnant pause. “Does Caelan know?”
I nodded. Good possibility Garrett knew, too. Or suspected, at least. Did I regret it? No. I’d never let someone die if I had the ability to help him.
“You healed him the first night you saw him. I’d forgotten about that.” He let out a soft laugh.
“I should have known from that moment when he spoke about you with such awe without even knowing who you were, you’d become special to him. To me. To all of us, really.”
My heart warmed. “You make it sound so cozy when it was anything but rosy for the first few months.”
We both laughed at the disaster that was our courtship. He’d never trusted me, and I never trusted him. We were doomed from the start, even if I had wanted more. Yet, Caelan, for all his pushiness and the ferocity of his pursuit, he was the one who never gave up on me. Even if he went about it the wrong way for a long time.
As we talked, I kept sending my magic up, up, up. I was at twelve feet, then thirteen, then fifteen until finally, there was no resistance.
“Sixteen feet,” I murmured. “Holy shit.” How is that even possible?
“Wow. Any idea how we’re going to get back up there without a ton of dirt collapsing on us?”
I sat there for a long moment, my thoughts whirling with the possibility and odds of keeping both of us alive. “How long can you hold your breath?”
Ben’s brows flicked up. “I’m not much of a swimmer, so I couldn’t tell you.”
Could I breathe for him?
Something tugged gently on the end of my vine. A familiar sense washed over me.
“Caelan is up there.” No way to be 100% sure, but I’d bet money on it. I thickened my vine and sent more up. Two gentle tugs before a firmer tug that moved me up several inches.
“Ben. Wrap your arms around me. Now.”
He blinked. “But?—”
“I don’t care that we’re naked. Caelan or someone is up there pulling me up. Hitch on for the ride. I’ll speed it up as fast as I can, but you may need to hold your breath.”
Another firm tug, pulling me away from him. Ben rolled into me. I shifted, wrapping my legs around his waist. My breasts pressed into his chest, as I embraced him tightly.
“Caelan is not going to like this.”
“Caelan is not trapped fifteen feet underground.”
“Fair enough.” Ben’s arms tightened around me. I pressed my face against his chest and shot multiple vines up toward the surface.
