I hope I’m not dead by morning.
With that bright thought, my exhaustion won out, and I slipped into a restless sleep.
Well,I was still alive.
But when my eyes opened to the balmy island morning, my entire body was racked with shivers. A sweat had broken out on my forehead, and my temples, chest, and neck pounded like someone was hitting them with a boulder.
I winced as I turned my neck to undo the rope around my waist. When I reached up to feel the snake bite, raised, bumpy flesh met my fingertips. I pulled them back and grimaced at the pus and dried blood.
A wave of nausea hit me. I swallowed hard, shoving back the fear and panic that threatened to overwhelm me.
I probably had a fever, but I could still move.
Idefinitelyhad an infection, but if I could get back to the Base within the next few hours, a healer could help.
The sun was rising from the east, so I made my way down the tree with my supplies and faced west, back toward the waterfall I was dropped off at. With each passing step, sweat dripped from my neck and head, the sunlight searing my eyes while chills continued to travel down my back. After a few minutes, my legs were trembling so badly, I had to use a broken branch as a walking stick.
“I hate this island,” I muttered in an effort to distract myself from my hazy vision. “And I hate snakes.” I kicked aside a large rock.
My mind wandered to the story Thorne had told me about his father feeding his rabbit to the snake. Thinking abouthimhelped to keep me from spiraling. He grounded me, even when he wasn’t here.
I thought back to that night in the hedge maze. I’d barely known him and hadnoreason to trust him. But he’d trusted me. He went against his king’s wishes to tell me about the curse. He knew I deserved more than to be left with half-truths, something I wasn’t sure I ever truly thanked him for.
He saw my panic attacks. He saw the side of me others ran from in disgust. He saw my uncertainty when all I gave others was their idea of perfection. He saw my anger, my fear, my clumsiness, my desires, my pain…even when I tried to force him to stop.
He hadalwaysseen me.
Without even knowing, withouttrying, he’d helped me stop fighting the idea of needing someone. Of leaning on them. I’d always thought that to be a good leader—apowerfulwoman—I couldn’t show vulnerability.
He was right—that wasn’t true at all. My emotions weren’t a weakness.
I hated it when he was right. I hated that I couldn’t stop thinking about him.
And I hated that I had to leave him.
I let out a sigh, blinking hard against the sun as I made my way through the jungle. “This is why we don’t talk to handsome men”—I swiped a vine away from my face—“with handsome hair”—I kicked a rock out of the path—“and handsome teeth.” I stomped through the thick grass and leaves, ignoring the dull ache in my neck and the way the ground swayed before me. “It doesn’t matter if I’m in love with him, I have to?—”
I stopped in my tracks.
Oh, Fates.
I was in love with him.
A twig snapped behind me.
I whirled around, but there was nothing there. The bushes tothe right rustled as the sound of steps padding against dirt reached my ears.
“I don’t have time for this,” I mumbled, cupping my hand around my neck to feel pus slowly oozing from the wound. I gripped my dagger in my other hand. “If you want to be the first thing to try and kill me this morning, come on out,” I called.
The jungle stilled, with nothing but the sound of my ragged breaths to break the silence.
When nothing moved, I took a step forward.
A blade swished through the trees, narrowly avoiding my left ear.
“You missed,” I shouted, then grabbed the other blade at my thigh.
A masked figure in all black came lunging from the bush. I staggered out of the way before they could crash into me, the sudden movement making my stomach lurch.
