“Everyone, stay calm.” Roman’s voice cuts through the rising panic like a blade. He holds his hand to his ear, then says, “Get back here. Firefly’s missing. I repeat, Firefly is missing.”
Firefly.
Savvy.
He must be speaking to the rest of his team. Then he swings out the doors and climbs to the top of the van, his boots thumping heavily as he walks on the roof.
I rock in place. They have to find Savvy.
People and time blur around me, but my mind is frozen, my body unable to do anything except sway to the noise inside my head.
“I’ve got her!” It’s Valen’s voice. It’s aged, but it’s still so familiar I’d know it anywhere. He stands just outside the rear doors, focused on his phone. “Her phone is moving on the other side of the fairgrounds.”
They cluster around Valen as I rock, rock, rock. “She’s here.” He spins in place, then lifts his head and points. “She’s headed that way.”
Grey doesn’t wait for any more information as he and Roman take off running.
My chest loosens its grip on my lungs to the count of five.
See? Everything ends eventually. They’ll find her.
“Everyone’s on edge,” Valen says. His gaze flicks to me, holding for a second too long. “Braxton, Madi’s team will get you to your inn. Clover?—”
“She’ll stay with us.” Braxton appears in the doorway, tall and solid. “We’re set up in the private quarters. I want to keep everyone together until we figure out what’s going on.”
“Good.” Valen’s professional mask is firmly in place, but there’s something in his eyes—uncertainty? Confusion? Whatever it is, he can’t quite hide it from me. “Miss Danforth, you should?—”
Miss Danforth.
It strikes like a slap.
“Why—why are you doing this? You called me Honeybee.” The words I’ve been dying to ask finally break free.
Silence descends.
“I—” He lifts his right hand to his temple—to the scar there—and rubs like it aches. “I don’t— It just…came out.”
“You say that like you don’t know me.” My voice shakes, but I can’t stop now. I can’t count my way out of this.
Pain flickers behind his eyes. I know that look well. I spent my childhood memorizing all his fears, wishes, and dreams.
“I don’t remember you,” he says.
Can a soul wither?
“How? How is that possible?” The words burn on my tongue, but Madi’s hand tightens on my shoulder. A warning—not now, not here.
“Let’s get you somewhere safe,” Valen says, then clears his throat. Finally, some raw emotion clings to his words.
The boy I’ve loved my whole life, the man I’ve written to for fourteen years, doesn’t remember me.
One memory.
Two heartbreaks.
Three breaths.
I can survive this.
