No.
The thought whispered through the chaos, small, fragile.
She squeezed her eyes shut.
Shewantedto fight, but not because she was brave. It wasn’t courage pushing her forward. It was terror. The moment she let herself get captured, it was over. No death was worse than what Thorn had in store for her. If she ran out there, at least she could choose how she died.
But she wasn’t ready. Not to go back. Not to die. A choked breath rattled in her chest. She swayed, caught between the feral hunger screaming for carnage and the tiny, fractured piece of her that was still Elora—the girl whowantedto survive.
“Elora.”
She barely heard him past the pounding in her skull, past the sharp clawing of her own instincts. She blinked rapidly, trying to focus.
“Listen to me.” A firm hand gripped her shoulders. “There’s another way off the island.”
That made her focus. Hope flickered, but it was fragile. “How?”
“It’s riskier,” he admitted. “And I won’t be able to go with you.”
The feral instinct—the one that had been so willing to run out and die—suddenly vanished.He’s not coming with me?Didn’t she want that? Independence? To not have that reminder of everything he failed to stop. The lies he told her.
No.She needed him. He never prepared her for the real world and now he wanted to throw her into it blind and alone. What happened to making sure she was safe?
“But you promised me.” Her voice stammered. “You said you were coming with me to ensure my safety. Now you’re—”
“I am ensuring your safety. Staying here allows me to better protect you. I can sabotage Thorn’s efforts to bring you back.” He tilted her chin so she’d look at him. “I’m too recognizable in Adruimor.”
She twisted her head away. “You’renotstaying here. Thorn will know you helped me,” she said, clutching his sleeves. “That’s—Tehvan, that’sstupid.”
“Don’t worry about that. I can handle my brother.” He guided her back to the entrance to the tunnels. “Go left at the fork and follow the stream of the water. There’s a hidden cove on the north shore, just out of sight from the docks. There should be some discarded dinghies there. Wait for my signal. I’ll cause a distraction, draw them away from your trail. Get to one, and sail north until you reach Ravenpoint.
“I’ll meet you in Kilfaire. There’s a scholars’ conference in three weeks, one that should give me an acceptable reason to leave the Institute.” He gripped her hand, holding on tight. “Once I join you, we’ll head north. Together.”
But doubt coiled tight in her chest, a silent warning she was unable to ignore. Her whole life, Tehvan had been there. The one constant in a world that wanted her broken, beaten, owned. He had shaped her, protected her. He had made her. Even now, evenafter all the lies, even after not stopping Thorn or Gerard, even after failing her, she still needed him.
“I... I don’t know if I can do this,” she stammered. She thought of Thorn, of Gerard, of Symond, of every nightmare she’d barely escaped from. “What if…”
Tehvan leaned in, cupping her cheek with his palm. “Elora, youcando this. You’ve survived so much already. This is just one more step. And when I meet you in Kilfaire, we’ll put all of this behind us for good.”
She didn’t want to let him go, but the intensity in his eyes reminded her that this plan was the only chance they had. This or death. She nodded. It wasn’t quite determination she felt, but something close.
Tehvan’s voice took on a steady, focused tone as he continued, his words coming fast. “Once you reach Ravenpoint, head straight for the Whispering Woods. It’s the quickest route to Kilfaire, but you’ll need to be cautious. Stay out of sight, avoid the main roads. And Elora…” He met her gaze with an intensity that made her throat tighten, “don’t trust anyone. Understand?”
Elora’s skin prickled with goosebumps at the mention of the Whispering Woods. The thought of passing through it left her with an unease that felt oddly familiar, as if something buried in her memory warned her against it.
Have I been there before?Perhaps before Tehvan had taken her in, back when her life was a fractured haze. It didn’t matter now. She couldn’t afford to let her mind wander or lose focus. Nothing in those woods was worse than the life she was abandoning.
Elora stepped forward, wrapping her arms around him. But it wasn’t just an embrace. It was desperate, clinging, as if holding onwould stop time, would erase everything that had happened, would make her believe in him the way she once had.
She wanted to. Gods, she wanted to. But there was so much she wanted to scream at him—so much she wanted to demand.Why didn’t you stop Thorn? Why did you let me suffer? Why didn’t you take me away sooner?
But there wasn’t time.
She pulled back. Her throat felt too tight, her mind at war with itself, but her heart—the wounded, desperate part of her heart—won.
She had to believe in him. She had to.
“I love you.”
