I wanted Bee to leave Emily behind in the trap—and if, for once, she’d just fucking listened to me, we might have escaped.
We wouldn’t be here in this mess to start with.
So maybe I don’t need Bee here with me to find my way in the dark.
Maybe I should listen to my gut, not hers.
But my gut says to find Samick.
To call out for him.
To wander back into his trap.
Pinning my hopes and survival to a fucking fae… That’s something I just can’t do.
Whatever has happened between us, whatever has changed over the time we’ve been stuck together, it doesn’t change that Bee is my number one.
No matter how pissed off I am with her for getting us into all of this mess, that’s my girl.
It’s Bee.
And I won’t, Ican’t, let some fae take me away from her.
It would break her heart.
And I would never see her again…
The thought twists my insides.
And I’m glad that there’s not some icy fae warrior hanging around to look at me, to pick up on all my feelings.
For the first time in a long time, it feels private.
I drag the light over the map, following routes and terrain that spear off from the bay. I don’t have an exact path to follow—butgenerally, North-East from the forest around the bay leads to a town.
I’ve been there before.
It was after Dad cut our camping trip short, because he just couldn’t handle it anymore.
I snatch the map into my grip with the compass, and with the other hand, aim the torchlight in the North-East direction.
“This way.”
I start through the ankle-deep waters.
Connie follows.
TWENTY
The forest floor is only flooded for the next half-hour of walking—and after that, the foliage is crunching and snapping under our steps.
My thighs are burning, my calves on fire, as we climb up a slope. All that water-wading has gotten to me, and my mind slips back to the campfire, resting my head on Samick’s shoulder, letting sleep come over me—and knowing that I’ll be safe as I rest, because he’ll be watching over me.
There is no resting now.
No time to stop for a nap.
And it’s a waste of time to try to find another way around this hill.
