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I don’t know which part to listen to anymore.

“And what happens if we go back together?” I ask, which seems to catch him off guard, like he never truly thought about it, just that we had to leave here. “I go back to Purgatory to hide what I am. Go back without Sable?” Arlo thinks for a moment.

“We don’t have to—”

“I have nothing back there for me, Arlo, but you do. You can go home. Eagan has already assured me you and your family would be free of your contracts if you return.”

“I don’t want freedom without you. Why can’t you see that?” he asks.

I swallow the lump that forms in my throat.

Arlo sighs heavily. “Come on, I don’t want to ruin today.” I peer up at him, and he leans down, pressing his lips to my forehead. “I’ve got something I want to show you,” Arlo says.

“That sounds suspicious.”

“It is,” he admits easily, grabbing my hand. “Come on.”

“Eagan will pitch a fit if we leave the castle grounds.”

“Let him.”

I smile reluctantly and shake my head. Knowing better, I still let him drag me away from the crops and toward a path in the opposite direction of the apothecary.

We cut through the outer paths of the island, hand in hand, just like our last morning on Purgatory when he’d had the idea to go fishing. We keep low where the walls break the wind. Arlo moves like he knows exactly where he’s going, like he’s been planning this.

“Where are we going?” I ask.

“You’ll see.”

We walk longer than I expect, farther than I’ve ever been before. The air grows sharper, saltier, until the sound of water replaces everything else.

Then the trees break.

And the cove opens before us.

My breath catches.

The cliffs curve inward, shielding the water from the worst of the tide. The sea here is calmer, darker, reflecting the sky like glass. It feels . . . hidden. Like the world forgot it existed.

“Arlo . . .”

He watches me instead of the view. “Worth it?”

“It’s beautiful.”

“I thought you’d like it.” There’s something soft in his expression. “Last one in is the rotten egg,” he says, already pulling his shirt over his head.

I blink. “You’re not—”

He’s already halfway to the water, unbuttoning his pants.

“Arlo, what if someone sees us!”

He turns, walking backward, smirking. “Don’t tell me you’re scared.”

I shake my head, but I’m already pulling my coat off.

The air bites at my skin as I strip down to my underwear, my heart racing as I peer back at the castle. The thrill of doing something I shouldn’t sends adrenaline and excitement coursing through me. Turning back, Arlo’s gaze roams over me as he strips off his pants. When I take off running, he chuckles, until I fly right into him and knock him over.