Page 210

“Yes.”

Understanding slowly settles across her face. “They didn’t choose?”

My jaw tightens. “No.”

Fuck.

Saying it aloud is worse.

“I did that to them.”

“You were trying to save her,” Sage says softly.

“It doesn’t matter.”

“It fucking matters.”

I shake my head. “I stole two hundred and thirty-five years from them.”

Her expression tightens. “You were what? Twenty-eight?”

“Twenty-seven.”

“You were terrified.”

“I condemned them.”

“You tried to save someone you loved.”

“And failed.”

She grabs the front of my shirt before I can turn away.

“Stop.”

I look down at her.

Her eyes are bright with anger, but there’s something else beneath it.

Something I don’t deserve.

Understanding.

I look at her.

“You don’t get to make everything your fault because guilt feels easier than admitting you couldn’t control it.”

The words hit hard.

She steps closer. “You saved Mercy’s daughter—my family.”

“I brought you here.”

“No.” Her grip tightens. “You gave a baby a chance to live.”

The Harvest growls beneath us but she doesn’t look away. “And hundreds of years later, I made my own choices that brought me to Ward Farm.”

“Sage.”