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Khodi lingers nearby; they have gotten close while she’s been here. Leni walks toward him, and he smiles. They face each other for a second, and Leni is the first to step forward. She grabs his face as his hands come out of his pockets, and she presses her lips to his.

The kiss doesn’t last long, then Leni pulls back with a smile and walks back over to pick up her bag.

Nails pulls up in his truck, and she smiles at him. “My lift is here. Be good or be good at it,” she says, before taking her suitcase and walking over to his truck. He gets out and helps her load her bags into the back, then she turns one last time and waves before getting inside.

We watch them drive away, then once Khodi has left, I turn to Valli. “He is absolutely gone for her.”

“Completely,” Valli says.

“I’m super invested in this.”

Valli laughs, and I clap my hands. “Right, everyone is gone, and it’s just us. I have plans.”

“What plans?” Cipher asks.

I look at Cave and smile. “How do you feel about a chase through a thousand Christmas trees tonight?”

The corner of Cave’s mouth curves into a smirk, and he nods.

The rest of the day flies by, and we spend it fixing things around the house. Valli moves the furniture around so many times there is no way it’s not perfect, but only time will tell. I won’t even try to understand the mechanics of a woman’s mind when it comes to decorating.

Waiting until dark is the hardest thing I’ve had to do besides saying goodbye to my family and Cave being gone. I called Nixie and told her the plan, and she sent out an island-wide notice for everyone to avoid the cornfield tonight. There are a few other areas that are also out of bounds, so it seems everyone wants to get their freak on tonight.

Cave left an hour ago, pointing to nine p.m. on the clock before he headed out.

I have no chill. It’s eight forty, and it takes less than five minutes to walk to the field from here. Valli says we can’t be early, that we need to do this right.

“Noa, your pacing is making me dizzy.”

“I’m sorry, I have a lot of pent-up energy.”

So at eight fifty-five, I’m standing beside the door, ready with my coat on, when Cipher and Valli finally join me, and I pull the door open to lead the way. They walk side by side while I practically run. When I reach the field, the Christmas lights glow as I walk along the edge.

It doesn’t take long for Cipher and Valli to reach me, and we all stand together and look at the trees.

“He’s already in there.”

“Obviously,” Cipher replies.

“But he could be anywhere—this is going to be so much fun.”

Valli is the first to step into the tree line, and we follow.

This is all new. I was familiar with the cornfield; I knew the rows and how the stalks moved when you pushed through them, but the gaps are now narrower with the large trees. I look left and see Cipher has vanished, but Valli is still beside me. She has her hand on my arm, and I listen for movement.

My heart thunders in my chest, adrenaline spiking through me. The trees rustle beside us, and Valli’s hand tightens on my arm.

“Run,” I whisper, and we do.

My shoulder catches on a branch and I spin sideways, losing Valli as she pushes on ahead, going deeper into the field. The lights from the outer edge have gone dark, sending us into pitch black. But my eyes have not adjusted to the darkness yet, so I am moving blind.

I race into a tree, forced to a stop while I try to get my bearings. A sound from my left has me turning to see who is there, and while I can’t see him, I know it’s Cave.

I run again, trying to keep to a straight line to avoid crashing into another tree. The lights from the other side flash on as I get closer to the edge.

I am feeling good about myself—that I might be the last to get caught—when a hand grabs the back of my hoodie and I trip over my own feet.

Looking back, I see Cave in full scarecrow costume, sporting a Christmas hat, and I try not to laugh. He has hold of me, the dark void in his eyes showing that he is back.