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“No,” I respond. If I see or hear anyone else, I’m the first one gone. It gets weird and feels pervy.

The Jester leaves, but we sit and listen. Eventually, Noa jumps down and walks closer to the field, picking up a lone corn from the ground and holding it to his mouth like a microphone while wandering back toward me.

“And here we observe the island’s largest predator, returning to his natural habitat, where he just released the female to give her a head start.”

“Noa.” I sigh in exasperation.

“Pay attention to the stillness of the corn.” He sweeps the cob of corn across the field like a camera. “He is not moving, letting her sit in the silence. Experts call this playing with your food.”

Valli’s shriek ends the silence, followed by laughter.

“He has made contact—no, false alarm, he might have let her get away. Unbelievable. I have personally been hunted by tonight’s predator, and I can tell you the rising tension is part of the experience.”

“You wanted to be hunted.”

“I did, ladies and gentlemen, but today I was rejected. This is a wound we can explore later. She is running again, listen to her go . . . and she has stopped. But why has she stopped?” Noa lowers his voice. “She is baiting him. God, she is perfect.”

Cave growls.

“And he took the bait.”

The corn thrashes, and Valli’s shriek this time doesn’t turn to laughter.

Noa grabs my arm. “I think he may be using the rope.”

“You can’t know that.”

“I can imagine it. Him taking his time tying the knots.”

Her voice drifts out through the field as she moans his name.

“For the listeners at home, the female appears to be enjoying herself.”

Then the sounds get louder.

“And we have transitioned to the . . . yep, wow, okay.” Noa clears his throat. “Did it just get hot in here?”

I laugh.

“He is going for gold. Can you hear the slapping? Oh, what I wouldn’t give to be involved in that.” Valli’s cries of ecstasy echo around us. “Cipher, you have known the predator longer than everyone. Any words for our audience?”

“No.”

“Folks, I can see his ears are bright red right now.”

I shake my head at his teasing.

Their noises go on long enough that Noa’s commentary dies out, and he moves to sit back on the railing next to me with the corncob in one hand. We listen to the two of them finish, then the cornfield goes quiet.

“The four of us,” he says, looking toward the field. “How did it happen?”

“She walked in,” I reply, and he nods in agreement.

We don’t make sense on paper, but we work.

I don’t doubt that Cave is ready. It was our personal circumstances that led him to a moment of weakness, but he is strong enough to come back.

So long as no one touches what he deems his, everything will be fine.