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I feel her get up and shuffle away. Maison is unconscious now. He’s lost too much blood to survive this, and we all know it. My wound pulses as I rise and fall with Maison’s last breaths until finally, his chest stops moving and his life seeps out of him.

A piece me dies too before I pass out right on top of him.

Chapter Twenty-Four

I can’t remember being lifted off the ground, or how long I was there, lying over top of Maison. I woke up briefly to strong arms wrapped around me, carrying me back to our camp, with Micah’s heartbeat in my ear. The last sound I heard before passing out entirely.

I peel my eyes open and even the bit of light in the shelter is blinding. My fingers trace down the pulse in my side to find a bandage over my wound. I’m back in our shelter, the warm wolf blanket draped over me. Someone bandaged my wrist, too.

I twist my head and realize I’m alone. Micah is not here. The sun shining through the roof of the shelter indicates mid-day.

How long was I out?

I must have lost a lot of blood because I can barely move. Every muscle is weak, and my bones are brittle from the lack of fat on my body. My lips are dry, and the cut pulses in my hip. I take a deep breath and choke back a breath as everything comes rushing back to me and I look at my tightly wrapped, mangled hand.

Maison is dead—gone. The whole incident comes rushing back like a strong wind. I lay my head down, wishing I can fall back asleep. I’m not yet ready to face the world.

It doesn’t take me long before I pass out again.

This time my sleeps not dreamless—I replay the entire time on this island in my head, starting with the plane crash and ending in Maison’s death.

When I wake up again, the fire is crackling beside me; it looks like someone just placed a piece of wood on it. A water bottle is by my head. I have no idea how long I was out for again, but it must have been a while as twilight is settling in.

My new bed is comfortable—someone took great care to make it. I never had nearly this many blankets before. It’s so soft, my body feels like it’s floating on clouds.

I find enough strength to grab the water and drink most of it down. I force myself up and take careful steps to meet whoever is outside. I can barely walk, so I stumble forward instead before steadying myself.

The number of people around the fire pit in the meadow makes me blink. A new pit… one that wasn’t there before.

Six of them. Jade, Thomas, James, Nathan, Ollie, and Serena all huddle around the flames. A soft mist hangs above the stream, although the frigid temperatures have only increased slightly. Canned food is added to the existing stockpile.

I don’t dare to think of where Nigel, Naomi, and Ezra are, but I hope they are suffering.

Thomas is upright and mobile, and my heart sings at the sight of it, quickly replaced by guttural rage, like I truly believe Maison took his place in death. The enormity of my vicious thoughts surprise me, and acid fills my throat.

I’ve lost Maison… and Micah, too. I can’t see how Micah and I can move forward after this. Nothing will ever be the same between us… not that it was ever really normal to begin with. The pain we’re both feeling right now is too much. I’ll be a living reminder of his loss for the rest of his life.

Rage guts my insides, watching them hang out by the fire like they belong here. They are not supposed to be here. This is Micah’s home.

Where is Micah?

And why am I asking the same damn question to myself, over and over? I scan the crowd and see Jade sitting with Thomas. Her head tilts up as she notices me, and she immediately rushes over.

“Take it easy. You lost a lot of blood,” she says as she wraps her arms around me, helping my feeble attempts to walk. I lean into her to ease the tension on my legs. She helps me back into the shelter because my body is too weak to move. Those few steps took all my strength.

“Come on, let’s get you back to bed. I’ll bring you some food.”

I blow out a deep breath as I lay my head down. “How long was I out for?”

“Two days.”

Two days?

“Where’s Micah?”

She presses her lips together, but I don’t miss the twitch in her eye. “He went out to hunt.”

I narrow my eyes and fall back into the bed’s comfort. “Alone?”