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I can’t imagine what the last few months were like for her… What it would have been like living in a shelter made of snow and sticks. While Micah and I were safe and warm, I deliberately avoided thinking about it—it was easier that way.

Jade crosses her arms and awaits my answer.

“Micah left. He… left me alone to go find you,” I finally say, keeping my gaze down. I can’t bear to look at them, should they see how truly broken I am. “After a few days, when he didn’t return, I escaped and followed him. That’s when I ran into Nigel and Ezra while trying to find my way back to you. Micah was just here, and he’s with Naomi.” I can’t hide the bitterness in my voice. He must have slipped out so quickly if they didn’t even see him.

“What do you mean, escaped?” James asks.

Shit. Did I really say that?

He kneels in front of me. “Did Micah hurt you, London?”

My breath hitches. How do I even respond? “He… he was trying to protect me.” Even after everything that happened, my natural instinct is to protect him.

I peer up at James. He looks different, too, much older than he is. His sandy hair is longer, but he’s still clean-cut, unlike Micah with his sexy ruggedness or Ezra and Nigel with their feral-like appearances. James seems… steady, normal even.

“You’re safe now, London,” James says calmly, pulling a strand of hair out of my eyes—hair that was stuck to my forehead and caked with dirt and blood. “I’m not going to let you go near either of them again.”

Is that what I want? Protection from Micah? Is that what I need?

James isn’t the fondest of Micah. He respects him, yes, but there may be more to it. Something that has to do with me. He notices my bandage and grabs my hand, and I wince as he holds it gently.

His brows knit together. “Did Micah do this to you?” He’s piecing it all together—the string of darkness that is my bond to Micah. I respond by shedding a single tear. All my intense emotions manifest into one tiny tear. No others come to join it.

“Fuck,” he mutters. “I’m going to kill Micah for doing this to you. He should have protected you. If you had been with me, I wouldn’t have let you out of my sight.”

I don’t respond. Instead, my stomach twists, the hunger taking over. I can’t think of anything else, let alone defending my boyfriend, who doesn’t deserve to be defended. “Do you have any food? Anything? Please, I just need a little.”

I’m not above begging, as I’ve learned, and I haven’t been accustomed to going hungry.

James nods and pulls out a piece of cooked meat. I grab it from him and shove it into my mouth, eating it like a vicious animal, baring my teeth and ripping through it before he can take it back.

James and Jade watch me as I finish, then lay my head back and close my eyes. James pulls me up. “Come on, let’s get you out of here. We will deal with Ezra later. Can you walk?”

I pause, uncertain of how this will be received, my heart pounding in my chest. How should I address the fact that Ezra, despite his shortcomings, is also in need of rescue? That he’s a lost soul but has the potential for redemption.

I stand, then swiftly descend into James’s muscular arms as my legs barely have any feeling left in them and my muscles are completely wasted.

“Ezra’s scared… and he’s alone. He saved me from Nigel. He didn’t want to do this to me; I know he didn’t. He acted out when he saw Naomi and Micah.” I had him under control until he saw her with him. At least, it’s evidence that he’s still with me and that his sanity isn’t completely gone.

“We can’t leave yet,” Jade interrupts. “We haven’t gotten what we came here for. Believe it or not, there are other people on this island besides Micah and Ezra. And we didn’t exactly come here to save you.”

With confusion etched on my face, I look at Jade, who is scowling. If they weren’t here for me, then why are they here?

“Ollie’s missing,” Jade says curtly. “He went missing last night. He didn’t come back to the camp, so we came looking for him.”

I narrow my eyes, leaning on James for support to stand. “And Nathan?” Only now am I realizing that James not being with either of his best friends is strange.

“Nathan didn’t make it, London,” James says. “He died months ago.”

I gasp, pulling my hand to my mouth. “I’m sorry… I didn’t know.”

Jade stares out the window, a flash of something in her eyes, her brows drawn. Jade is tormented, just like I am.

Anger, fear, rage, hunger.

A mix of emotions.

“Where was Nigel during all this? You said you were with him,” she asks.