Trial by Fire

She knew it was Rowan’s arm—the same guy who had said he would happily kill her—but she couldn’t seem to get herself to pull away from him in disgust. Every part of her felt like it was in exactly the right place.

Lying on her side as she was, she normally had to put a pillow between her skinny thighs to keep her knees from pressing too hard against each other, but Rowan had placed his bent leg in between hers. She had no pillow for her head either, but it didn’t matter. Rowan had put his lower arm under her head to cushion it. Lily always needed something clasped to her chest when she slept or she would feel untethered, only to dream of falling and shake herself awake. This morning she found that she was clutching Rowan’s hand to her heart as if it were her anchor.

She felt Rowan pull in a shuddering breath as he awoke, his diaphragm fluttering against her back. Lily eased away from him, embarrassed. No matter how good he felt, she didn’t know this guy, and she had no business cuddling with him.

Lily was trying to figure out how to crawl away as inconspicuously as possible when Rowan untangled himself from her, stood, and left the tent in a few swift motions. She sat up and stared after him, confused.

The way he’d spoken to her when they were alone last night in the tent, the genuine concern he’d shown over her well-being, had made her think that they could eventually make it through a conversation without wanting to throw rocks at each other. But he’d stormed out as if she’d wronged him somehow.

Lily got up and puttered around the tent for a few minutes, rolling up the sleeping bags, trying to convince herself that there was no reason for her to feel ashamed. She was a prisoner. It’s not like she’d asked to share a tent with Rowan, and she certainly hadn’t asked for him to spoon with her.

“Lily? Are you awake?” Tristan asked from outside the front flap of her tent.

“Coming,” she called, and lifted the flap. Tristan glanced behind her and into the tent.

“Where’s Rowan?” he asked, his eyes cautious.

“He got up and left a few minutes ago,” Lily replied, joining him outside.

“He just left you alone?”

“Not too good at guarding people, is he?”

Tristan and Lily shared a tentative smile before his eyes drifted up to look at the froth of hair on top of her head. Lily’s hand automatically shot up to try to smooth it down. It felt even bushier than usual, and there seemed to be an impressive collection of sticks and leaves in it.

“I’m going to need a personal moment,” she said wryly. “I don’t suppose there’s any way I could get a bath out here, is there?”

“I’ll take you to the lake,” Tristan replied with a laugh. “You’re going to need some fresh clothes too.”

Lily looked down at her stained NO NUKES T-shirt and torn jeans. She was filthy. “Yeah, I guess so. Thank you, Tristan.”

“What’s a nuke?” Tristan asked, leading her through the maze of tents.

“A nuke is short for a nuclear weapon or a nuclear power plant,” she answered, winding her tangled hair into a bun and knotting it on top of her head. “Do you have nuclear energy here?”

Tristan’s brow furrowed. “Describe nuclear energy to me.”

“Oh boy,” Lily said. She took a deep breath and dove in. “Okay, well. There are these things called atoms, teeny tiny bits of matter that are the building blocks of the elements.”

Tristan unhooked the front flap to a large tent, holding it open for Lily to enter, with a wry grimace on his face. “That sounds like what we call elementals. They’re the smallest parts of the elements.”

“Exactly!” Lily said excitedly. “Same thing, different name. Well, long story short, nuclear energy comes from fusing or spliting the insides, or nuclei, of the heaviest elements to turn matter directly into energy.”