I need him to get me out of this town, but the need doesn’t end there. Somehow, his safety has become of paramount concern to me. He’s become my companion, my shadow, my friend just as much as my bane. It’s a struggle to think of waking to another sunrise without his grumpy ass by my side.
Wiping my brow, I glance ahead at the street. The lantern hanging outside Myst’s stable swings in the breeze. Grimacing, I shoulder the rucksack again and hobble over cobblestones in its direction. My heel throbs. My lungs ache from the smoke, making it a challenge to take a full breath. By the time I finally stagger through the stable’s entryway, I’m so exhausted I could collapse.
It’s empty, the stable’s staff long since gone to bed.
Myst is there, in the last stall on the right where we housed her, and I sigh deeply.
There you are, pretty girl.
Panting, I drop the rucksack on the straw-covered floor and limp toward her in exhausted relief. If there’s a soul in the world that warms my heart as much as her, I’ve yet to meet them. And yet, as I reach her stall gate, her head jerks toward me in alarm. Her eyes flash so wide I can see the whites around her irises.
Not alone!
My stomach tightens at her words. I know my brave girl, and she doesn’t look scared, exactly—more like she’s wary and unsure how to communicate to me what is happening. I reach for the latch on her stall, shaking my head in confusion.
I don’t understand—
Then, a boot scuffs behind me as someone steps out of the stall across the hallway. A male voice calls, “Sabine.”
My lungs snag on a startled breath. Gripping the stall door, I whirl around, my muscles shaking as adrenaline pushes them past their limit in case there is danger—
A boy steps out of the stall, the stable’s lantern light making his fair hair glow golden. He’s a few inches taller than me, and moves with the lithe grace of a hound, slim but undeniably strong. His eyes are the green color of clover, flecked with bits of brown and gold. His nose is straight and proud. His cheeks are round, wickedly dimpled in a way that stole my attention the first time I saw him. Even though it’s spring, his skin glows with a permanent sunkissed tan.
He’s so handsome that he belongs in one of the Book of the Immortals’ illustrations. He’s exactly as the animals call him—The Boy Who Shines Like Sunlight.
“Adan?” I gasp.
All feeling floats out of my body. My head spins, and I have to grab onto the stall gate to hold myself steady. For a moment, I wonder if I inhaled so much smoke that I’m hallucinating.
“Sabine. My love.” His boot scuffs as he takes a shaky step toward me like he, too, doesn’t believe it’s real. “Thank the Immortals.”
I’m still gaping in stunned silence as he closes the distance between us and sweeps me into an embrace. He hugs me tightly, burying his face in my hair. His breath is shallow as he utters soft prayers of gratitude to the sleeping fae.
My body remains rigid. After everything that’s happened tonight, my mind can’t process that Adan is here, in a stable in Blackwater, whispering his love in my ear.
I lean backward for some air, resting a shaky hand on his chest.
“What . . . ” I lick my dry lips as I gaze into his startling green eyes. “What—what are you doing here?”
“All of Astagnon is talking about Lord Rian’s bride’s naked ride. It isn’t hard to follow where you’ve been. I overheard talk that you changed course, so I rode day and night to intercept you.”
“But—but you couldn’t possibly have gotten my message. I only sent it today!”
His brow furrows. “Message? No, I didn’t get any message. What did it say?”
I stare at him with no words on my tongue. He doesn’t know that I called off the escape and planned to stay with Basten until I had a better plan for leaving. His eyes search mine, waiting for my answer, and I can’t bring myself to tell him the truth. I haven’t felt guilty until now, staring at those guileless green eyes.
Adan is just as handsome as the first time I saw him—and just as much a stranger.
The boy holding me in his arms, stroking my face, and looking at me with such tender love is an utter unknown. How many hours did we spend together? Five? Six? Maybe he is as heavenly as I imagined—or maybe he isn’t. I really don’t know.
What was I thinking to believe myself to be in love with him after such a short time?
You weren’t thinking. You were desperate for someone to save you.
Struggling with the onslaught of confused emotions, I run a shaky hand along my temple. “The message . . . It doesn’t matter. I—I just can’t believe you’re here. The inn catching on fire . . . ” I swallow around a lump in my throat. “What are the chances?”
He barks a laugh, shaking his head. “I wasn’t about to leave anything to chance when it came to you.”
It dawns on me what he means. “You started the fire?”
“An associate. I needed a distraction to give you a chance to get away from your guard. I knew you’d run to Myst the moment you escaped him.”
My thoughts still can’t catch up to reality. Let me get this straight . . . He thinks I fled from Basten, not that Basten sent me here to escape the dangerous inferno. Holy gods, this is going to be a mess to sort out.
Basten.
Oh, no. Basten will be here at any moment. What will he do when he finds Adan and me together? He’s spent the last eighteen days slamming his fists into men’s jaws for merely catcalling Lord Rian’s future bride. And Adan intends to run away with me.
Basten will kill him. Really, truly, kill him. I don’t think he’ll use a knife, either—he’ll want to use his fists to get the job done in the most painful, punishing way possible.
“It isn’t safe here,” I say in a rasping voice, grabbing Adan’s sleeves.
He nods in grave agreement. “I know. My brothers are waiting for us at the docks. They have a boat at the ready. We can take the river downstream, to a safe place I know.”
I stare at him as my thoughts stumble and stumble. He expects me to leave with him. And why wouldn’t he? He doesn’t know about my first, catastrophic escape attempt, or my message calling off our future together.
Blinking, I stutter, “Adan—”
He continues urgently, “We’ll have to leave Myst here, but I promise, it won’t be for long. She’s too recognizable, and we can’t take a horse by boat, anyway. We’ll come back for her. I swear.”
“N—no,” I stutter. “You don’t understand.”
He cups my face, gazing into my eyes. “What don’t I understand, my love?”
Once more, words don’t come. How can I tell him we were fools to think we loved each other after a single day? By the gods, maybe he is just as saintly as I first thought. After all, he upheld his end of our promise. He’s here. He moved heaven and earth to rescue me. Even his brothers are risking their lives to get me to safety.
I’m the one who was going to break our pact.
What am I supposed to tell him, that I’ve developed some kind of twisted entanglement with the guard meant to deliver me to Lord Rian?
I’d sound crazy.
Maybe I am crazy.