She was so exhausted she was ready to fall onto the ground and cry. She had been walking all day, and she hadn’t seen a single sign of Elon. Didn’t he want her to find him? He had claimed he’d always love her. But maybe she had blown it. She’d told him to leave, after…

When Carissa staggered for the fifth time, she decided to call it a night. Even though nightfall wasn’t yet upon her. Carissa collapsed to the ground, leaning against her thick backpack as she caught her breath. She’d forgotten how debilitating it was to be constantly injured. She’d become so used to Elon’s healing. Carissa drew…

Her pang of surprise was quickly doused. It seemed he had taken her request to leave seriously. Perhaps that was for the best. She doubted he’d approve of her quest to hunt that man down anyway. When her knees finally buckled, she barely managed to fling her arms out in front of her and catch…

Fire crackled in the silence as Elon denied her a response, denied her answers. She finally glanced at him and found his gaze already on her. His eyes were dark with pain. Yet how could he truly be sincere? He obviously didn’t regret his actions. Given that he had foresight, he couldn’t. He had knowingly…

Carissa twisted her wrist, and the chain slid about it more easily. Her skin was thoroughly coated in blood, making it slippery. Perhaps it was enough to slip out of the chains. If not, she could always break her thumb. She worked the chain down her hand. It squeezed her fingers tightly, even though she…

“No!” Carissa ducked beneath her captor’s Scythe and twisted from his grip. She blindly lunged toward Kerstin, unsure as to what she could do but knowing she could do something. But the Scythe pierced Kerstin’s chest long before Carissa reached her. Carissa could do nothing but stare and press her hand to the blackened wound….

Carissa cursed more profusely than she’d ever dared as she sprinted downstream. “Go back! Go back to camp!” A woman was kneeling by the river, her child tugging at her skirts. She glanced up just as an arrow pierced her head. Carissa steps faltered as blood streamed onto the woman’s face. “No!” The rest of…

Carissa’s gasp snagged in her throat. He was leaving with Mera? Where? For how long? Even as the questions bubbled to her lips, she found that her tongue had forgotten how to form them. Mera’s eyebrows bounced up in surprise, then down in disapproval. “I–you–we—what?!” “I promised your father I would keep both you and…

Elon pulled on his boots and sensed Carissa stirring behind him. The cot frame creaked as she sat up. With his back still to her, she wrapped her arms around him, her cheeks pressed to his spine. “Where are you going?” she murmured sleepily. He rubbed his thumb across her clasped hands. “The caravan is…