I didn’t realize I’d been holding my breath for a few days until now. I pull her against me and squeeze as hard as I dare without hurting her. I kiss the top of her head. “I needed to hear that,” I whisper against her hair.
“When I think about being without you,” she says, “I can barely breathe. ”
The coincidence makes me smile. “Keep breathing. I’m right here. ”
She leans back. The smile on her lips is there and gone. “I don’t see a way out, Roar. Every choice I have, people will end up suffering. If I don’t go to Sable, what’s going to happen to the Tides? Are they going to starve because of me? Is Mila? Is Talon?”
“No. Your brother won’t let them starve. ”
“How? I’m Vale’s solution. His answer to feeding the tribe is me. ”
“When I said brother, I was talking about Perry. He won’t let Talon go hungry. Neither will Vale. They’ll think of something. No one’s going to starve. ”
Instead of soothing her worries, my comments only make her wince. She’d be leaving everyone behind if we ran. Talon. Perry. Vale and Mila. Even Brooke. She’d lose any chance of seeing them again if she and I defied Vale and disappeared.
I can’t ask her to make that choice.
“You know what I want,” I tell her instead. “Whatever you decide, love, I’m here. I’ll always be here. ”
She’s quiet for a long moment, searching my eyes. Stepping right into my soul. “Liv or love?” she asks.
I brush her hair away from her neck and rest my hand there, feeling the beating of her pulse. “Either,” I answer. “They’re the same to me. ”
10
We’re running out of time.
I meet Liv’s gaze across the small clearing in the woods, where we’ve stopped for water and a quick meal. I know she’s thinking the same thing.
We’ve traveled north day after day, completing a week, and then a few days more. We’ve climbed steadily and watched the oak trees turn into pines. The rolling hills turn into mountains that pierce the clouds. Now we sit only a few miles from Sable’s southern border. Since the territory is massive, the Horns’ city—Rim—is still a two-day journey from here. But if Liv and I are going to flee, it needs to happen soon.
It needs to happen tonight.
Perry drops his water skin into his satchel and rises from his spot on an overturned log. “Let’s keep moving. I want us on Sable’s land by nightfall. ”
“We’ve gone far enough today,” Wylan says, waving a hand at the clearing. “This is as good a place to camp as any. ”
“There’s no reason to spend another night on unprotected land,” Perry says. “If we move an hour north, we’ll be better off. ”
He has a point. Once we cross into Horn territory, the odds of running into dispersed will drop. But just being this close to Sable’s land has me sweating and feeling skitty.
I look at Liv. I’m not the only one who’s anxious. She’s sitting against a rock, hugging her knees. She looks pale and fragile and fearful, and she is none of those things.
She must sense this, because she extends her legs and straightens her back. “Perry,” she says. “Just . . . one more night. ”
He shakes his head. “I don’t think it’s a good idea. ” His tone is softer with her. He pauses, watching Liv in silence. I wonder what he scents, what passes between them through their tempers, because he nods and says, “Fine. We’ll stay. ”
Wylan lets out an exaggerated sigh. “Yesss,” he says. “My feet are—”
“We know,” Collins interrupts. “Your feet are killing all of us. ”
Perry tugs his bow over his shoulder. “Wylan, you and I will take first watch. ”
“I’ll be right there,” Wylan says. When Perry shoots him a glare, Wylan adds, “It’s not even dark yet. ”
Perry starts to say something, catches himself, and leaves without a word.
Since Liv and Perry picked up human scents earlier, we don’t risk a fire. And we’ve already eaten, so there’s nothing to do but talk or sleep. I keep my eyes on Liv while Wylan and Collins prattle on about nothing. As daylight fades and the night cools, I try to read her thoughts, my heart racing though I’m sitting still.