The space between us felt too wide, I hated it. My chest squeezed so tight, I thought my ribs might break. I held up his leather pouch like a cursed offering.
“I stole your token. I’m not taking you with me. It’s too dangerous.”
Gavin’s hand dropped to his waist, fingers brushing his satchel. His eyes slid closed for a moment in stark understanding. When he opened them again, his gaze was heavy.
“That’s not funny. Come back here. Now.”
“Not this time.”
“Why?” His voice broke around the edges. “After everything we just went through?”
The wind ripped at my hair, clawed at my clothes, battered my skin, but nothing hurt as deeply as the way he was looking at me. I forced the words out before I could stop myself.
“Because I saw it, Gavin.”
He stilled. “Saw what?”
“There was a mirror down below. It shows every hunter who has attempted to cross a rope bridge guarded by the giant. Iwatched them all die. The bridge is impossible. It’s a death sentence.”
Gavin shook his head as if he could physically shake my words away. “No. Not for us. We’ll figure it out. We always do.”
My nails bit into my palms. The pouches felt like weights in my hands. I stepped back, the wind biting cold.
“You don’t understand.” My voice cracked. “I found Reid’s journal in your pack. I know it wasn’t you who gave me the comb. You never betrayed me, and I’m so sorry I ever believed you did. And I know you’re not just here for gold. You’re here because of me, and that’s why this is as far as we go.”
His eyes sharpened. “No. It’s not. We are not over.”
Something inside me broke. I wanted to believe him. But the mirror had already told me how this would end.
“There’s a door in the cliff that leads straight back to the ground. I wish things could be different, but they’re not. Go home, Gavin.”
His expression was unreadable now, like he’d buried everything deep inside so I couldn’t see.
I swallowed hard, my voice barely a whisper over the wind.
“Finish restoring your house. I never told you before, but everything you’ve done, it’s so beautiful. Exactly the way I pictured it. And it gives me peace knowing you’ll keep it safe.” My hands shook so badly I had to tuck them against my waist. Tears burned down my cheeks. “Tell Annie stories. Help Cass with her plants. Be a good friend to Bowen.”
His mouth parted, but no words came.
Then, softly. “Marin—”
“Do that for me.” The plea nearly tore me in half. “Because I want that life for you. More than anything.”
A silence stretched between us.
“But we’re partners.”
“Stop saying that!” My voice shattered completely. “There is no way across the rope bridge. Everyone who has tried is dead. Even partners know when it’s time to let go and cut their losses. Please—” I gasped for air. “I am begging you. Go home before I get you killed.”
His head dropped to his chest. For a long moment, he said nothing. Then he eyed the door with the rune, and a laugh scraped out of him.
“Marin Nichols—martyr.” His shoulders tightened as if he was trying to hold himself together. “You're a lot of things, Mare. Stubborn, prideful, and achingly self-sacrificing. And you’re right. Partnerships break. Crews disband. It happens all the time. It happened to ours when we lost the treasure. But I never let you go, and I never will. Because we were never just partners.”
He dragged a hand through his hair, eyes squeezed shut as he tipped his head back to the sky. Another sharp laugh burst from his throat, this one sounded raw.
“I can’t believe I’m telling you likethis—when you’re not in my arms, and I'm shouting over the wind. But we never do anything the easy way, do we?”
His gaze finally found mine and held. No grin. No armor. Just Gavin, stripped down to nothing but the truth.
