My breath caught. I recognized it instantly. It was the one I’d left behind years ago in Gavin’s pocket in exchange for a jewel.
“You kept it?”
“Yeah.” He cleared the roughness from his voice. “It’s not every day a woman outsmarts me and leaves sea glass in my pocket.”
I smiled. “It’s not every day a man dares me to try.”
Gavin dropped the piece of glass into my palm. The smooth surface reacted instantly with my skin, energy flowing across my nerves like an ocean wave.
“Are you sure?”
He folded my fingers over the glass, holding my hand in his own. “I carried it with me because I thought it was the only piece of you I’d ever have. But I told you, I’m greedy when it comes to you. A piece of sea glass isn’t enough anymore. You’ll have to make it up to me. With interest.”
“Gavin Blackwood, always negotiating for a better hand. Fine. It’s a deal.” I lifted a brow. “But I don’t think just leaving something of mine is enough anymore.” My fingers delved back into my satchel to pull out his trick coin. “We are partners, after all.”
His eyes gleamed as bright as the coin. “That’s fair. Heads up?”
I grinned, placing the sea glass and the coin onto the dais. “Heads up for eternity.”
Gavin slung his arm over my shoulder. “Ready to face the giant again? Hopefully, he moved his hand.”
My nose wrinkled. “I’m not dangling from a ledge over a steaming pit.” I pointed to the wall where a rune was etched above a doorway disguised by stone. “I’m taking the easy way out. You’re welcome to join me.”
Gavin moved his torch along the wall, and the light transformed the stone into a view of green grass and blue sky at the base of the castle wall. Back to where we started.
“Now that is my kind of exit. Too bad we can’t get one of those that takes us straight back to town.”
“Tell me about it. A real bed and a hot meal sound nice right about now.”
Gavin nodded. “The life of a hunter isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. But if you ask real nicely, I’ll let you share my bedroll.”
I punched him in the shoulder, earning me a throaty laugh. “You’re insuff—”
“Insufferable. I know.” Gavin winked. “But you love me anyway.”
I did. And as long as I made it to the sea in time, I’d have the rest of my life to prove it.
***
The bog let us go easily on the way back. No sticky sap on our shoes, no monsters bursting from the murky water. This time, the real trouble waited in the fields.
Gavin took the lead, the sun dipping slowly below the clouds, painting the tall grass in gold strokes. We were at least another hour from town. After stopping at the inn for the night, we’d descend the vine the morning.
I only had three days left before my curse sealed my fate. We were cutting it close. All day, my legs had felt weak, and an ache in my chest left me winded. The steam only partially relieved the symptoms. I needed something stronger, more like the sea than boiling water could offer.
Gavin watched me like a man possessed, throwing glances over his shoulder every few minutes. If he didn’t watch where he was going, he’d fall into a ditch, and I’d have to carry him for a change. Not that we’d get very far.
“I think I want roast lamb for dinner tonight,” I mused, catching his eye when he glanced over his shoulder, nearly tripping over his own feet in the process. “With extra gravy and steamed carrots. Our last meal in the sky should be more than cheese and stale bread.”
“We used to have honey, but you ate all of that.”
I chuckled. “I thought I deserved a ‘you outwitted a sleepy giant and all you got was moss on your shoes’ kind of treat.”
Gavin hacked a path through the grass, making it easier for me to wade through. “You could have shared a little bit, though. I did save you from that vicious snake inside the cabin. Years of snake charming at your service.”
“Eh. I had my pot,” I deadpanned, rolling my shoulders as the ache pressed at my ribs. “Guess you’re not the only greedy one around here.”
“Seems so.”
