He stared at the ground for a long moment, then let out a slow, tired breath. Exhaustion hung on him like weights strapped to his shoulders.
Gavin eyed the thick bedding, then sank onto it with a barely restrained wince.
“Fine. We’ll discuss it later. What’s one more night living with your low expectations?” He dropped his head against the rail, but his dark gaze stayed on me. “Are you sleeping out here tonight?”
“Yes.” I ducked my head to twist the cap off the salve. “You are too. It’ll be like old times when we camped under the stars.”
And make it easier for me to shackle you to the railing.
I poured a stream of water onto the rag. I’d cleaned hundreds of Gavin’s cuts before, but this time felt different. Awkward. It was the way he watched me, like he knew I was off balance. I was desperate to brace myself against whatever that moment had been, when holding me had felt like his lifeline, and I'd wanted to be one.
I pressed the rag against the wound, and he hissed.
“Your bedside manner has lost some of its touch, Mare.”
“Then don’t get into tavern fights.”
“You should see the other guy—or six.”
“Geez, Gavin. Six? You’re going to cross the wrong person someday.”
I dabbed salve onto his temple. Gavin’s eyes slid shut, pain carving through his features.
“I already have,” he murmured. “She’s brutal. Knows how to inflict a fatal wound.”
My fingers tightened around the rag. His words cut me all on their own as if I were the villain here, and not the other way around. I grabbed my bag and the other bedroll, stalked to thefar end of the terrace, and laid out my things.
“Get some sleep. You look like you need it. You’ll probably fall off the vine and take me with you.”
I slumped onto my bedroll and faced the rail. Wide awake. Nerves and bitterness tangled together, knotted with this absurd desire to ease his pain; to inflict more.
I was a mess. And I needed as much distance between us as possible.
The entire sky would do.
***
Three o’clock.
I rolled over slowly, peering through the faint moonlight at Gavin. He was asleep. His arm tossed over his head, boots lying on their sides near his feet.
My heart beat so hard behind my ribs, if it wasn’t for the waves crashing below the cliff, I was sure it would wake him. I only had one shot at this. A single mistake, and it was over.
I shut down my emotions. The damn things were rioting inside my chest making me second-guess myself, and the man who’d needed me. Held me. For a moment, it had felt as natural as breathing.
Pushing the thought away, I pictured Sirena. Her long hair flowed in the water, hands gripping the coral bars as she spoke across the prison tunnel.Know your worth, Marin. You’re a treasure hunter. This is what you do.
She was counting on me to bring back the shard. This wasn’t just about me. My friend’s life was at stake. A kingdom I had helped curse. Whatever conflict raged inside me couldn’t comeat a cost to them.
And she was right. I was good at this. Quick when I needed to be. Silent. Steady under pressure, even if that pressure made me do things I never imagined I’d do.
I removed the shackles from my bag and unsheathed my new dagger. The blade was honed to a whisper-thin edge. Leaving my boots behind, I crept on bare feet toward Gavin’s still form.
His breathing was steady. Features softened in sleep. The leather cord holding the seeds still hung from his neck, and the pouch lay nestled in the folds of his shirt.
Crouching low, I matched his breaths, trying to calm my racing heart. I waited to make sure he didn’t stir, then with careful precision, I pressed the tip of my dagger against the leather pouch. Just enough pressure to pierce it.
A single seed fell into my waiting hand. Then another. I didn’t need more than that. My fist closed around them as I tucked the seeds away.
