August groaned. “I can’t. You know I can’t.”
He was right, but God…a part of her didn’t care if they were caught. She just wanted more time. Morehim. Wren wound her hands around his neck, pulling him in closer, pressing her lipsagainst his throat. August made a low, breathy sound, and it was enough to send Wren’s head spinning.
She needed more. She needed—
Getting into trouble now, are we?
Shock coursed through Wren. August must have felt it too, because he immediately pulled back, eyes roving over her face with concern.
“What is it?” he asked, panicked. “What’s wrong?”
“Did you not hear that?” Wren asked. A strange ringing had erupted in her ears. “That voice.”
August blinked. His lips were pink and swollen, cheeks tinged with a blush. He listened intently, shaking his head in response.
“I…I don’t hear anything.”
Nobody can hear me but you, my sweet.
Wren gasped, stumbling backward, putting distance between her and August.
Was she going mad?
It was the same voice she had heard earlier that morning. But…she had assumed that voice hadn’t been real. That it had been nothing more than a lingering by-product of her dreams.
I am no dream, Wren Loughty.
Wren flinched as the voice echoed in her mind once more. She staggered, chest heaving as she struggled to suck in a breath. August extended his arms tentatively, hands reaching for her shoulders, but Wren pulled away before he could touch her again.
“I…” She choked out, clearing her throat. “I have to go.”
August stared back at her, eyes brimming with worry.
“Wren.” He whispered her name softly. “If I…if I pushed you too far—”
“No,” Wren cut in, mustering up as much reassurance in her voice as she could manage, molding her lips into a tight-lippedsmile. “It’s…it’s not you. It’s notthis. I just…I need to get back. I’m probably already in trouble.”
August scratched the back of his neck. He watched her intently, and Wren shivered at the intensity in his gaze.
“Okay,” he murmured. “Are you sure?”
“Positive.”
August let out a sigh of resignation, though it was clear he wasn’t fully convinced.
“We’ll keep investigating tomorrow,” he told her. “There has to be a way to find out who made that security cuff.” He glanced over his shoulder, lowering his voice. “I’ll try to meet with you in Silver, but it might be hard for me to get away. They’re…keeping tabs on me. Watching me.”
“It’s okay,” Wren replied. “I’ll—I’ll see what information I can get out of Quinn and Arthur. Something tells me that if there is anyone we can get on our side…it might be them.”
August tilted his head, unsure. “I wouldn’t put your trust in them, Loughty. They’re still Demiens.”
Wren reached out and cupped August’s face gently with herpalm.
“So are you.”
A pained expression washed over August’s features. He lifted his own hand, placing it atop hers, and gave it an affirming squeeze.
Wren wanted to stay…to tell him about the voice. But August seemed so determined to get them out of the encampment—to save her—that she couldn’t bring herself to. The voice was clearly linked to whatever Edith had been doing to her mind, and if Wren could escape by Equinox, then maybe she wouldn’t need saving.
