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She shrugs. “I’ve been around for a while. You learn things.” Her gaze moves across the mountainside. There are no trees, no cover. Just her cottage built halfway into the hill. Brush and rocks surround her home. “Do you think I always lived here? Alone?”

“I don’t know.”

“I didn’t,” she replies. “I’ve lived more lives than you could imagine. So, the earth? Seemed a bit remorseful while you were asleep.”

“They would throw me out into the yard every few days. I was kept underground, but it was warded. And after….” I grimace. “I’d wake up like this.”

“Did you offer the earth anything?”

“My blood through the cracks in the concrete. It didn’t work.”

“Didn’t it?”

My brows furrow.

She shrugs. “Drawing life from the earth isn’t easy. Life is precious no matter the form. We make sacrifices to it, and it, in exchange, gives to us.”

“How do you know?”

Her gaze steadies on me. “Because I give my blood to the earth, Astra Dreamstone, and in return, it keeps me alive.”

She steps back suddenly, brushing invisible lint off her dress. “Come inside while I make breakfast. Your wolf will be here soon.”

I focus on the thread that connects us, not surprised to find its pulsing rhythm like a second heartbeat. From there, I turn my inspection inward. My palm tingles, but I do my best to ignore that. It’s easier than thinking about the sapphire containing the blood magic buried under my skin.

Beatrice is right. He’s getting closer.

I go inside, and she directs me to a bathroom around the corner. I brush my teeth and braid my hair, feeling somewhat normal. At least I didn’t have any nightmares. In fact, I slept surprisingly well.

When I return to her kitchen, she sets a plate in front of me. Sausage, eggs, potatoes.

My mouth waters. Besides the meal Kian fed me, I haven’t had more than scraps in weeks. She follows it with a mug of coffee and a little pitcher of creamer. A bowl of sugar with a matching spoon. And the mug of tea, which I haven’t worked up the nerve to taste yet.

“Wow.” I sniff the food. “You went all out.”

“I enjoy cooking for other people.” She joins me at the table, helping herself to the sugar and cream for her own coffee. “I couldn’t resist. By the way, the tea is harmless. Just some herbs that help with easing the central nervous system.”

At my raised brow, she leans over and takes a sip from my cup.

“Okay, okay,” I mumble. I drink the damn tea.

We eat in relative silence, but I find myself peeking up at her occasionally. I want to know if she did something to keep the nightmares away, or if it was pure luck. I have so many questions, but none of them seem appropriate for the time.

She lifts her head when we’re almost completely done. “He’s approaching.”

I feel it, too. The bond between Kian and me is getting more intense. It’s almost as if he’s reeling himself in off a line, using that to track me down.

My heart skips.

Does he care about me or just what I can do for him?

“He won’t be able to get in, but his wolf’s senses are sharp. We shouldn’t discuss anything that happened last night unless you want him to know.” She picks up a bag and slides it across the table to me. “Take this with you when you go.”

“But you’re going to help me⁠—”

“I’m afraid our plans must change.” She smiles sadly. “If we continue on this course, we’ll both die.”

“Wait.” I reach for her. “You—you said you’d help.”