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Breathing in deeply, I raised my arms over my head, using the break to stretch out everything that was sore, the aching in my ribs a distraction from the imaginary love story I was weaving about Leo and Sigrid in my mind.

The tonic that had been sent to my room this morning with my breakfast, made with water instead of vodka this time, kept the pain manageable as I stretched to the left, then to the right.

It wouldn’t be long before my bruises faded, and I’d be back to feeling brand new.

That was, my body, at least. My mind would never be brand new. The memory of losing Niall now sat on a shelf in my mind, right next to the memory of Aaron and the pool.

I walked to the corner of the guardhouse, avoiding the guards making their rounds, to look out over the waterfall and river that ran from it, my impatience growing while I waited for Leo.

The waterfall here was nowhere near the size of the one back home, standing a few yards taller than me, the water falling as a peaceful melody rather than a thunderous roar. The crushing violence of Gray Waterfall was amplified by the delicate nature of the waterfall in front of me; the melody almost too serene, making me uncomfortable.

I felt relieved when the door to the guardhouse finally opened, and Leo stepped out, his eyes finding me instantly, landing directly where I stood.

He winked, and reality turned slow-motion as I watched him walk toward me, his beauty enhanced by the shading of the woods, the dim lighting defining his muscles and perfect proportions. His hair was even tousled to one side, like he had run his hand through it before stepping outside, its darkness near-black underneath the canopy of trees. His black uniform and leather accents adding to the formidable look he effortlessly owned.

As he passed me, his hazel eyes connected with mine, and he moved his head nonchalantly to the side, his cue for me to follow. Like a zealot, my feet moved without resistance, my body craving the way being seen by him, and only him, made me feel.

We walked down a set of wooden stairs, the railing slick with moisture from the waterfall’s mist, and crossed a small wooden bridge over the river, dropping us onto a narrow rock path that followed it, winding behind the curtain of water and out of the shaded daylight.

Leo’s cloak that covered me expanded to cover him, his body shifting close to mine. “No one can hear us this close to the water, so we can talk freely,” he explained, staring at the black rock in front of him.

I cleared my throat, focusing on the rock instead of him. “Are all portal entrances near waterfalls?”

“Yes. Though, I’ve never figured out why. Some answers I let One keep for herself.”

I squinted at the rock, trying to make it move with the change in my vision. “You talk as if One is a person.”

Leo reached for me, guiding my shoulders to position me in front of him so I was still staring at the wall. “She kind of is. Her magic lives through her people. Through me. She’s sentient in a way.”

I ran my hand across the wet rock’s surface, but felt nothing.

There was nothing here at all.

Only a small symbol carved into the black: a pattern of circles within circles, a total of nine.

My face crumbled. I wouldn’t be going home today. I had run away from the fight. Told myself it was my only option. Left everyone I loved behind because I’d been too scared to stay.

The back of Leo’s hand caressed my cheek. “I promise, I’ll bring you back here on the next full moon,” he whispered, turning me to face him. His eyes dark in the dimly lit space. “I’m a man of my word, Bryn.”

His words echoed around me. In me.

I shut my eyes, squeezing them tightly, imagining opening them to find I was standing back in Gray. But when I opened them, I only saw Leo.

“Why are you helping me?” I asked for the second time since he’d brought me here, to One. My voice was so small. “Why trust me? I haven’t sworn an oath to you.”

He took both of his hands, tracing his fingers down my cheeks before resting them along the back of my neck.

His thumbs danced over my throat.

His lips parted to answer right as one of the horses whinnied in the distance, impatient to get back to our travels.

Leo dropped his hands to his sides and sighed, looking resigned. “Time to go,” he whispered. “We have a lot of ground to cover before nightfall.”

I glanced back to the nine circles etched in stone, making sure nothing had changed.

One month. It was just one month.

I could survive a month.