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Perhaps three must give isn’t about sex at all. Which means…

Fuck.

I grab Sage’s hand. “We need to get back.”

She stumbles after me as I pull her through the corn. “Why?”

“Because we misunderstood.”

“Misunderstood what?”

“Three must give.”

Her grip tightens around mine as we break into a run. “What the fuck does that mean?”

“I don’t know yet.”

“You sound like Kai.”

Despite everything, I glance back at her. “Cruel.”

“Rhett.”

The sharpness in her voice wipes away any trace of humor.

I stop so suddenly she nearly runs into me. “The mark,” I say, turning towards her. “It says Given.”

Her eyes drop instinctively toward my hand. “Yes.”

“The field counted me, Sage.”

Understanding slowly creeps across her face. “As one.”

I nod.

Her expression changes. “And Kai?”

“I don’t know.”

“Why wouldn’t it count him?”

That’s the problem.

I look back toward the field, unease crawling beneath my skin.

Why wouldn’t it?

Because Malakai gave pleasure. Maybe I gave something else. My dead heart beats again.

There. I understand.

Not all of it but enough.

I look at Sage. “The Harvest didn’t want my body.”

Her brow furrows. “What did it want?”

My heart beats beneath my ribs.