“I just mean—I know you didn’t want that.”

Beru’s stomach gave a little lurch. Didn’t want that. Is that what he thought?

“Hector, I—”

He turned his head over his shoulder and then grabbed Beru’s wrist again. “Come on. We need to get to the river.”

They sprinted through the trees, skidding over the leaves, and emerged at the bank of the Serpentine. A few hundred paces down the river, Beru caught sight of the others. A dozen or so boats lined the shore beside a narrow dock. Khepri, Illya, and Hassan were crouched beside two of them, unhooking them and pushing them into the water. It seemed Hassan had warmed to the concept of stealing.

Ephyra looked up, spotting Beru and Hector racing toward them, and bolted over to meet them.

They crashed together, Ephyra’s arms wrapping around Beru tightly.

“I thought they had you,” Ephyra said. “I was so scared.”

“I’m fine,” Beru replied, squeezing back. “We need to move.”

“Where’s Jude?” Anton asked Hector worriedly.

“Right here!” Jude yelled, emerging from the trees. “Get in the boats! Go!”

Khepri, Illya, and Hassan pushed the boats into the water as the others piled in. Beru hit the deck, her heart racing as she helped Ephyra climb in behind her, wielding an oar.

Six Witnesses raced after Jude, closing in on him. Jude dove into the river, wading toward the boats. The Witnesses dove after him.

“Jude!” Anton cried, balancing precariously on the edge of the boat as he knelt over the side. Hector joined him, and together they pulled Jude from the river and into their boat.

Khepri tossed Hector another oar, and they began to paddle furiously. Beru sat back, heart pounding, as they heaved themselves upriver, leaving the Witnesses behind in the shallows.

The mountains loomed above as the river snaked up toward them. These were not the gently sloped forested mountains of the Gallian mountain range, but instead jagged and starkly bare.

Around dusk, they reached a patch of coast at the base of the mountains, where they decided to pull the boat over to the far side of the river and make camp for the evening. They drew up on shore and hid the boat in the rush.

“Hector and I can go get firewood,” Beru said, and before anyone could object, she grabbed Hector’s arm and dragged him off through the trees.

“Look,” Hector said, the moment they were out of earshot of the others. “I need to apologize.”

“I don’t want you to apologize,” Beru blurted.

Hector just stared at her.

Beru took a steadying breath. “Hector, do you really think I didn’t want you to kiss me?”

His brow furrowed. “I know you’re dealing with a lot right now. I wasn’t trying to add to your problems. But I do care about you. That’s … that’s all it has to be, for now.”