Before anyone else could object, she marched up to the thick vine and grabbed hold. She lifted her foot, finding a sturdy notch in the vines, and then pulled herself up a little with her arms. She wanted to take it slow, to step cautiously, but she knew there was too much at risk to be anything but quick and efficient. When she reached the top, she was relieved to find that Jinx had grown the vine not only up the wall, but down the other side. For one brief second, she allowed herself to look out over the city of Pavan. There were hardly any lights to be seen, and the streets were deserted. She knew all the people were likely hiding in shelters, but it didn’t stop the unease she felt at seeing her city so lifeless. If she dared to lower her shields, she could probably feel the souls of the people below, maybe even pick up a bit of their emotions, but it was too dangerous to risk her walls being breached.

She felt the rustle of the vine as someone else began their ascent, and quickly threw her legs over to continue her climb down. When she was a few feet off the ground, she jumped, the sound of her landing swallowed by a boom of thunder that seemed to shake the skies.

Kiran was there by the time she found steady footing, having dropped from the top without bothering to climb down at all. “And you call me reckless,” she whispered. “You could have broken your leg.”

He didn’t answer, simply closed the distance between them, curled his hand around the nape of her neck, and pulled her forward into the softest kiss he had ever given her. It lasted only a moment, but they stayed close, heads bent together, lips a whisper away. And slowly, the frenetic beat of her heart eased, the tension in her fingers loosened, and she felt all her fear slide somewhere farther back in her mind, pushed away by the intensity that always rose up between them.

She could do this. They could do this.

This man had taken down hurricanes and lived through firestorms, and he loved her. She would tell him the truth, and he would understand. He had to, because she wasn’t sure how she could get through the next few days without him. If she searched for her mother, only to find out the worst … she did not know what she would do then.

Kiran whispered, “I can feel you tensing up again.”

A thump signaled another hunter’s arrival on this side of the wall. Roar gave Kiran the best smile she could manage and promised, “Later.”

She had been promising later for days, but this time she meant it. She pulled him down for another hard kiss, and when they pulled apart, he looked more worried, not less.

“I promise I will tell you everything—”