Peace dwelled within this timeless valley where no one else came except birds and small mammals that peeked curiously from behind fallen logs or tangled vines. It was remote and hidden, a sanctuary from the world.

I feel like Eve, Ginny thought with a faint sad smile, after she was tricked into eating the apple.

Earlier, Steve had climbed one of the rock walls, scaling it with practiced agility while she watched. Bright sunlight had gleamed on the bare skin of his back and shoulders until he had disappeared into the brush that clung in a ragged fringe to the ledge. Ginny had watched with idle curiosity.

It was much easier to think of him with detachment now. To think of him any other way was too painful. Oh God, was it all ruined? Would she ever be able to forget all that had happened?

There was an agreement between them at the moment, a silently acknowledged pact that they would wait until the moment was right to discuss what their future held once they left this valley.

It was a tentative peace, fragile and uncertain. At night when they sat across the fire from one another, Ginny wondered what he was thinking, if he hated her for what Luna had done, if she disgusted him now. Despite his careful kindness, she knew there was something he was keeping from her. He would look away at times, a muscle leaping in his clenched jaw, his mouth a taut, hard slash.

Until her bruises, huge purple and yellow marks, had faded, he’d gone quiet every time he saw them. Silence was awkward between them, the courtesies strained and fractured, as if they’d become strangers again.

Even at night, when the air was cold and invasive, they shared blankets and body heat but nothing else.

It was difficult, lying beside him all night, listening to his deep, even breathing and feeling as if they were farther apart than ever before. Anguished, she lay in the dark and thought of what might have been, of how far they had come and how close they were to finding themselves, to finding the happiness she wanted so desperately.

Some nights she lay awake until the sun rose steeply to banish shadows and shed light into the rocky bowl nestled beneath the waterfall.

Was it all over? Was there no chance now?

It seemed as if everything she touched dissolved, even while she was trying so hard to keep it. But Steve had been right about coming here, for the past week had made her feel safe at last, tucked away from the world.

But tonight, there was a difference. It was subtle, a lessening of Steve’s detachment as he regarded her across the fire. “You look tired, Ginny. Your skin has that peachy gold color that I’ve always liked, though. It makes your eyes look even more green.”