It was scary to see that James was still not himself. This disregard for the traditions of Judaculla was so unlike him. He had left me in Woodvine and returned because of their traditions.

The Bound Book may not matter to him now, but I couldn’t risk his knowing how important the book was to me. If there was one thing I had learned in the past twelve hours, it was that this version of James was unpredictable. I didn’t know how he would react to seeing my name next to his. Since he didn’t remember me, there was no way for me to prove to him that the name beside his was my own. It would be best if I kept my plan to myself.

“Nope. I don’t want to be caught red-handed with that thing. You’re the one who took it. You’ll return it.” James pulled my blanket from my shelter. He tossed it to me. I quickly stuffed it into my bag. He dismantled my shelter, then folded the tarp. “You might need this again. The next council meeting isn’t for a few days.” He began walking in the opposite direction I had come the night before, and I followed him.

“And that matters to me, because?”

“Like I said last night, you’re my ticket home. When I turn you in to the Elders for stealing the Bound Book, they’ll have to let me back inside Judaculla.”

And there was the answer to my problem of having James and the Bound Book together before the Elders. His bringing me in might work to my advantage. I was supposed to be his mate. I could prove that by showing them my name beside his in the Bound Book. When James brought his disobedient wife in to pay for her crimes, the Elders would see James was still loyal to the ways of Judaculla.

“I don’t really care about being there anymore, but my father needs help. He hasn’t been doing so well living out here in the wild.”

“I’m sorry, James.”

“Okay, I give up. How is it that you know my name? I doubt I was the topic of conversation in The House.”

Because I love you, I wanted to scream. Because I have always loved you, and you have always loved me.

I knew better than say these things to him. Until he came out of this funk, he wouldn’t believe me. He would never remember that we knew each other, that we loved each other. In the meantime, I needed to work on winning him over, regardless of what he remembered. For that to happen, there had to be some common ground between us.

“Ever told me,” I said.

James looked at me hard for a few moments. He turned away, raking his hand through his hair. I recognized the gesture, and knew he was considering what I had said.