“I think I’ll change in the cave, if that’s okay with you.” He sized me up, maybe wondering if he could trust me. “I promise I won’t leave. And this time, I know you won’t peek.”

James laughed again, and it sounded as if all the barriers between us had been knocked down. He was his old self, and this gave me the courage to continue fighting for him. Although my relationship with James had changed, I’d regain his trust somehow, regardless of what happened with the Elders. Otherwise, he would never come back to me.

When I returned from the cave, a small fire was going in the pit. The aroma of hickory smoke carried with it a memory of making s’mores around a campfire with my parents. I smiled, remembering the times we’d camped out in clearings similar to this one as I hung James’s blanket on the tree beside mine.

James made another trip from the edge of the forest, dragging a heavy log behind him. The day had gotten away from us, and there was a deep blueness to the sky. Night would be here soon. James set the log in front of the fire, and motioned me to sit down.

“So, are we just going to hang out here?” I asked. “Shouldn’t you get back to your dad?”

“My father and I live on the other side of Judaculla. Even though I know these woods well, you don’t. It’s best to wait until morning.”

I remembered Tobias’s conversation with James that night at Judaculla Rock. How he’d given his blessing for James to stay with me in Woodvine. Maybe I could count Tobias as an ally in all this.

“Tell me about your father,” I said.

James shifted uncomfortably, as he considered what I’d said. “On second thought, maybe we should stay away from my camp. With everyone ransacking the entire area for the Bound Book, I wouldn’t want to run into them before the council meeting. I’d lose my advantage if I were taken in, rather than voluntarily coming in with you.”

He doesn’t want me to meet Tobias. He doesn’t want to drag his dad any deeper into this.

I felt encouraged by being alone with James for a few more days. If I played this right, I might be able to get it all back. Once again, I stretched the truth just a bit in an effort to make a connection with him.

“Calla told me something that’s hard to believe.”

James smiled curiously. “Yeah? What’s that?”

“She said she’d dreamed of Haden before they met.” I hesitated, pretending to remember the details of a conversation that had never happened. “No. It was more than that. Calla said she and Haden had shared dreams. And they’d done it for as long as she could remember.”