“Where are you!” I scream. “Nadir!” I’m crying so hard I can barely see where I’m going. The rain falls harder, making the ground slippery and blinding my vision.

“Nadir!” My voice cracks. “Nadir!”

“Lor!”

I alter my course at the sound of his voice, crashing over brush and rocks, my already battered feet tearing up against the rough forest floor.

And then I feel him. I sense him. I remember that night in the settlements when Rion’s men captured me, when a wave of something sharp and warm filled the space behind my heart. Desire and rage and every longing course through my limbs, threatening to tow me under.

A distant rustle in the trees has me picking up my pace.

“Nadir!” I scream again, needing to feel his name on my tongue.

“Lor!” comes his voice, and I’ve never heard anything so beautiful in my life.

Then he materializes through the dim light, running towards me, and my heart nearly stops.

“Nadir,” I choke out. “Nadir . . .”

We crash into one another at top speed. He picks me up, wrapping me in his arms as my legs circle his hips. We spin around and around, squeezing one another so tight that I fear we might shatter.

“Oh, my gods,” I sob into the curve of his throat, inhaling the scent of his hair, reminding me of crisp winter nights and falling snow. “You’re alive. I’m so sorry.”

He buries his head against my throat and says, “I’m sorry, can you ever forgive me?”

I pull away, framing his face with my hands.

“Forgive you for what?”

“What my father said about helping him—”

“I know it wasn’t true,” I interrupt.

“You’re sure?”

“I only doubted for a moment. He got under my skin, and I’m so sorry. Nadir, after everything, how could I doubt you? From the second we met, you’ve done nothing but share every truth and give up every secret in your heart. Of course I’m sure. I know you would never have done that.”

“Oh, thank gods,” he says. “I thought . . . I worried . . .”

“He was just trying to drive a wedge between us, but that will never work. Do you hear me? I don’t care what happens—nothing could ever make me stop loving you. Do you understand?”

He nods, his eyes searching my face as though he’s trying to confirm I’m really here.

“I’m sorry I killed you,” I say, choking out a sob.

“That really happened? Zerra told me, but—”

“It was an accident. But I did it, and Nadir, it killed me, too. I died in that moment and have been dying through every moment since. I’ve been doing everything I can to get back to you.”

“What happened with her?” we both ask at the same time.