“Do you? He’s managed to survive all this time out in the wild without your help.”

“He had my father to help him.”

“Or maybe he was helping your father. Either way, you’re not in a position to help him now.”

I heard a faint sound then, just as I was about to tell Bobbie how wrong she was. A human voice, soft and distant. Singing?

I strained to hear again, but the breeze had died away and only the sounds of nature reached me.

“Did you hear that?” I asked, staring at the forest.

She was listening as well. “Be careful. Trust nothing. You have to get back, Grace. Now, before you’re lured into terrible danger.”

“It sounded like singing.”

The bushes and leaves swayed with the breeze. Yellow and white flowers grew in clumps that were scattered here and there at the base of large tree trunks. It was quite beautiful. Was I being lured by the Fury, or was it Eli?

“You’re assuming he’s not a Fury,” Bobbie said. “The worst of them come as angels of light, whispering of love and wonders in a fearless world. Give your heart to them and they will ravage you in the deepest imaginable hell.”

The distant voice came again and I held my breath, turning toward the sound. Then again—a faint song—and this time I knew the voice had to be Eli’s.

“Be careful, Grace.”

But I was already moving toward the forest, drawn by that faint, sweet voice. My brother’s voice. Eli couldn’t be the kind of Fury Bobbie was warning me about. And I wouldn’t give my heart to him or anyone anyway. Right?

A stick cracked under my foot and I jumped, nerves on high alert. Instead of slowing down, I surged forward, suddenly desperate to reach him. I couldn’t abandon Eli, and I was certain that voice belonged to him.

The voice became clearer as I rushed through the trees. The soft and playful melody drifted on the wind and filled the air around me. The trees suddenly ended, and I pulled up in a clearing that ran up to a small cliff. The singing came from the ravine beyond. Either Eli or a Fury that sounded like Eli, luring me into its trap.

I hesitated only a moment, then crept up to the edge. Peered over.

There was a small stream running through the ravine. Squatting beside the sparkling brook was Eli, fingertips dipping into the water.

“Eli?”

He jerked his head around, saw me, and smiled. “Hi, Grace.”

I looked in either direction. The descent into the ravine wasn’t much, only eight or ten feet, but it was steep.

“How did you get down there?” I asked.

“I jumped,” he said matter-of-factly.

Jumped? That was a long jump for a small boy.