“You were supposed to stay in the train car,” I said, hoping he heard the edge in my voice. I wanted to be out of the clearing and back inside the safety of the train cars. “You made me a promise.”

“I promised to stay in the train car for the night,” Eli said. “But now it’s daytime.”

I opened my mouth to scold him but stopped. It didn’t matter right now. “We need to go back. It’s too dangerous for you to be out here alone.”

He stood and turned around to face me, eyes bright and haunting. “What’s so dangerous?” he asked, shaking the water from his fingers.

“How can you not know about the danger of the Fury? You’ve lived out there your whole life.”

“Exactly,” he said. “That’s why I asked what’s so dangerous.”

“You’re saying they aren’t real?”

“That doesn’t mean we have to be afraid.” He looked around curiously. “Looks safe to me.”

“It’s not,” I said. “The forest’s full of danger.”

“But the train car’s safe?”

“Much safer.”

“Why?”

He was just a curious boy who didn’t understand the world he’d stepped into, I tried to remind myself. Or a Fury trying to trick me. But looking at him, I couldn’t believe that.

“Because it offers us protection.”

“And you think you need protection?”

What a childish thing to say, Bobbie’s voice whispered in my mind.

I glanced around but didn’t see her at first.

Careful, Grace. This boy isn’t who he seems. Foolishness will get you killed. Bobbie emerged from behind a tree several yards to my right. She was half tucked out of sight, eyes glued to the boy, communicating with me but focused on him. He doesn’t know the danger he faces.

I turned back to the boy, who was still staring at me, waiting for me to answer. I felt vulnerable in his gaze, as though he could see through the barrier of my skin.

“Why do you spend so much time and effort being careful?” Eli asked. “Living afraid sounds awful hard.”

I couldn’t answer. I knew the reasons, of course: Because darkness was everywhere and always coming for us. Because we had been called to guard our hearts from sin so we could be made worthy to inherit the earth. Mostly because without protection we would be killed by the Fury.

I knew all the reasons, but I couldn’t deny that he was right. Living a life watching for danger was hard. Almost impossible. How had he and Ben survived beyond the perimeter? If he wasn’t a Fury himself, he knew something I didn’t.