He turned to me with apologetic eyes. “You’re angry with me.” It wasn’t a question.

I held my tongue despite my anger, yielding to the conviction that raising my voice to him was inappropriate. Even miles from Haven Valley I could feel the comfort of the laws that tucked me safely into bed each night. I longed for that safety and comfort now.

“Grace.” Jamie reached for my shoulder.

I pulled back and turned away from him. “We were called to a different life,” I said. “A purer life, separate from the world filled with evil, however intriguing or beautiful it might seem.” I thrust my arm at the valley. “I don’t want this city with its newness and uncertainty. I want to be worthy of our inheritance. Why couldn’t you just leave well enough alone?”

“Who’s to say our inheritance isn’t now?” Jamie demanded, face reddening. “As Rose said, maybe my sensibilities led us here for a reason.”

“You said maybe what we saw wasn’t real. Do you really believe the Fury never did exist? Are you really willing to pretend we didn’t see what we saw?”

Jamie looked past me, easing. “I misspoke.”

“Misspoke?”

“I was caught up. Desperate to understand.”

“So you do believe?”

Another beat of silence passed between us. “I don’t know.”

At least he was being honest.

“You always tell me that I use my stories to escape reality,” I said. “Well, maybe you’re doing the same thing. Maybe your imaginations about cars and girls and all that are just your fantasies. Did you ever think about that?”

“We’re alive, aren’t we? Is this a fantasy?”

“We’re alive, but for how long? You know we can’t go back.”

“Of course we can. As soon as we can prove that the Fury are gone.”

“Or never, because we’ll be dead.”

He frowned. There was that.

I settled and stared at the city. “Do you still have nightmares?” I asked. “See their faces in the dark corners of your bedroom?”

Jamie lifted his eyes. “Often.”

Something snapped loudly behind me, and my heart leaped into my throat as I spun around. Jamie took two quick strides to place himself in front of me. I peered around his broad shoulders at the trees and thick brush beyond. The bushes rustled; another twig snapped.

I could see the tension in Jamie’s shoulders and back as we stood waiting for whatever approached. The world seemed to still and my mind raced too quickly for me to pin down a single thought.

Nothing came.

More moments of waiting, watching, primed both of us with fear. Still nothing came. Jamie’s shoulders dropped as he began to relax, and my nerves settled.

“See?” he said, stepping back to his pack at the cliff’s edge. “Nothing.”