I nearly scolded him again, but I knew he was right. I wasn’t a nurse, but I knew it wasn’t just pain that was slowing him down. He’d lost a lot of blood.

“Just follow the markers,” he said. “They’ll take you all the way back to the gates.”

I looked down the path, wondering where Bobbie was. “And if I meet the Fury?”

He grabbed my hand and gave it a squeeze. “Maybe you’re right. Maybe they only come out at night. Which is why you have to leave now before it gets dark. You can still make it, Grace. You have to.”

Tears swam in his eyes. He was shivering, so I took off my coat and draped it over his body. I pushed back the fallen strands of hair from his forehead and held his gaze for a long moment. He was as afraid as I. But he was right—I had to get help.

“I’ll be back,” I said. “Even if Rose refuses to send help, I’ll return. With medical supplies and whatever we need to get you strong enough to make it.”

“Promise?” he said, forcing a grin.

I returned his smile. “Promise.”

He nodded.

And then I was off, bunching up my thick skirt so I could run. As fast as my legs would carry me over rough, uneven ground.

Hold on, Jamie. Just hold on. I’m going to save you. I promise.

JAMIE AWOKE WITH A START, GASPING AT THE AFTERnoon air. It took a moment for his whereabouts to sink in. He was leaning against a thick tree beside the path he’d marked. He was alone. Injured and in pain. Grace had gone ahead for help.

The Fury were real.

How long had it been since Grace left him there? His throat was on fire, his vision blurred, every inch of his body ached. He was dying.

But he wasn’t ready to die. Or was he? After his encounter last night, he wasn’t sure falling asleep and waking up in heaven would be such a bad thing. The thought of facing the Fury again was unbearable.

But he couldn’t die now. Grace would make it to Haven Valley and be back with help. He just needed to hold on a bit longer. Even so, he could feel the call to let go whisper like the breeze across his shoulders. It really would be so much simpler to fall back asleep and never wake up.

He swallowed and leaned his head back against the tree. Maybe he deserved death. He’d brought this upon himself. His memories of the Fury came into full focus and he shivered.