If their eyes met for too long, she would grow shy and reserved, like she was remembering that she was supposed to hate him. So he never stared at her too long, though saints knew he wanted to.

Unlike his sisters, Leelo didn’t think Jaren was too brooding or boring. On the contrary, she seemed to find him interesting. He knew that was likely because he was the first person she’d ever met who didn’t live on Endla, but seeing himself through her eyes made him feel like maybe what he had to say was interesting. After all, he’d lived in two different places. He had a large, boisterous family, and he spent enough time gathering in the woods that he could identify hundreds of plant species.

Leelo was particularly curious about life in Tindervale versus life in Bricklebury. “What’s a pub?” she’d asked when he told her about the bet he’d made with Merritt.

“A place where people gather to eat and drink,” he explained.

“Like a festival?”

“I suppose a very small one. Indoors. With ale.”

She’d considered this for a while, chewing her lip, and then said, “I think I’d like to go to one. As long as there are no boys like Merritt around.”

“I’d say I’d protect you, but I think we both know it would be the other way around.”

She had blushed with pleasure, and Jaren had felt like he finally understood how Summer felt around her carpenter, and how Story must have expected him to feel with Lupin.

But with Leelo, things were so much simpler. He didn’t have to worry about what any of this meant. It was forbidden, which he knew added at least some element of excitement to it, but it was also pure. They both knew they could never marry, that this relationship wasn’t advantageous to either of them or their families. They were not supposed to want anything to do with each other, just two strangers brought together by dire circumstances. But instead, Jaren wanted everything to do with Leelo. There was attraction, yes, but it was also something else. Jaren admired Leelo, her determination, her bravery. She was unlike anyone he’d ever met. He had a feeling that even on Endla, Leelo was special.

She arrived late one blisteringly hot afternoon. It was hard to believe an entire month had passed, with the days being so long and dull, yet also so similar that they bled into each other, distorting time. He lived for the moment she knocked lightly on the door, entering without waiting for an answer. And every time she left, he knew he would be counting the hours until she returned.