Bri scrubbed her hand down her face, instantly regretting the lie, knowing it was a cruel thing to say. This was the conversation she’d been dreading. Their lust had overridden their senses and now their brains were finally catching up. “I’m not the only one with entanglements. What about Tem? Aren’t you still engaged?”

“I am.”

The hurt in Lina’s eyes flooded through Bri, and Bri fought the urge to reach out and grab her.

“We need to keep moving.” Bri swallowed. “Warn the others. We can talk later.”

“There’s nothing more to say,” Lina whispered, pushing past Bri and picking up her pace down the trail again.

Bri hadn’t felt a single thing when she dropped that amber dagger . . . but watching Lina walk away right then, each step was a stomp to the center of her chest.

She cursed all the Gods. First, to safety. Then she could mourn another thing that never was.

*   *   *

The dogs were the first to note something was amiss. Their howling barks echoed from the cliffside and Bri and Lina’s friends’ heads quickly popped out the windows and over the balustrades. Bri shouted the news up to them, even as she took the cliff steps two at a time. Her pulse hammered through her whole body and she thought she might be sick, but she kept pushing. The rest of the group disappeared into the house before she reached the landing, hastening to depart.

Her argument with Lina echoed below the surface of her mind, even as she rushed to get everyone out. She tried to focus on the task at hand, but that memory stained her every movement, like the ringing of a lone funeral bell that only her ears could hear.

Everyone made quick work of packing their things, the silence brimming with tension as they rushed to saddle the horses and pack Rish’s cookery into her open wagon. Bern abandoned his family’s furniture, muttering that they could buy more as he carried Cole’s pack down the steep path. They spotted the boats rowing into the mouth of the harbor just as they hitched the last horse. Each stroke of those oars was like a beating war drum, counting down the minutes until the impending attack.

“Be safe.” Bern gave Bri a tight hug, pulling her hypnotic gaze from the boats. She didn’t respond as he mounted his horse and whistled for his dogs.

The road that wrapped around Silver Sands led in two directions and the group split in half again. Bri glanced back at Lina’s carriage and her hands clenched as she wondered if Lina was crying inside. The thought shredded her. She shouldn’t have said those things; her fear pushed Lina away before Lina could decide to end things herself. Setting her intention to apologize when they were safe, Bri swallowed and gave a final nod to Bern.