She skipped over until she felt the breeze brush through her hair, then she moaned. “That feels good.”

“Look for more of these.” The Prince growled and shook himself back into focus.

“I’m thirsty. I need to feed to heal my wounds, so let’s divide and conquer. Pierce, go look over there,” Sam said while pointing to my right. “The sooner we destroy all of them, the sooner we can go home for a . . . bite.”

The Prince growled and stormed farther away from us.

Sam glanced over her shoulder, then turned back to me. She tugged me closer and then whispered, “Run.”

I flinched. “What?” I whispered back.

“This is your chance, Pierce. You saw what she did to me. She won’t hesitate to kill you if she sniffs your loyalty out of you. It’s time to run⁠—”

“But she’ll just come find me, or he will⁠—”

“Not if they think you’re simply lost in here.” She glanced back to ensure the Prince wasn’t paying attention, then turned back to me, gently pushing me farther away. “Look, time doesn’t work the same here and no one controls it. This isn’t the Land of the Lore. The literal Garden of Eden entrance is in here. Also⁠—”

I gasped. “What?”

“—The Coven came in here in the fall and a few days for them wound up being five weeks out there.” She squeezed my hands. “This place is infamous for losing people, for people getting stuck here⁠—”

“Then why would I want⁠—”

“Do you want to run, Pierce? Do you want to get away from Sweyn and her side of the war?”

“Yes,” I said instantly. “I can’t take it anymore.”

She nodded and looked pointedly to my right. “Then now is your chance. If you run now, you have a chance of getting to The Coven. If you don’t run now, you may never get free.”

My chest grew tight. I needed to breathe, but she’d caught my attention. I didn’t want to be in this war at all, but if I had to be, then I wanted to be on Heaven’s side. The Coven’s side. “But you—-I can’t leave you alone.”

“Oh, Pierce, sweet summer child.” She pushed up on her toes and pressed her lips to mine. It was just a quick peck that ended too soon, but the snarl on the Prince’s face felt like claws down my spine. Sam tugged on my shirt and leaned into me. I was fairly certain she was putting on a show for the Prince, but I didn’t mind being her toy. “Look, I’m Lilith’s granddaughter. Everest betrayed her. You and I are not playing the same game here. I appreciate you, but you have to run. Now.”

I reached up and tucked her hair behind her ear. “He’s watching.”