That pink arrow appeared instantly. I almost cried with relief. I brushed my hands off on my dress then jumped to my feet. The arrow led me all the way to the back of the cove. I stopped and frowned. It looked like a dead end, except the runes had never led me astray so there had to be an explanation.

The air pulsed with little electric shocks. A wave of heat rolled out of the cliff wall. I held my hands up, ready to throw my magic at whatever was coming. My mind imagined all kinds of fantasy creatures that could’ve been about to attack. I pictured a demon made entirely of stone like the cliff — except then a piece of the cliff slid over and a figure wearing a dark hooded cloak the same exact color as the stone. My pulse quickened. It was the cliff monster. I shouldn’t have manifested it. I raised my hands, letting my magic coil in my palms.

The figure stopped short. Pale human hands poked out of long sleeves then reached up and pushed the hood back.

We gasped at the same time.

“Everest.”

His eyes were wide and glassy. “Celina.”

A strangled whimper left my lips then I charged for him. I ran faster than I’d ever run before, my little legs carrying me to him like a leaf in the wind. He hadn’t moved, he just stared at me like I was a lake in the desert. But when I tackled him, his arms wrapped around me tight immediately. His breath left him in a rush, sweeping over my face and through my hair. I buried my hands in his hair, pinning him to me as hard as I could.

We held each other for a long, long, long time.

Then he sat me on my feet and pulled back just enough to take my face in his hands. His gaze roamed my face like he’d never seen it before. “I must admit there were many a night I feared I had dreamt of you. That you were not real.”

“I am real.” I reached up and pressed my hand to his cheek and my gaze landed on the ring I’d slid onto my thumb prior to leaving my room. One of the rings Tegan had given me, saying they may come in handy. The one on my thumb was a hammered silver band with a small oval moonstone in the middle. I liked that one, it reminded me of the ocean. I pulled my hand back and slid the ring off. He watched silently as I took his hand and carefully slid my ring onto his pinky. “For the nights when the fear is too much to bear, hold on to this and know I am real, and I am waiting for you in the future.”

He looked down at the ring on his pink and let out a rough sigh.