Ava’s POV
Steve’s gaze narrowed, his expression full of doubt as he shot me a look, the monkey still gripping that glowing flower up in the branches. “You positive that’s the Silverbloom, Ava? It seems phony as anything to me.” His words were laced with skepticism, his arms folded snug.
I sucked in a breath, my lungs working overtime, holding onto the battered map, my stare bouncing from him to the parchment. “I swear, Steve, it’s legit. The blots on this map, the old tales, that silvery shine—it all points to the bloom in that monkey’s grasp.” I rattled it off in a sharp, hurried clip, my thoughts drifting back to Liam’s fingers, rough and eager, taking me apart until the world faded, all poisoned now by Lucy’s bullshit claims that I’d hooked up with Steve out in the woods to wreck my r
