The days that followed blurred together in fragments of exhaustion and quiet progress.
I slept for most of the first day after we left the Deadlands. Caleb refused to let anyone but himself carry me back to the Den, and though I protested weakly, I had no strength left to argue. The last thing I remembered before drifting into dreamless black was the steady rhythm of his heartbeat against my ear and the low rumble of his voice promising that nothing would touch me.
When I finally woke, it was night again.
Moonlight spilled through the tall windows of Caleb's quarters, casting silver patterns across the stone floor. I was alone in the massive bed, wrapped in clean linens that smelled of cedar and pine. My arm had been re-bandaged. Someone had left a tray of bread, cheese, and water on th
