Page 50 of Dare

As long as we didn’t kill each other first.

20

Flare

I might kill him first. If the rainforest didn’t do it for me, I might be tempted.

Yet the poisonous berries proved he was a necessary evil. I knew the natural perils of Summer, but I didn’t know this enchanted wild yet. And I didn’t know how to combat illness. My survival depended on reaching a truce with him.

That’s why I revealed the map’s existence. Although I hadn’t wanted to, I’d had no choice. Keeping this man in the dark wouldn’t have helped either of us work together.

In the sweltering light, the colossus of a prince remained standing, refusing to sit beside my shadow. I gained my feet, refusing to vanish inside his.

As his eyes shifted across the map, he raised a single black brow. “You do understand, this place is deadly.”

“It’s legendary,” I rephrased. “That comes with a price.”

“Except I was never a paying patron.”

I shrugged. “So leave.”

Then something miraculous happened. His expression flickered, his mouth twitching in the faintest of movements. For an instant, reluctant amusement cracked through that exterior.

Was this yeti on the verge of smirking? I found myself waiting on tenterhooks, to see if I’d made a pivotal dent in his facade.

Sadly, the phenomenon lasted all of a second before his features folded into a mask. “What’s the rainforest’s personification?”

I wrinkled my nose. “Your clinical talk won’t do us any favors.”

“Is that a fact? Because what you call clinical, I call science.”

“What you call science, I call spirit.”

“Enough,” he sighed. “I have priorities. My point is, we must gauge the characteristics of this place.”

He mulled over the lyrics for extra clues. There weren’t any. I could have told him this, but I had fun watching smart Winter try and fail.

Secrets were secretive. Mysteries were mysterious.

“The only way to know the rest will be to explore,” I proposed.

The prince nodded. “To investigate.”

“We’ll scout the terrain.”

“Starting with a water source.”

“Then a better means of shelter.”

“Hmm.” Dry skepticism filled his tone. “You seem awfully confident about locating an outpost.”

Whether I liked it or not, he’d grown familiar with my voice, catching on like a sail to the wind. I met his gaze, letting my silence speak for itself.

I’d found many forms of shelter with Mama and Papa. And since this rainforest had called for me, that meant I would find what I was looking for, so long as I used my wits. Also, as long as this man didn’t get in my way.

The prince dissected my expression. By accident—because it must be unintentional—those black pupils sank to my mouth, causing a swarm of butterflies in my navel. Then his orbs blinked and lurched back to my eyes.

His timbre came out low. “It’s settled then.”

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