Page 111 of Beneath the Starlight and Storms

A groan is ripped from his lips. “I should’ve known you’d be sneaky.”

I give him a small smirk as I take his hand and place it on the wound to keep pressure on it while I rip off a longer piece of fabric from my dress. Bending him forward, I use the long piece of fabric to hold together the other pieces of cloth on his wound, tying it as tight as I can.

Hook removes his hand from the wound as I tie the knot. Covering my hand before I move it, I look at him and his eyes as they fill with a myriad of emotions.

“Thank you,” he breathes.

I shake my head at him, giving him a small smile. “Now, where do we find this boat?”

Hook grows hesitant but I give him a look that makes him sigh.

“On the left side of the island, there’s a secret passageway between the cliffs that lead to a small rocky cove.”

I pause. Asecretpassageway… That leads us off the island…

A flicker of amusement flares to life in his eyes as he watches me.

“So what you’re telling me is, I could have escaped that first night after all?” I narrow my eyes on him enjoying seeing a bit of color flood his cheeks.

“No, Tink. Because even back then I wasn’t willing to let you go. No boat, car or even portal was going to take you from me. Not again.” His voice is firm, resolute.

I could see it in his eyes that he meant it too. He would have hunted me down, no matter how far I got. But unlike when I first came to this island, a sense of relief fills me knowing he was never going to let me go.

“Let’s get going,” Hook grunts as I help him up and we start moving once again.

We travel through the grove of trees and out into more of the thick forest. We walk as fast as we can as I watch Hook try to hide his pain.

I’m about to ask him to rest for a moment, if only to bring some color back to his face when I spot the cliffs.

“Nearly there,” I tell him. We head toward the cliffs but no matter where I look, I can’t find the small passageway Hook spoke of.

It’s not until he points me in the direction do I see the narrow trail hidden between a patch of trees. The trees have coiled up and around the large rocks on both sides seamlessly blending in with its surroundings. Unless you know where you’re heading and get close enough, you would never find it.

We move through the small trail as quickly as possible coming out to the small cove Hook spoke of.

There’s a small area that allows you to reach the ocean whereas the rest of the area joins the rocky cliffs and treacherous sea.

Spotting the boat together, we freeze. A boat that’s now in pieces, shattered beyond repair as the chunks of wood slam into the rocky edge of the cove wall.

“Damn it,” Hook growls as he scans the area, his eyes unfocused as he looks around. “They lured us here.”

“It won’t be long until they show up—” He gasps, bending over in pain.

“What is it?” I ask.

Hook shakes his head as I help him move to sit down against a thick rock to our left.

Pushing back the dread that’s slowly building inside me, I kneel down in front of him, ignoring the helpless look he wears to check the wound, hoping the bleeding has slowed down.

Removing the cloth, I freeze when I see the wound is now covered in small black lines curling around it, and slowly spreading outward.

I gasp. “What—”

“It was poisoned… the arrow,” he rasps.

I blanch as my heart stops, my entire body turning to ice.No.

We just found each other again. This can’t be happening.

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