Page 114 of His Noble Ruin

“You might as well stop struggling and tell me how to get there because it’s happening whether you want it or not.”

“No.” I tried to find the ground. “I won’t tell.”

My struggles forced him to set me down.

His voice was full of frustration. “Do youwantto die?”

“If it will save you.”

“I—” he began, then paused and softened his voice. “I understand the feeling.”

No, not again. Don’t risk everything for me again.“You don’t understand.”

“Yes, I do.” He lifted me again, and I couldn’t stop myself from crying out in pain.

I pushed against him, but my strength was gone. His hand was cold on my arm. He had always felt warm before.

He took a step.

I squeezed my eyes shut and lingered between dreams of pain and the agonizing reality. My last hope was that he wouldn’t find the right path.

* * *

I wokeon the ground in the dark forest. I had no idea how much time had passed, but the night wasn’t as dark. I lifted my head.

Graham was lying right beside me on the dirt, breathing soundly, his body against mine. He’d hardly slept at all in the past few days. He must’ve been unable to fight it.

Perfect.

I smiled weakly and sat up, slowly moving away from him.

He stirred.

I held my breath.

But he only shifted in his sleep and was peaceful again.

I forced myself to my hands and knees, then to my feet. I stood, looking down at him while regaining my breath. I had to save him. And I had an idea.

I searched for the bag Graham brought from the Enforcers’ boat, then realized it was pinned under his sleeping body. I didn’t dare move him. Even if I could, there wasn’t likely to be paper and ink. I tore a stick from a tree and tried to write in the dirt, but the rocky ground was too uneven and he’d probably step on it instead of reading it. No, too risky.

I sighed and felt blood gush from my wound.

That could work.

I lifted my shirt and tore a piece off the bandage around my waist.

ChapterThirty-Nine

Hope alone drove me on.Never mind the dark, the burning fever, or the blood flowing from my poorly bandaged side. This was my last chance to make the right choice.

I headed uphill, to the north.

My fingers were stained red, but I hoped the map I’d smeared across the bandage could save Graham. As long as he followed the directions written in my blood, he’d end up on the opposite side of the island, far from danger.

My progress was slow, but the longer I walked, the more numb I became to the pain. Maybe my fatherwasright. Maybe I would heal faster if I tried to forget.

I focused on making it from one tree to the next. When I went over the first hill, I told myself there was only one more. Eventually, it would be true.

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