th the smell of pine and my own fear. My brother, An

ow rumble. "Get close to him. Use his past feelin

spered, my voic

crews are getting closer to the Heartwood. If t

under the van's single dim light, a trait of my people, the Silvans. A sign of the reg

ce swore to protect these trees with his life. The man I had loved with

hought I left him for dead in a freezing river five years ago. He didn't know that my family and I staged the whole thing, that we

his heart and vanished. No

muddy access road. "This is as far as I can go.

of a pain that mirrored my own. "Be c

es. The cold, damp air of the Pacific Northwest filled my lungs. I took a deep breath and started walking

standing over a massive map laid out on the hood of a truck, barking orders. He

blank with shock, then twist

e said, his vo

rcing a smile. "It'

nough. What the hell are you doing here? Did

ou," I said,

shirt to my body. I saw his eyes flicker down, a b

as my

ce had. In his arms, I was a ghost from his past, and he was a man possessed. I pretended it was a game, a mission. But every touch, every rough kiss, was a fres

but I was the one who got caug

The flicker of old love in his eyes died, r

slow, cruel smile spreading

bed. He dragged me to an industrial

han?" I cried, struggli

me in a freezing river, Gabi. You and your family beat m

sound of absolute finality. The intense cold hit me instantly, a brutal shock to my syste

n metal floor, my body wracked with cramps. I lost our child in

body broken, my spirit crushe

less room in his corporate-owned mansion, a priso

my back and arms while I was conscious. The pain was unbearable, but my Silvan gland worked to heal the wounds, creating an endless

y room after being with her, her scent clinging to his clothes, and force me to listen to the details of their encounters. He'd sit on

slow-acting degenerative condition that baffl

is voice laced with a sick sort of wonder. "Th

I begged him, pleaded with him, tried to explain that the glan

king my hair. "It's for a go

compared to the sudden, profound emptiness that flooded me. I felt my life force drain away, a light being exti

g his new love. He was

knew my skin no longer healed as quickly. The iridesc

d affection, he would tend to my wounds himself. He'd gentl

, his breath warm against my ear. "Tell me, and I'll forg

all, silent. My silence was