Page 134 of The Darkest Hour

“Never.”

I hoped he was right as I took in all the newly blooming flowers, the tall trees, the wild strawberries and mushrooms.

For the first time in a long while, I felt a sense of security, a knowing that I would be okay.

And I wasn’t talking about just my time of being in the island, but in my life.

How long had I been so anxious each day?

Nervous about the next job or worried that I couldn’t provide for myself and my brother?

And even when I became an assassin, I stressed about each new paid kill and if I would survive.

At least on the island, I only had to walk forward, step by step. No thought to bills, taxes, laws, wars, or anything else.

Havoc’s eyes met mine. “This is where we belong, Onyx. Out here, in the wild, where life is simple and real.”

“And now you’ve gone too far.”

“I have not.”

“We are getting off this island, so stop unpacking your metaphorical bags. Zip it all up and hold on because this is just temporary.”

“And if it is not?”

“I’m not even going to think that way.”

“You should. We are Adam and Eve now.”

“We are not.”

“They had it perfect, until Eve fucked it up.”

“Oh sure. It was all the woman’s fault.” I rolled my eyes.

“I’m just saying, Onyx. Do not pick the fruit.”

I smirked. “I bet even Adam and Eve were lonely after a while.”

“They were never lonely.”

“No way. I’m sure that despite being in paradise, they might have felt the weight of being the only two humans, isolated—”

“They didn’t care.”

“Then, why did Eve tell Adam to eat the fruit? And don’t forget that he wanted to eat it.”

“The damned snake started it all, and Adam would have done anything for Eve.”

I looked off at the thick, endless path of trees in front of us. “I think Eve wanted something more than what they had, and was searching for it.”

“Maybe, but now I bet Eve regrets she grabbed that apple with every decade, every century.”

“Or maybe she is glad they broke free from paradise, even for just a taste of something new.”

“Never.” He tossed a mushroom in his mouth and ate it.

After a while, the sun began to dip lower in the sky, and cast long shadows across the forest floor.

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