Page 52 of Sage Haven

---

She shouldn’t be here.

Was this a setup? Had Klay already found her? Had he sent her back to lure me in?

Panic clawed at my ribs, but I forced it down.

I was going to take her hostage. Get answers from her eventually.

I had a plan. A strategy that was on my terms.

Not like this.

I took another step forward, my boots whispering over dead leaves.

Deliberate. Unhurried.

She didn’t move.

Didn’t turn. but I saw something else.

The rise and fall of her shoulders.

The tension melting away as I approached, like she knew I was there, and wasn’t afraid.

Something about that undid me.

Fear made people tense and brace for impact.

But Sage—she softened.

She submitted to the fear, but the fight was still there.

Beneath the surface.

I recognized it. I knew it too well.

It was what made people dangerous. It was what made me dangerous.

My fingers twitched at my sides.

I needed to stay in control. I needed to walk away.

But I didn’t.

I stepped closer.

So close I could feel the warmth radiating off her skin.

I told myself not to touch her, and then I did anyway.

A single stroke down her right side.

Gliding from her shoulder to her hand, slow and deliberate.

Her skin was smooth like a petal beneath my fingertips, and I couldn’t help but let my hand linger longer than I should have.

Her breath caught, but she didn’t pull away.

Didn’t flinch as I leaned in.

---