The rainy days became even more difficult as Kaye was kept away from Bryant. When the sky did clear, she would run to the South River and whistle as she walked along the bank. It wouldn’t take long for Bryant to drop out of the trees to tell her stories of Elett while Kaye looked for herbs. The pained, haunted look that was always present on his face began to fade, and Kaye found herself thinking about him often and missing him when he wasn’t around.

Once she even called Timin ‘Bryant’ and clapped her hands over her mouth at his look of betrayal. He refused to say one word to her until his mother chastised him.

Kaye was very careful to never call Bryant ‘Timin’. She was also impatient to go home. The snows in the pass hadn’t yet melted—the river was still a sluggish, steady stream—but Kaye walked it daily, waiting for signs of snowmelt.

She was halfway through the valley one day, Bryant by her side, when he took her hand in his and she stopped and looked at it.

“What?” he said, voice nonchalant, but the energy coming from his hand beat rapidly with his pulse.

“I don’t want to go back to Gaerlom,” she said softly, her gaze on their clasped hands. “I can’t stand living there anymore.”

“So leave.”

“Where would I go? I’m banned from the Faye lands, and the pass home is still snowed in. I’m not going to climb the mountain again.” She trailed off as he chuckled.

“Kaye, you have wings. You can fly over the snow.”

She moved them under her cloak, but they weren’t strong enough to lift the thick fabric, much less her. “No. They aren’t ready yet.”

He ran his thumb over the back of her hand. “I wish I could take you back to with me. I would not treat you as poorly as the Gaerloms.”

Her heart skipped a beat and she looked at him. His eyebrows were drawn, and the corners of his mouth turned down into a scowl. It was different than his normal scowl—this one was concern, not annoyance.

“I wish you could too. Things have been strained since Timin found out about the Faye.”

“Don’t let him hurt you.”

She smiled. Bryant may not trust Timin, but Kaye did. “He wouldn’t. It’s the other Gaerloms I’m worried about. But the Festival of Aleda is in a few days, and then the thaw will come, and it won’t be long before I can return home.”

He pushed a stray lock of hair behind her ear, then ran his thumb lightly over her cheek, making her stomach clench. He had the same look that Timin had on the cliff after the feast.

"Will you celebrate the Festival of Aleda with me?" Bryant’s eyes searched hers.

That was the last thing she expected, and she blurted out, "I can't go back."

"No, but you can go close enough to see. You can go close enough to hear the priestesses sing up the sun."

It was tempting and terrifying. It had been moons since Kaye had heard a priestess voice sing up the sun, and she didn't want to spend the holiest day of the winter by herself in Gaerlom. But she'd already proven she was a liability to the Faye.

"It's too dangerous."

He squeezed her hand. "I'll make sure no one follows. We'll leave in the night so we are hidden by dawn."

She had never seen him look so desperate before. She’d never seen him look anything but haunted and annoyed. Maybe Timin was right. Maybe Bryant liked her. Much.

"I'll ask Gabe," she finally said.

Bryant cooled and released her hand. "He's not your father."

"No, but he's sharing his house and his food with me, and he was Faye once. I will respect his wishes." She looked around, memorizing where they were. "If he says yes then I'll meet you here shortly after dark.

"And if not?"

"If I'm not here by mid-night then you should go home."

He stared at her a moment, looking torn between arguing and accepting, then bowed. "I hope you come."

She nodded. "I hope to see you then."