I knocked on Nash's door before pushing it open, nervous about all that I still had to explain. When he said come in, I opened it to him standing at the bed with his back to me, fastening his pants. A button-up lay beside his old, bloodied clothes. The script of Eskel's name laced his spine, woven intricately between his defined shoulders. It was my first time really getting a good look at the scarring and it ignited my hatred for the Prophet.

“How do you feel?” he asked, glancing over his shoulder at me as he fumbled with the pants still. "What a strange piece of clothing."

"Better." I ran my fingers along his spine as my stomach twisted with the desperation for vengeance. Nash hesitated at my touch and glanced behind himself at me. My voice fell to a low threat. "Nothing will stop me from killing the Prophet. I want you to know that."

Nash turned and studied my eyes. "I do."

"My power was sealed by the old instructors at this school. That's why I couldn't kill him before." I looked to the light pink scar along his chest from the spear. The pain of letting him nearly die threatened to close up my throat. "I won't fail again."

"You didn't fail." He spoke softly. "You saved me. You saved all of us."

I swallowed down the knot in my throat, stare shifting to the ground. "I've been failing for a long time." Before he could argue, I made myself smile. "I need to explain things to you. I thought after I get a few things done we could talk."

"I'd like that."

"Did Piercey tell you anything?"

"All kinds of things that really didn't make sense."

I nodded. "Yeah. I'll explain things better."

The heaviness of what we'd been through over the last few days made my heart feel raw, and that weakness, combined with the fear I'd felt at losing Nash, ignited the longing to embrace him again. I hadn't expected to feel it so strongly. My heart ached, but my breath felt thick in my lungs. The way Nash looked at me told me he felt it too. Maybe, remembering, like I was when we kissed and fell asleep in each other's arms.

I sighed and stepped back for the door, my stomach burning like my power had ignited in me again. "I have to work on something. So find me in a few hours."

"Work on something or run away?"

He must have thought that challenging me would appeal to my pride and make me cave, and damn it, he was right. I balled my hands into fists. Lying felt too pathetic now that he'd called me out. "Both. Happy?"

"Not particularly. I want you. So, no, not having you doesn't make me happy, especially when I know you want me back." He grabbed the button up and winced as he slid an arm into the sleeve. "Go ahead, though. Leave me wounded and alone. Bye."

I shook my head, refusing to smile. "You can be such an ass."

He looked down at his twisted shirt. "What the hell is this?"

I bit back a laugh as he managed to get his other arm through the sleeve. The Sacred School was a unique place in our world and they'd honored our past lives by giving us relics of our original time. It had taken me years to figure that but now I realized this place held a piece of what should have been our life.

Looking puzzled, Nash picked a leather belt off the bed and wrapped it around his midsection, frowning when it didn't hold the shirt closed.

"That's for your pants." I took the belt from him and pushed one end through his belt loop. "See?"

"No. I don't understand the concept at all. You'll have to do it for me."

I rolled my eyes and reached around him as I threaded it through the loops. Even though I knew he was joking, I did it anyway, enjoying a lighthearted moment and the excuse to feel his warmth. When I fastened it for him, I gave the belt a tug, like I was testing. "Have to make sure that stays in place."

"Look who's teasing now."

"The buttons are what holds the shirt closed." I fastened the bottom one for him. "Are you going to make me do this for you too?"

"No one's making you do anything, Max." His gaze drifted down me. "You volunteered."

My face felt warm as I continued buttoning the shirt, my knuckles brushing his bare skin. I knew I needed to leave, but what could it hurt to spend a little more time like this?

When I finished, Nash tugged at the shirt. "Now teach me how to take it off so I know what to do later."

This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

I groaned. "Stop with your insufferable flirting."

"Stop liking it and I'll stop doing it."

"I never said I like it."

"Right."

I pursed my lips. "I'm going to hurt you."

"Finally. I'm ready."

I popped him in the stomach.

"Ow." He brushed my hand away. "I'm still injured, you know. I have two healing treatments left."

"No whining or I hurt you worse."

"Oh. I can work with this after all. Continue."

I jabbed my finger against his chest and met his eyes. "I'm done, Unknown. Don't mess with me anymore."

"Are you saying that in a sexy bossy way or–"

"Nash," I said.

"Fine. I apologize. I would like it to be known that you started it this time, though."

That feeling that had drawn me to Nash, urging me to trust him even when I wasn't sure I could, had only grown hour by hour, taking firm hold of me now. How foolish of me to stay and play around like this when my people were in captivity and I had so few days left to live.

"Woah," Nash said, lifting my face. "I'm sorry. I thought we were having fun. I should have listened to you."

"We were." Now I'd really embarrassed myself. I turned my face away to hide how my expression had fallen. "There's a reason I don't want to get too close."

The beat of quiet panged hollow in my chest.

"You can tell me," he said, the joking replaced with seriousness.

"You almost died, and it crushed me. I don't want you to go through that." If I said it, Nash would argue with me like Piercey always did. "I don't just slip to the past. I've seen my death in the future. The Prophet will kill me during the eclipse. I just have to make sure that I kill him too."

Nash took my hands in his. "We'll kill him first and you'll be fine."

"No. There's no stopping it. It's already happened, because I've lived it, even if it hasn't happened yet. Just trust me."

"Piercey told me you would say this. He said you two had used your powers to share your past, and that you would push me away because you think you're going to die."

I drew back. "He had no right."

Nash caught my arms. "He said it was the only thing he would ever share with me and that he had to because it's so important. If you're convinced it's impossible to save yourself, you won't try."

"So, what? You're the only one who can convince me?"

"You have to convince yourself. But I can ask. You never give up on a fight. Don't give up on the most important one."

My eyes burned. I tried to look away but Nash shifted to follow my eyes.

"Don't get closer." Pain broke my voice. "You'll get hurt."

"You were going to die with me in that cave, because you refused to walk away. So how could you ever ask me to leave you?"

I tried to come up with something, only what could I say? It had seemed like Nash would surely die in the cave but I never would have given up on him. There was no way for me to defend myself.

"It's because you think you don't deserve to be loved," he said. "Deep down, in a place inside of you that you may not realize is there, you think you're not good enough. No matter how much of yourself you give away to save everyone else, it's never enough."

Tightness spread down to my chest so I felt as if I couldn't breathe. "I know I'm not bad."

"But do you believe it? Or do you believe you're what your father made you feel?"

I rubbed my hand over my chest. "I hurt everyone, and I'll hurt you."

"Not true." He bent even though it tightened his face in pain and stole a warm kiss. The unexpected taste of his lips melted me.

"Nash–" I pushed against him gently to encourage him to straighten so he didn't strain his injury, but he nestled his cheek against mine.

"I want you to live," he whispered against my skin. "Dying only makes it more important that you live now. If I'm not what you want, that's okay. Just don't turn down what you do want because you're afraid to lose it."

My heart beat so hard and my eyes stung. He'd completely disarmed me and left me defenseless. So be it. I smoothed my hands up his neck and wound my arms tightly around him so my body eased against his. Our noses brushed while Nash worked his palms into the dip of my waist and down my hips, opening my mouth with his own. His kiss seized the breath in my lungs, far more potent than the first time in the cave. I'd meant to only kiss him once, but I was desperately consumed by the need for more. Ironically, Nash saved me by whispering between kisses.

"You realize you almost got me killed in the Flatlander battle? You look amazing swinging a sword around."

I snorted against his lips.

"It's very distracting, all that you've got going on." His touch wandered down me. "There's certainly been fatalities."

I drew back, wondering by the light look in his eye if he'd known I'd needed the interruption, even if he didn't want it. "Your teasing has no limits."

"You never believe that I'm serious."

Nash still had a powerful control over my body, but this gave me the time I needed to collect my thoughts. It had to hurt dipping to kiss me when I knew that beneath the fresh scar on his chest significant damage remained. "Your wound is still deep." Although, Nash didn't look like he cared about that at all right now. We'd had our chance back in the cave and I hadn't taken it. Now wasn't the time. "We shouldn't get carried away."

"Let me guess, you really do have work to do," he said dryly.

"Well, I do."

With a groan, he lifted his hands and backed up, taking one more glance down me. "Fine. Get out of here, Sharpshooter."

When I reached the door, I hesitated. "I regret it, you know."

Nash tilted his head. "Regret what?"

"That I pulled back in the cave."

Genuine shock widened his eyes.

I grinned, catching him off guard for once. "Maybe next time."

"It's more cruel for you to say it and you don't even realize."

With a shrug, I said, "Guess I owe you one really big favor then."

"Fuck, Max. If you're going then go." He ran his hand through his hair. "Is this revenge for all the teasing?"

"Sure." It hadn't crossed my mind but it felt nice to take the upper hand in this battle of ours.

Soon, I needed to break into the White Room and confront Dr. Henderson. What would happen after that, I couldn't say.