*Blanca* My heart thrums in my chest, and it has nothing to do with the fact that I almost died. With Kieran’s arms around me, his muscular chest pressed against me, I don’t even feel the scrapes and cuts I collected slipping down the mountainside. He pulled me back from the darkness, and now, here in his arms, I’m safe. We are both naked, a thin sheen of sweat covering our bodies, and his lips are on mine. I remember his taste from the night of the Haze even if everything else is still hazy. When he runs his hand along my ribcage, I take a deep breath and brace myself for what’s to come. I want him. My body responds to his touch in a way that I can’t comprehend. Even without the Haze, my thoughts are blurry. I’m reacting on pure instinct when I lean up to wrap my arms around his neck a