"Morning Glory," he muttered.
"I didn't have a choice," I said. "It was that or . . . who knows what. Something bad." I looked up at Calder. "I'm just sorry we have to leave before we're really ready."
"No, you made the right choice, did the right thing. And we'd have had to leave soon anyway. My marriage to Hannah is supposed to take place next week." Calder brought his hands to my cheeks, tilting my face up and looking into my eyes. "And after today, Xander and I had already decided to leave earlier." He studied me. "You were so brave."
We stared at each other for a few seconds; I drew strength from the face I loved so very, very much. I felt calmer already. We were together. We were safe—for now.
"Our only issue now is we don't have a cent to our name," Calder said.
"Oh," I said, stepping back. "No, that's not true." I walked to the canvas bag I'd hidden in the bushes behind the main lodge. Thankfully, I'd been able to sneak around and retrieve it quickly after I'd jumped out of Hector's office window. From there I'd snuck to the grove of trees a hundred feet or so from the sick tent, done my best nighthawk call three times, and then made my way carefully to the trail that led to the spring.
I knelt down on the grass and dumped out the contents of my bag, all the loose cash I'd stolen all over the main lodge, and all the jewelry I'd swiped from the council members and their wives. I had become especially brazen as Calder's marriage to Hannah drew near. I really should have been the one to be whipped today. It was only Xander's bad luck that the one thing discovered was something he'd taken.
I reached inside the bag and scooped out all the loose change I had and then looked up at Calder, standing right next to me, his mouth hanging open. Xander rolled toward the loud sound of the change clinking onto the ground, his eyes dreamy, half open.
"Well, holy hell," Xander mumbled out.
"For the love of the gods. She's worse than you," Calder said, looking over at Xander.
"Where'd you find her?" Xander asked woozily, slurring. "I think I'm in love."
Calder laughed and looked over at me, his dark eyes filled with warmth. "Oh, I found her by this pretty spring one time . . ."
I smiled at Calder and then Xander attempted a grin, but promptly passed out again, his head falling back to the ground. Calder looked from Xander, snoring softly, back to me and started to laugh, shaking his head as if the whole situation was kind of ridiculous, which in actuality, I guessed it kind of was.
"Isn't this what you wanted me to do?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.
Calder stopped laughing. "Hell no," he said. "It was far too dangerous." He let out a breath, one side of his lip quirking up. "But since it's done, I'm glad you did."
I smiled up at him as he knelt down on the grass next to me and started taking inventory of what we had. After a few minutes, he said, "Three hundred eighty-three dollars." He put the paper money in a neat stack and then handed it to me so I could put it back in the bag.
"I have no idea how much this other stuff could be worth," Calder said, holding up a gold ring with a red stone in it, a ruby maybe. "But it's gotta be worth something, especially if this is real gold."
I nodded and then we packed everything back up in the bag. He looked at me. "You did really well, Eden," he said. The look in his eyes told me he was not only impressed, but thankful and relieved. I smiled proudly.
"So now the only thing we have to do is get changed and get out of here," Calder said. "Eden, you're gonna have to help me change Xander."
I nodded and then frowned. "If he can't dress himself, how's he going to walk?"
"He's not," Calder said. "I'm going to carry him. And get him somewhere he can heal," he finished quietly.
Calder grabbed the bag he'd dropped by the entrance to the spring and perused the items for a few minutes, holding them up and then deciding who should get what.
Calder and I dressed Xander in jeans and a blue button-up shirt, trying our best not to hurt his back. But he was pretty out of it and didn't seem to be in any pain. I turned my head when I was at risk of seeing something too personal and let Calder take over.
As Calder was dressing, I packed everything up in the bag and then turned around. I sucked in a breath. Calder was wearing blue jeans with a light gray T-shirt that was just a little bit too fitted over his lean muscles, but in a way that made my mouth go dry. And he was wearing a cap with some kind of orange logo that looked like an S and an F entwined together.
I grinned. "You'll do." My smile faded. "But what am I supposed to wear?"