Page 106 of Ripe

“I don’t run.”

“No.” His smile disappears. “You chase.”

The word hits differently.

Reaper.

The Harvest moves inside me.

Hot. Awake… hungry.

And suddenly I know where Sage is. Not because I heard her. Not because I saw her.

I feel her.

Behind the kitchen wall. Moving. Breathing. Heart beating. I can hear it.

No. Not hear.

Feel.

My head turns.

Malakai notices. “What?”

I don’t answer.

Sage’s heartbeat quickens.

Once. Twice.

I take a step toward the kitchen.

Ezra grabs my arm. “What?”

I look at him. “I can feel her.”

His hand falls away.

Malakai goes completely still. “What do you mean?”

“Her heartbeat.”

“That could be the Reaper.”

“No.” I know the Reaper. This isn’t hunting. This is… connection.

Then Sage gasps from the kitchen.

All three of us move. We find her gripping the counter. Her sweater is on the floor. She’s wearing a black camisole beneath it. Her skin is flushed with sweat glistening along her chest. She looks at us. “What the fuck is happening to me?”

Malakai reaches her first.

Of course.

He touches her forehead.

She grabs his wrist. “I’m burning up.”