Back at camp, it took a long while before Joseph finally steadied himself.Under Alice and Kyle Lee’s lead, everyone watched him with open suspicion, their stares prickling his skin and making him shiver.A man and a woman returning so late from the pool, alone—Naomi had made her interest in Joseph clear from the start, and she was dazzling in every way. It was hard not to wonder what might have happened between them.“Boss, did you score?” Noah Diaz sidled up, smirking. Joseph’s face darkened; he kicked Noah aside without ceremony. “Beat it.”Noah slunk off, crestfallen.So the boss chickened out again—still no guts.Naomi strolled over, smiling. “Why’d you run so fast, Joseph dear? I wasn’t going to eat you.” She paused when she spotted Alice, then added with a light laugh, “By the way, I ran a full evaluation. Your husband? Not bad.”“None of your business.” Alice stood her ground. The women had already formed a tight front under her lead, every one of them bristling at the interlo

Joseph gathered some branches and stuck them into the sand, shaping them to match the curve of the rattan armor so it could set properly.There was a lot to account for when making rattan armor. Men and women weren’t built the same, so neither was the chest. What a woman wore, a man could force on, but what a man wore would jam a woman at the chest and never go on.So when weaving for Alice and the others, Joseph always left a little extra room across the front. Even if it felt snug on a few of them, it would still work. Special times, special fixes—this wasn’t the moment to let them get picky.Then there was sizing. If the armor was too big, it would hang loose and gut its own defense. All of that had to be factored in.He tore up the ragged clothes scavenged from the beach and tied the strips onto the rattan. Once they suited up, those would cinch the armor down.Rattan rubbing against skin was bound to cause wear. For the guys, no big deal. For the women—different story. Alice and

Joseph couldn’t help clicking his tongue.No wonder back at the pool, Naomi Martin had seen right through him with a single glance. Some things were impossible to hide. You could control your face, but not your body’s reflexes.Yeah, that needed fixing. If people kept picking up on it, that was a bad sign. And honestly, he was way too keyed up.After a long while, he finally calmed down and climbed out of the water.The heat had eased, but it still pulsed.He told the others to keep their distance and walked toward the kiln pit himself.Hot air still streamed from the gap between the iron plate and the rim. Dripping wet, he leaned over the opening and looked down.The interior was a wreck. The structure they’d set up before was gone—just a jumble of debris. He couldn’t even tell what had been their porcelain and what was ash.The others drifted closer, faces grim.The seawater soaking his clothes dried fast in the heat.They just had to wait until it cooled more, then they could lift

After spending forever explaining why he needed the stockings, Joseph finally laid out every last detail for Alice. All he got for it was an eye roll. “You could’ve said so earlier.”He swallowed a sigh.How was he supposed to know what Alice had cooked up in her head? He wasn’t a mind reader.Her gaze still held a flicker of doubt.“Take mine too.”She’d seen how much he’d poured into this. She wasn’t about to be stingy now.She bent to strip off her stockings. The skirt hid most of it, so he didn’t see anything—but the way she moved was still plenty distracting.“Alice, should I… look away?” Joseph blinked innocently.“It’s fine,” she said, unbothered. “You’re not a stranger.”She was wearing tights that went up to her waist, which made it tricky. She nearly lost her balance until Joseph caught her. “Here.”She handed over the pair—then caught Julia Kelly staring, wide-eyed. The realization hit a beat late.Her face flushed scarlet.What had she just done?She’d taken off her stocki

Noah Diaz was stuck between a rock and a hard place. Swing or don’t—either way he’d get chewed out. He set his jaw and went for it. He hefted the stone axe and slammed it into the vine armor hanging from the tree—three hard blows in a row.By the time he finished, he was panting, and he dropped the axe on the ground.Joseph rolled his eyes. “Seriously? Gave out already. Like a girl.”Noah Diaz felt miserable. He was a brain guy, not a manual labor type.Besides, small fry or not, those three chops should’ve been more than enough to wreck that vine armor. He’d cut the vines, right? How tough could—“This is impossible.”Noah Diaz stared at the vine armor, rubbed his eyes, wondering if he’d gone blind.Everyone else had already forgotten about him. Their attention was locked on the armor strapped to the tree.Joseph reached up and brushed away the dust clinging to the vines.The whole piece looked almost brand-new. Aside from two strands that showed hairline cracks, the rest was intact.