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She nearly had the pee scared out of her when a male voice behind her said, “You okay?”
Tanner was coming down the hall. He still had his jacket and boots on, truck keys—Darien’s—in hand. “What’s going on?” he asked.
“My symptoms are back,” she said. Her throat was so dry, the words were a crackle. “I need to go for a swim.”
“I’ll come with you.” He hurried to her side and walked with her down the stairs. “Darien should be back soon.”
“Is Joyce gone?”
He nodded. “I just dropped her off at the airport.”
She walked slowly, Tanner matching his pace to hers. She couldn’t remember much of her relationship with Tanner, but she could tell that he was worried for his mom. “She’ll be okay, right?”
He shrugged. “Hopefully. I hacked the systems and changed all her info once she got through security.” Impressive.
“Is that hard?”
“It’s kind of second nature to me.”
They entered the room that was loud with laughter and echoing voices. Jack and Ivy were in the pool, throwing an inflatable ball back and forth. Kylar was in the hot tub, and Eugene was paddling around on an inflatable noodle, his glasses speckled with water. No sign of Roman, Paxton, or Shay.
Ivy fell silent the minute she noticed Loren.
Jack threw the ball, and it smacked his wife in the side of the head with a wet slap.
Ivy batted it aside and swam to the edge of the pool. “Is everything okay?”
“I’m fine.” Loren made a beeline for the single change room. “My symptoms are back, but I’m sure I’ll feel better once I go for a swim.” She disappeared inside the change room and shut the door, well aware that she was now the subject of conversation. She didn’t need to have an immortal’s hearing to know that.
She changed quickly, practically ripping her pajamas off. As soon as she had her one-piece on, she hurried out and got in the pool.
No one was talking anymore or playing ball. They weren’t doing anything except staring at her. Even Eugene, his mouth hanging open as he floated on that noodle.
She felt like such a buzzkill.
“Don’t worry,” she said, sinking in until the water lapped against her chin. “I’ll be fine.” She waved a hand in dismissal. “Do your things.”
Ivy grabbed the ball that was floating through the water and resumed her game with Jack, but Loren could tell that neither of them were into it anymore.
Nearly thirty minutes passed, and the problem wasn’t going away—it was getting worse.
And her Caliginous tattoo lit up with a bead of light that didn’t stop pulsing.
When Darien got back to Roman’s, he followed the echo of his family’s voices to the swimming pool.
He pushed through the frosted doors and into the room, where he found Ivy, Jack, Kylar, Tanner, and Eugene. All of them were drying off—aside from Tanner, who still wore his boots and jacket, and looked far too concerned for Darien’s liking.
Darien was about to ask where Loren was when she drew the curtain on one of the stone rain showers and walked out in her bathing suit, a braid over each shoulder.
Nobody said anything, as if waiting for someone else to do the talking, which was exactly how Darien knew something was up.
“Someone tell me what’s going on.” His voice echoed.
Ivy said, “We have a teensy little problem.”
Loren wrapped herself in a towel. “It’s not a problem, I just—”
“Your tattoo.” Darien stared at the Caliginous on Silverway tattoo—at the bead of light that ran from the curve of the C to the zigzagging line. “Get dressed—we’re leaving right away.”
