“To hide what he did, to make sure everyone believes his illusion. But I saw it happen with my own eyes. I watched him stab the Guardian, the kind old man who had just brought me to Dawnlin hours before, and told me to wait for him as he left for another call.”
My chest heaves with stuttered breaths, but I remain silent as she speaks, soaking in everything I’ve been wanting to know for months.
Her eyes squeeze shut before opening and landing on my face again, as if she’s trying to convince herself that finally telling me what I need to know is the right thing, that she won’t be in trouble for finally filling me in on the truth.
“The suns were descending in the sky, and I was worried I would be alone all night in this brand new place. I knew nothing about it other than it held the cure I sought. I sat at the plateau and waited for him to return until the air began to shimmer and the Guardian started to appear with a tall man standing beside him.”
“Weston,” I whisper, and Sig nods.
“They hadn’t fully appeared yet before they were falling to the ground. Someone had catapulted through the glowing dust, taking them both down from behind.”
I don’t have to confirm it this time. I know that was Dane. Weston told me he came to Dawnlin the right way, for someonehe cared about. Dane said he sought Dawnlin for his sister, but now I know that was a lie. It all was. I should have known the moment I found out he lied about who he was, when I laid eyes on him as the Guardian.
Sig continues.
“Everyone was stunned, the Guardian included. He confronted Dane, telling him his actions cheated the magic, and he needed to return immediately. Dane refused, only yelling he needed to be here. The Guardian reached into his pouch for more dust, and Dane pulled a knife, stabbing the poor man and killing him right in front of us.”
A gasp rips from my lips as tears well in my eyes. I’m stunned, unable to move or do anything but listen as Sig keeps recounting her first experience in Dawnlin.
“Before I could do anything, even react, Weston punched him in the face and tackled him. Weston was already at a disadvantage, his sword useless when they were fighting on the ground, and Dane already had his knife. I watched Dane slice him open, heard Weston cry out as Dane rolled his body off him and watched as blood seeped through his clothes.”
A sob wracks my body, and the tears that welled in my eyes stream down my face. I’ve seen that scar, seen how jagged and mangled it is. Weston hadn’t lied to me. He told me Dane gave him that scar, and I assumed he did something to deserve it.
How wrong I had been.
Dane attacked Weston after committing a heinous act, all in the name of needing the magic of the island.
“Dane left Weston for dead, bleeding into the grass. He didn’t even notice me standing there watching everything. He stole the pouch of dust off the Guardian’s body, and ran, disappearing into the forest. I tied up Weston’s injury and got us out of there as fast as I could, dragging him through the island until we founda cave that was hidden enough we couldn’t be seen from the outside.
“We holed up there for weeks, and I was shocked when food magically appeared for us. It was rough for a while, but once he made it through, we were in this together. We got to know the island, mainly at night until the ship appeared. It was like Dawnlin knew where I was from, and the best way to hide us, just offshore.
“Eventually, we found the healing waters, and when we both weren’t worthy, we had no way to get back. We’ve been watching and waiting ever since, trying to take innocent Voyagers out of Dane’s clutches and find all of us a way home.”
My legs threaten to give out underneath me, and I almost fall to the ground. My head spins and I stagger to the side, catching myself on the edge of her bed. I suck in deep breaths and try to blink away the dark spots that appear in my vision.
Lies.
Everything that I learned from Dane, all lies.
Dane killed the last Guardian, not Weston.
Dane didn’t come to the island for genuine reasons, and snuck in after Weston called the Guardian.
Dane tried to kill Weston.
That last sliver of hope I held onto tightly, that everything I had experienced with Dane was real, splintered, cutting me deeply like a blade of truth.
Dane has been the one manipulating me all along, not Weston.
“If all of this is true, why didn’t Weston just kill Dane? Why, after all this time, didn’t he end him?”
Sig smiles softly. “We aren’t like him, you know that by now. Weston won’t kill him unless there’s a reason. But…” she trails off, biting her lip nervously.
“What, Sig? Just tell me.” I don’t know if I can handle being shocked by anything more. I just need her to tell me everything, now, all at once.
“We think if someone kills the Guardian, they become the Guardian. Neither of us wanted to be tied to Dawnlin for eternity, so Dane lives.”
“But now you’re trapped here, anyway. You can’t go back to him to go home, not after that.”
