Blood pounds in my ears and I roll my lips together. How dare he? How dare Weston say those things about Dane, knowing that Dane is the only reason any of us have hope of finding the cure? How dare he believe Dane is the one in the wrong for helping Fin try to find the healing waters while he’s the one trying to steal it?
Why shouldn’t Fin have the same chance as all of us to search for it, solely because he’s young? He’s the true villain here, for thinking he can just take that away because he says so.
I close my eyes and take a deep, shuddering breath. Fin isn’t the one I’m angry with, and I don’t want him to believe I am. I lean closer and take his hands in mine.
“Listen to me, Fin. Weston is lying to you. He’s trying to make you feel good, so you will help him find the healing waters.” I pause and weigh the pros and cons of what I’m about to say. If I tell Fin, there’s a chance that the information might get back to Weston, but if I don’t, Fin might be less likely to follow along with my plan.
I lower my voice to barely a whisper. “Please don’t tell Weston, but I found them. The healing waters. That’s why we need to get out of here as soon as we can, so I can bring you back and you can help your sister. Then we can tell all the other Voyagers.”
“Oh, I found them too!”
My spine straightens and I stare at him in shock.
“What do you mean you found them too?”
His shoulders hike up to his ears, and the tips turn pink. “I know you told me to stay away from the mountain, but I couldn’t! And then I just felt like I should go behind the waterfall, and there it was! It was like magic, Lennox!”
My jaw slackens as I stare. Fin had found them. He found the entrance in the mountain. But was he granted them? Was he worthy? If he was, maybe Weston already took them. What does he want with me then?
“Did you get them? Where are they?”
His face falls and his shoulders slump. “No, I didn’t. I guess I wasn’t worthy.”
Pressure fills my chest as my heart shatters. I reach over and wrap him in a hug. The moment the island refused to give me the healing waters, I was devastated, and I can’t imagine how that same news affected this little boy.
I never want him to feel unworthy, especially risking everything to save someone he loves. I’d spent too much of my life feeling that way, and will do anything so he doesn’t have the same experience. It doesn’t matter what the island thought; he is worthy to me.
“I wasn’t either,” I say, as I stroke his hair softly. “Wait.” I pull back to look him in the eye. “Is that when they took you? On the beach after you left?”
“Yeah, it was scary. And I lost your bow. I’m sorry.”
“I’m not worried about the bow, Fin. Does Weston know you didn’t get the cure?”
“I think so. But they were all still nice, even though I didn’t.”
I release him and fall back onto my heels.
So that’s his angle. He’s not trying to question us about where the cure is, because he already knows. He’s simply waiting at the exit for someone to come out with it.
Was he unworthy too, and now his only chance is to steal it from someone who the island deemed worthy?
My fingernails dig into my palms, probably drawing blood. How does the island allow this evil, vile man to plot to take away the hope from someone else who had earned it? Who is deserving of it? Why hasn’t he been swallowed up into the land like the rest of us? Why does it protect them and hide them away so they can take the hope away from someone else?
Tears prick at my eyes, but I blink them away.
“Fin, listen to me. I know you think they are all being nice, and maybe they are. But it isn’t real. We need to get out of here. I will do my best to get us out, but if only I can at first, I promise I will come back for you. I will bring Dane and Storm and Mara and all the Voyagers, and we will get you out and get you home. Do you understand me?”
He nods, his lip puckering slightly, but says nothing. He hasn’t been here more than a few days before me, and already Weston has him brainwashed and emotionally connected.
It’s disgusting.
I push the hostile thoughts out of my mind and focus on Fin. We eat the rest of the food, clearing the board in silence. The mood in the room has changed after our conversation, and I don’t want to do anything to upset him. Once everything is gone, Fin stands and gathers up the lantern and board, but leaves me the bottle of juice.
He stops just short of the door and faces me.
“Please keep being good, Lennox. I miss you.”
My face softens and my chest aches. “I will do my best, Fin. I miss you, too.”
