Maybe that was all it was: desperation clawing at distraction. Still, I didn’t know what else I was going to do tonight, and found myself drawing a slow breath, the answer somehow already forming.
“I’ll be there.”
THIRTY-SIX
I’d just zippedup my jacket, ready to slip out the front door, when Jessie’s voice hissed at me from the shadows of the porch.
“Going somewhere?” She stepped into the pale lamplight, arms folded tight, her hair still wild from sleep.
I froze. “Wh-What are you doing here?”
“Visiting you.”
“I was just going… out. I have to meet someone.”
Jessie eyed my shoes, then my face. “You’re not going anywhere alone.”
Before I could answer, Nico, Robert, and Rosalie materialized behind her. “Who are you meeting?” Nico asked.
I eyed the state of Jessie, Nico and Robert. Their arms and hands were patched with bandages, and each had scratches on their faces. We hadn’t gone into great detail about what had happened to us individually in the woods. Didn’t know if we ever would. They probably hid it from their families too. Contractually, we were obligated to. Although perhaps Rosalie was in on something, given the concern swimming in her eyes.
“An acquaintance,” I sighed. “Someone I met at work. She wants to meet me, for some reason.”
“Don’t ditch us,” Robert said quietly. “Not tonight.”
I glanced between them. “Really, I’ll… I’ll be fine. You should all rest.”
Jessie shook her head, fierce in a way that told me she’d barely held it together all day. “You’re not fine. None of us are. You’re not meeting anyone in the dark, alone. I’m coming. End of discussion.”
Nico gave a half-smile, eyes flickering away from mine. “Might as well. Can’t sleep anyway. Zina’s asleep.”
Robert drew in a shaky breath. “I’ll go, too. I… can’t sit in that house anymore. Not after today.”
I tried to protest, but my voice faltered. I didn’t have the strength. Arguing with them was useless even on the best of days.
“Fine,” I murmured, giving up. “Let’s go together.”
Rosalie slipped quietly down the path behind Robert, wordless but resolute. Jessie’s arm linked through mine, her grip tight.
As we stepped out into the street, Jessie whispered, “I keep hearing his voice in my head. Like it’s waiting.”
I swallowed, feeling her fear wrap around mine, all of our shadows overlapping in the streetlight as we headed for the station. I tried to focus on tonight’s subject: Miranda. I hoped she wouldn’t lose her nerve at the sight of a whole pack trailing after me.
According to my map, Beldock Cove was a half-hour ride away, tucked out on the mainland by the sea. As we checked through the ring barriers, my chest tightened, half-expecting alarms or questions. But of course nothing happened. It wasn’t illegal to go out late. My nerves were just shot.
The shuttle was nearly empty. We sat in tense silence, the humming overhead lights making everyone look sickly. Jessie kept picking at a scrape on her wrist, tearing at a loose bit of skin until it bled. Nico stared at the floor, his foot jittering against the seat leg. Robert didn’t even try to make jokes; he just leaned back with his eyes half-closed, flinching every time the shuttle’s brakes hissed.
Nobody wanted to talk about the woods. It lived just beneath the surface, making every silence feel longer, every breath a little more uncertain.
When we finally reached the cove, the platform was deserted but for a single streetlight buzzing in the night. The heavy hush and crash of waves lulled somewhere beyond the darkness.
Jessie pressed close to me, her voice a hoarse whisper. “You sure we should be here?”
“I don’t know,” I murmured. “But I hope Miranda does.”
None of us moved for a long moment, letting the wind from the ocean chill our sweat-damp skin. The night pressed in, the breeze sharp and briny, carrying a tangle of salt and cold that made us all shiver. Even though we’d come as a group, the world felt vast, empty—too much space, too much dark, as if we could be swept out to sea at any moment. I wondered if Miranda was already watching, waiting for us to step out of the light.
A shadow shifted at the far edge of the platform. A figure detached itself from the darkness and stepped into the thin beam of the streetlight, lowering a hood.
