AllFreeNovel
Share Us
A million thoughts dumped piecemeal into my head: how she’d taken me under her wing; the way she stirred her tea and ate only plain yogurt in the morning; how she called me dolly.
Most staggering of all, she’d seemed such a part of life here, but had she secretly been as unhappy as I was?
She’d been so preoccupied when I’d seen her last. We’d been so disconnected. And now I felt guilty, though I knew that was ridiculous. Still, I had the absurd notion that the fate she’d suffered had been meant for me. That I was the one who was supposed to have attempted escape. I was the one who would’ve failed. I was the one meant to have died.
I stared at Ronan, looking for answers, but his face remained a mask, frozen and unreadable. My mind raced, wondering what her plan had been, where it’d gone wrong. “How did she—?” But then it struck me: She would’ve needed help. “That key. This has something to do with that key you gave her, doesn’t it? You were going to help her. ”
They’d wanted to escape together. Jealousy spiked my veins, burning away the guilt with acid. I felt more of an outsider than ever. Ronan never offered to help me escape. Hell, he was the whole reason I found myself in this situation in the first place.
“It unlocked a boat dock on the other side of the island,” he said. “Except Amanda didn’t make it. Her body was found at the base of one of the southwestern cliffs. She was tortured, then thrown from the side. ”
The blood drained from my head. I knew a vampire with quite the taste for torture.
I scraped a hand through my hair. I couldn’t let myself jump to conclusions—we were on an island crawling with vamps. “They tortured her because she tried to escape?”
“They tortured her for information. ”
I blanched, hoping desperately this had nothing to do with my Lilac sighting. We’d gotten back yesterday—plenty of time for Alcántara to find and interrogate her. “What sort of information?”
“Perhaps they discovered she’d taken a lover who wasn’t Vampire. ”
Ronan. I swallowed hard. Amanda had once insisted I could succeed on this island without kissing any vampires. Looked like she was wrong.
Ronan was watching my every reaction, the muscles of his shoulders, his jaw, all clenched tight. I imagined it was about as upset as I’d ever see him.
Despite all that’d passed between us, my heart broke for him. I’d miss Amanda, but it was nothing compared to what he must’ve felt. He’d once lost his sister, and now he’d lost his girlfriend, too. “I’m so sorry. ”
“As am I. ”
“No, I mean, I know you two were a…you know…a thing. ”
The look on his face was pure astonishment. “Amanda and me? Never. She was with Judge. She…It was always Amanda and Judge. ”
I swayed on my feet, putting out my hand as though I might brace myself on thin air. Ronan and Amanda hadn’t been together? “Judge?”
“Aye, Judge. Though her death just proves how impossible such things are when you’re trapped on this island. ”
Amanda and Judge; not Amanda and Ronan. Everything clicked into place. Secret keys, secret looks…Ronan had only been the go-between. Did it mean he was the one in danger now?
“She was going to escape with Judge?” I couldn’t help the stupid question, my tone robotic, me on autopilot.
“Nobody knows about them, and you’d do well to forget it, too. ”
I glared into space, frustrated, angry, confused, even though it was a waste of energy. Ronan was as helpless as me on this island. My life—both our lives—were beyond our control. Our world was one of secrets and violence.
And then came the biggest secret of all. Carden appeared as though bidden, looming beside us and casting us in shadow. He addressed me but stared at Ronan. “Well, Acari Drew, I see I have some competition for your affections. ” He’d meant it as a joke, but his smile didn’t reach his eyes.
Ronan stiffened. “McCloud. Might I be of service?”
“I sensed some trouble,” Carden said. “You wouldn’t be bothering our wee Acari here, would you? You see, I owe the little spitfire a debt. Silly, I know. But we vampires tend to stick to the old ways. ”
Ronan’s jaw tightened, something sparking in his eyes. Was it realization? Would he be the one to guess our bond, not because he had some magic at his disposal, but simply because he knew me so well?
I found my voice, eager to head off any potential male conflict. “He’s not bothering me. I was just going back to the dorm. ”
Carden casually folded his hands at the small of his back and began to stroll ahead. “I’ll walk you. ”
Once again, I had no choice but to follow. I glanced back at Ronan, and he looked drawn and pale. “Bye,” I told him, and I tried to infuse the word with comfort and connection and warmth—my own attempt at a bond.
