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He walked to the edge. A collective breath sucked in, as loud as the ebbing tides. Then Carden dove off.
He swam back to shore. I’d expected to see giddiness on his face as he emerged, but he was grim. Sober. His white T-shirt clung to him, and I stared unabashedly. I didn’t care anymore—I couldn’t peel my eyes from him. He was magnificent.
Who was Carden McCloud, really?
Once more, the water churned and pulled at him as he returned to us, only now my heart felt as tossed as the seas.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
I stayed after, sitting on the cold, damp sand, contemplating the Needle, reeling from what I’d just seen. Would I have been strong enough to complete Kate’s climb? Would I have been brave enough to hold fast, seeing something so unsettling it’d made another girl lose her grip and fall to her death?
I’d thought I was alone with these thoughts, but then a heavy body plopped on the sand next to me, casting me in shadow. I knew at once who it was—his identity practically vibrated to me, echoing through my body with a pull stronger than the tides.
He’d said we needed to keep our distance, but Carden had sensed my distress before. Maybe he sensed my turmoil now, my need for answers.
I didn’t even look at him. I just said, “The girl who died climbing. Acari Kate. Why did she fall?”
“Pride goeth before a fall. ”
“Please, Carden. I need to know—in English. ” His nonanswer gave me the mental strength to angle my body to look at him, and I wished I hadn’t. He’d wrapped his arms around his bent legs, and his shirt tugged against his body, outlining ropes of lean muscle. I looked down the beach, back to the scene of the accident. “She climbed to the top and saw something. It scared her enough to make her fall. What did she see?”
“Only Acari Kate knows what awaited her at the top. ” At my impatient look, he chuckled, but he continued. “You’ve seen the mysteries this island hides. What monsters lie in wait. Not all are as brave as you in the face of danger. ”
Had she seen a Draug? A vampire? How many creatures were hiding out there, lying in wait?
He added nonchalantly, “I believe Acari Kate must have bonded with someone. ”
My eyes bugged open. “Seriously?”
He shrugged. “It would explain much. ”
“With who?” I ran a mental catalog of all the vampires I’d seen on the island—the possibilities were endless.
“That, I do not know. ”
I remembered her mania, her recklessness. “Was that why she was acting nuts? Is that going to happen to me?”
“You’re strong in mind and body. This island has made you forget, but it is time for you to remember: Your fate is not beyond your control. ”
I flopped back on my hands, stretching my legs before me on the sand. “I wouldn’t be so sure. ”
“You must credit yourself. This leg, for instance. ” He smoothed his hand along my thigh. “You’ve worked hard to carve muscle where once there was none. ”
My flesh grew hot, buzzing where he touched me. “I…I thought we were supposed to stay away from each other. ”
“Ah. ” He pulled his hand back. “How quickly I forget. You are still anxious to break the bond. ”
“I am,” I said, sounding more sure than I felt. “It is possible, right? To become unbonded. ”
“Aye,” he said. “It’s possible. Difficult, but possible. ”
“And you think Acari Kate had bonded with a vampire?”
He shrugged. “It would explain such rash behavior. It’s the blood fever. Some who’ve bonded feel as beyond the reach of death as their vampire mates. Others bond, and when they cannot feed again, they grow mad with their need. ”
Mad with need. I had some experience with that. I remembered Kate’s restless, fevered eyes. Was that how I appeared?
Clouds scudded overhead, stealing light from the sky and warmth from my skin. “You’re saying my options are to stay bonded, be reckless, or go insane. ”
