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“How…” I wondered just that. There was the bond. Obviously. But I couldn’t tell her that. I trusted her, but that seemed like information that could get her killed, and I was exposing her to enough risk already.
So what else was there? Why did I feel strongly enough about Carden that I’d risk my life—risk my friend’s life—to save him?
“He treats me like a real person,” I began, trying to put exact words to my feelings. I swept the blade down the wood, sharpening it, putting all my emotion behind it. I opened my mind, opened my heart, probing just what it was that I felt. “Like I’m my own unique individual. Not some kid, or someone who’s been slapped around, or someone who’s good at school. Maybe it was because we met on the other island, away from here, without a context. But when I met Carden, he met me as me. ”
I considered my feelings in light of what Mei had just said about me. Carden didn’t fear me—the thought was laughable. And he definitely didn’t need my help. He needed me, because of the bond—but I imagined he could bond with any pretty young thing.
No, he liked me. And I liked him. He made me laugh. He was light where I was dark, seeing the humor in things that’d felt so grimly serious to me. Carden gave me hope.
I couldn’t lose that hope.
“I think I need him. ” It went beyond the physical need of our bond. To lose Carden now would make me feel lost. It would steal my purpose, my hope. “I can’t lose him,” I told her, and it felt like a confession, dredged from the darkest depths of my soul.
“Then count me in. ” She’d completed a stake, and she put it on the bed with confidence. It was crude, marbled red and brown and black where she’d scraped the paint from the wood, but it looked sharp. It looked like something that could pierce a heart. “So, you think the Draug keeper knows something. ”
“I didn’t see him up close, but the guy looks like he’s seen some serious stuff. For all I know, he could be the killer. ”
“Check,” she said with a nod. “We’re going to find the Draug keeper. And then what?”
What would we do next? Good question. “Sit down for a nice chitchat?”
“Yeah, right. ” Mei selected a new strip of wood and began to carve. “We could capture him. Interrogate him. Like a citizen’s arrest. ”
“You’ve been watching too much Law & Order. ” I considered it. I knew I—we—needed to take action.
Seeing my star wielded so carefully in her hands somehow cemented our friendship. It made me feel like we could figure this out. As I watched her painstaking strokes, a plan formed in my head. “I could act as bait. Have a Draug attack me. If the keeper is good, he’ll help me. If he’s bad…”
“He’ll sic the whole herd on you?” Mei looked aghast. “That doesn’t sound like a great plan. ”
“No, listen, you’ll be there with your flute. ” The more I thought about it, the more perfect it seemed. “When you play, everyone will get all calm and tractable. If he’s the killer, we’ll tie him up and Carden goes free. If not, we’ll ask him questions, maybe get proof enough to show that Carden’s not the murderer. ”
“Carden, huh?” She raised a brow.
I sat tall, placing my last stake on our small but respectable pile. “Yes. Carden. ” It felt good to be honest, if only partly so.
But then Mei frowned. “What if you’re hurt?”
“I’ll be fine,” I assured her, trying to believe my own words. The truth was, I expected to get an injury or two. It didn’t thrill me, but one or two more scratches taken for the cause wouldn’t kill me.
She put her last stake down and we admired our handiwork. Six wooden stakes. They weren’t nearly as pretty as my antique box had been, but they promised extra protection, and that was all the pretty I needed.
“Nice work,” I said.
Our eyes met. Mei-Ling asked gravely, “Will we leave tonight?”
“God, no,” I exclaimed with a laugh. “Do you know what’s crawling around out there at night? Eeesh. ” I shuddered. “No. We’ll go tomorrow, when the sun is at its highest. ” Alcántara had once told me himself—vampires can roam about in the sunlight, they just don’t relish it. “Daylight won’t protect us from everything, but it might offer a little cover. ”
I’d gathered from Ronan that we had a little time before the trial—though I wasn’t ready to confess Ronan’s sympathies just yet. There’d been enough revelations for one evening. Instead, I added simply, “No need to go off stupidly half-cocked. ”
“Right,” she said with a smile. “We’ll go off stupidly all-the-way-cocked. ?
??
We smiled grim smiles, and though I was nervous, it felt good to share this resolve. To be taking action.
I crawled into bed, praying we woke to an unusually bright morning. Honesty had cleared my conscience, and sleep came fast and hard.
Fantasies of Carden were waiting for me there.
