“I know that you and Locklyn were once more than just friends. I know you used to love her.”
Her words hit me like a punch to the gut.
“How?” I ask, as shock vibrates through my system.
Her eyes flick to the side before returning to me. “Not that it matters, but I overheard the two of you back at the cabin.”
Back in the cabin? My mind whirls, trying to figure out . . .
It comes to me with a rush of clarity. She must have overheard when Locklyn cornered me in the surveillance room, wanting to know what was going on between me and Haven. Locklyn accused me of using Haven as a stand-in for her. And I?—
I’m shaking my head, remembering what I said in return. Wanting the conversation to be over, I downplayed what was really developing between Haven and me, and if she heard all of that it must’ve felt like I’d been playing her this entire time.
Suddenly, her change in attitude makes perfect sense. She’s gone through the last few days thinking I was using her as a stand-in for her sister.
Nausea roils in my gut. “Haven, no. What you heard, that wasn’t true.”
Her eyes narrow. “You’re telling me that you didn’t fall in love with Locklyn?”
I run a hand through my hair, knowing that this is a bigger conversation than we have time for right now. “I mean, yes, that part is true. But it was so long ago now. Almost two years. But that’s not?—”
Skirting me, she starts to walk away, heading for the portal that Cassian is keeping open for us. Cassian is clearly struggling, so we need to get a move-on, but once we get to the creature world, audience or not, I’m going to set her straight.
Haven is only a few dozen steps from the portal when her name is called from somewhere behind us.
Stopping, she glances over her shoulder. Her eyes widen, and suddenly she’s running in the opposite direction.
Away from the portal. Away from me.
I jerk my gaze to the side and see two forms jogging up the hill. Two females, from the look of it, one tall and dark-skinned, the other a petite black-haired girl. Even though they don’t present as threats, especially since it’s clear Haven knows them, I go on alert, my body tensing as Haven nears them.
Whether she knows them or not, I’m not comfortable with this situation, and I move in their direction, ready to intervene if something is off.
Haven reaches them and embraces the tall girl with the curly hair, who I now recognize as the one Haven was sitting on the lawn next to back at her college. Kendra. The second one must be her other close friend, Tate.
I don’t want to, but I halt, giving Haven and her friends some privacy, at least for a few moments. That’s all I can afford them, because Cassian can only hold open the portal for so long.
“Who are they?” Kade asks, coming up next to me.
“Her friends. I don’t know why they are here though. Or how they found out about this.”
Kade crosses his arms over his chest, a frown pulling down his features. “She must have told them.”
I shake my head, the pieces not quite fitting together. “Yeah, but how? She doesn’t have—” It hits me then. She must have a phone. She probably called them during one of our rest stops.
I curse under my breath. I knew Haven struggled with leaving her friends, but this was so stupid.
“I can only hold it a few more minutes,” Cassian calls over to us. He looks even more strung out than he did before.
“Sorry,” I call. “I’ll go get her.”
I jog down the hill toward them, ready to throw Haven over my shoulder to get her through the portal if I have to.
Haven is gesturing toward the portal. Her tall friend, Kendra, is wide-eyed as she looks back and forth between the shimmering hole and Haven, clearly taken off-guard.
At least Haven didn’t tell them everything.
The other friend, Tate, doesn’t seem fazed. In fact, there’s a calculating look on her face that makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up.
