“Then how did they get their hands on human bones? The medical examiner tested them, and the DNA matched mine. I assume those records were doctored, but how do you explain the body?”
“If I had to guess, they got access to the morgue in the Point. Probably grabbed a body before it was incinerated.”
A shiver rolls through me. That’s gruesome, but I wouldn’t put it past Uncle Jim. I could see him doing that, especially if he loved my mother the way Kallister claims.
No, the way Jim claimed.
What was it he wrote in his letter?
I loved her deeply, despite what she was.
Did he love her as a friend, or was he in love with her? Either way, it’s depressing. He loved Marina so deeply that he was willing to walk away from her and take custody of her only child. And by his own account, he continued to love her even after she was revealed to be a traitor.
Could I do that? Still love Cross if he betrayed me?
I gnaw on my bottom lip, realizing…
Yes.
I would.
I suppose Uncle Jim and I have that in common.
I enter my quarters just as Xavier is stepping out of the bathroom, a towel wrapped around his waist, and his bare chest glistening with droplets falling from his wet hair. My gaze fixes on the tattoos on the left side of his rib cage. Black roses intertwined with thorny vines.
“Sorry,” I say as I close the door. “Wasn’t expecting you to be half naked.”
“It’s keen. Feast your eyes, Darlington. I don’t mind.”
I snicker and walk toward the closet, where I grab a gray zip-up sweatshirt. “Nice ink. It’s like a very scary garden.”
“The women seem to like it. The men, too.” He pauses. “I just realized…I’m irresistible to literally everyone.”
“Trust me, I can resist you,” I say, slipping the sweatshirt on. “I’m going to take a walk and clear my head before I need to meet Hawkins. We can hit the range after my training.”
“You want company on the walk?”
“Nah. Will you be okay alone for a while?”
“Do I have a choice?” He lumbers past me and flops onto his bed, towel and all.
I open the top drawer of the nightstand, pulling out the entertainment tablet Gray gave me the other day.
“Here,” I say, tossing it to Xavier. “There’s an entire film library on this. I’ll be back soon.”
Although I know I’m not obligated to, I notify Adrienne that I’m leaving the Dagger. She tells me to take a weapon, so I stop at the armory first to log one out. I guess Gray wasn’t kidding about the white coyote packs around here. Adrienne confirms they’re more vicious than the ones that skulk on the outskirts of ward villages.
The morning sun is climbing higher in the sky as I step outside.Soon it’s beating down on my head and I’m so hot, I unzip the sweatshirt and tie it around my waist.
I follow a path around the side of the mountain in a direction I haven’t yet explored. I’m startled to see flowers in full bloom along the path, vivid swathes of purples and blues. It’s late in the season for the bluebonnets, and either I’m imagining it, or the purple ones are violet bells. I’ve never seen one outside of the Blacklands, and I give them a wide berth because I’m not in the mood for temporary paralysis right now.
It’s quiet out here. No birds chirping, no insects humming. A sense of peace washes over me as I reach a small grove overrun with tall grass and an endless sea of wildflowers, but the serenity sharpens into caution when I hear a rustling in the grass. A blond head pops up as the girl who’d been crouching in the grass rises to her full height. It’s Poppy.
She turns, startling at the sight of me.
“Sorry,” I say lightly. “Didn’t mean to scare you.”
“I wasn’t scared.” She emerges from the grass holding a cluster of bluebonnets.
