“I know.”
“Someone did this to us.”
“I know.”
She stands abruptly, pacing to the window and back. “You can’t tell Caroline.”
“Why not?”
“Because she just spent four days in a heat that nearly broke her, and she’s finally starting to feel like herself again. If you dump this on her now?—”
“I’m not going to dump anything on her. But I can’t keep this from her forever.”
“I’m not saying forever. I’m saying not tonight. Not tomorrow. Let her recover. Let her figure out what she wants with you and Griffin and Silas before you add ‘your body was manipulated by a dead man’s conspiracy’ to the list of things she has to process.”
She’s right. I hate it, but she’s right.
“There’s something else,” I say.
“Of course there is.”
“Silas. His mother died when he was ten. He can’t remember how. He thinks someone might have altered his memory.”
Amara stops pacing. “That’s a serious accusation.”
“He’s not accusing anyone. He’s just starting to question things he’s never questioned before. The same way I am. The same way you are.”
The room feels smaller. The herbs on the ceiling sway slightly, though there’s no draft. Amara hugs her arms around herself.
“What are we dealing with, Damon?”
“I don’t know yet. But I’m going to find out.”
“You can’t do this alone.”
“I’m not. I’ve got Silas. I’ve got Aunt Etta’s library. I’ve got you.”
“You’ve got me,” she confirms. “But Damon, be careful. If the Council is involved in this, if someone at that level has beencovering up what Victor Ash was doing, then poking around is going to get you noticed.”
“I’m already noticed. I’m the sheriff of a town the Council considers a liability. They’ve been watching me since I took the badge.”
“They’ve been watching all of us.” She crosses the kitchen and puts her hand on my shoulder. “Just… come home safe, okay? I’ve already lost too many nights worrying about people I love.”
The word lands soft.
“I’ll come home safe,” I say.
“Promise?”
“Promise.”
She squeezes my shoulder once and lets go. I stand, the chair scraping against the floor.
“Get some sleep, Amara.”
“You too. And Damon—please, be careful.”
I nod and let myself out into the cool night air. The porch light flickers once as I walk to the car—a small surge, probably nothing. But my hand finds my phone in my pocket, my thumb hovering over Silas’s number.
