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She raised a shoulder, then dropped it. "I don't know. Maybe it's silly, but I'd rather just . . . not deal with that kind of heartbreak.”
From the corner of her eye, Graeson ran his fingers through his hair and he leaned back over the wall. "To hold yourself back though, out of fear, can't you see that it is almost worse? You're intentionally preventing your own happiness."
Kallie rubbed the back of her neck. "I don't know, maybe one day I'll think differently, but right now, that's how I feel."
Graeson grew silent as he stared out toward the village. Nearby, an owl howled in the night. Trees rustled in the wind and a hoard of birds scattered from the treetops. And Kallie wondered how she had ended up here. How her life had gotten so complicated to the point where she no longer knew right from left. And how it would have been different if she had been raised on this island.
Would she and Dani have grown up to be best friends? Would she have grown up training alongside her brothers? Not in secret underneath the palace, but in the open training grounds? Would she have struggled with control over her gift for as long as she had? Would her birth father have trained her? Or her mother? Or a stranger?
Would she have been forced to marry out of duty or for the heart?
Perhaps she would not have feared love for so long. Perhaps she would have embraced it after growing up in a house overflowing with it.
There were too many possibilities for her to work through. And she knew it was all for naught. Nothing would change what her life was now or what she had done. And the part that tugged at her mind the hardest was that she didn't know if she wanted it to. Everything had happened for a reason. And even though she didn't understand all of it right now, one day she would.
One day she would be able to enjoy the happiness that her life offered her.
But today was not that day.
Kallie looked at the village, her gaze turning toward the pier in the distance. Just north of it, she saw a blotch of bright light. A breeze swept over her which sent a cascade of prickles across her skin that she couldn't shake off.
"What's going on over there?" Kallie asked, hoping she was wrong about the feeling in her gut.
Graeson tilted his head in the direction of the flickering light, silent as he assessed it. And Kallie squinted to get a better look. Above the light, near the clouds, a stream of thick black smoke billowed in the air. A thin layer of sweat coated her palms. Smoke only formed like that for one reason.
"Graeson," her voice shook. That wasn't a blotch of light. "Are fires normally that large here?"
"No. No, they are not." He pushed off the wall and headed toward the hatch.
"What occupies that land?" Kallie asked, struggling to meet his stride.
"Mainly unused land, but houses are not far away from it. Grab the ladder," he ordered, his words coming out faster, distracted. "We need to find the twins."
Kallie passed him and grabbed the ladder. She handed it over to Graeson who then dropped it down the hole.
"Go." Graeson ushered her forward. "Quickly."
Wiping her hands on her trousers, she descended. Once she landed, Graeson was no more than a breath away, his shoes slamming against the ground from the drop. He tossed the ladder onto the floor and shut the hatch. He grabbed her hand and started jogging down the hall. Kallie picked up her pace to match his long strides.
"Do you know where they went?" she asked.
Graeson didn't respond and headed down a hallway. He stopped at a closed door. "I have a pretty good idea." He knocked on the door.
After a moment, a muffled voice came from the other side, "Occupied!"
"Is that . . . ?" Kallie asked, recognizing the muffled voice.
Rolling his eyes, Graeson banged on the door again. "Fynn, get your ass out here."
Kallie heard scuffling on the other side and a feminine squeal. "Wait—are they . . . ?"
Graeson grunted, unamused and annoyed.
The door cracked open, and Fynn's head popped out. He slid through the small crack, shutting the door behind him.
"Where's Dani?" Graeson asked, looking behind Fynn as if she was hiding behind Fynn. "We might need her and her units."
Fynn brushed back his tousled hair. "She needs a minute to . . . be decent." His mouth turned into a knowing smirk.
