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After we share another kiss, Dare sighs. “We should go after Burn.”
I nod, hugging him a final time. He lets me go reluctantly and takes my hand, pulling me out the door.
ChapterSeven
TALIA
The powerboat glides through the still lake, its prow slicing the waves. My stomach clenches at the sight of the barren, rocky island ahead—the place Dare's mother lies buried, her body entombed in its stony heart.
Dare's knuckles blanch around the steering wheel. His jaw clenches, eyes fixed ahead. I wonder if he's thinking of the last time his entire family came here without him to lower his mother's casket into the dark earth of her grave.He avoided coming here for his whole life.
But today, he will finally have to confront his mother’s death and the splintering effect it has had on his whole family. His mouth is pressed into a thin line and he gazes over the dark water, his eyes troubled.
Dare is obviously apprehensive enough without a word from me. But I do reach out, smoothing a hand over his back and rubbing shallow circles into his tense shoulders. The cool air makes me shiver but I don’t complain.
This is a somber but momentous event. When I stop touching Dare and pull my touch away, he catches my hand in his and kisses it.
The boat skids onto the shore with a crunch of stones. Now that I can see the entire island, it’s barely a few hundred yards in circumference. Dare leaps out onto the shore and hauls me up, his hands like iron around my waist. Underfoot is bare brown rock, the terrain uneven and treacherous.
Burn is already here, the shape of his kneeling body evident. He is alone on this small isle, his head bowed before his mother’s grave. The burial site is marked by a dark stone obelisk and a stone angel, each object about three feet high. Burn’s head is bowed, and his eyes are closed, as though he is genuflecting before an altar.
I wobble as I step on the craggy stone ground. Dare grabs my arm, supporting me as we pick our way to stand beside Burn.
As we stand facing Dare’s mother’s grave, the chill seeps into my bones. I shiver, both at the cold and at the seriousness of the moment. Dare stares at his mother's headstone, his expression angry. A silent tear slips down his cheek before he dashes it away.
"You ruined me," Burn says softly.
Our heads whip around to Burn. He collapses back on his heels as though he has been carrying an immense weight on his shoulders. His mouth is still cracked and bleeding. His face is swollen and mottled red from the fight he just had with his twin. Bruises are already forming around one eye, which appears to be so puffy it is closed.
“Who are you talking to?” Dare barks.
“You.” Burn gestures to the grave before him. “Mom. Dad. Remy. You all just… moved on with your lives. I feel like Idiedright here all those years ago when we buried Mom. You didn’t even come—”
“Remy didn’t want me to,” Dare interjects. “I was a kid, too, Burn. I just did what other people told me to do.”
Burn’s expression turns furious.
“You never brought her up! You never asked about coming here to see Mom, ever!”
“I didn’t know what to say. I thought…” Dare pauses, dragging in a breath. “I thought thatyouhad moved on.”
Burn laughs, an ugly sound. He shakes his head.
“No. I was hurting.”
“So was I!”
Burn turns, peering at Dare for several long seconds.
"After you left, Remy—" He swallows hard. "Let's just say that life got harder."
“I know that life wasn’t easy for you. I know that things were never the same between us.” Dare flinches. "But you stole Daisy from me, Burn. And you never explained yourself!"
"You were going to marry her. You would have ruined your life," Burn accuses, but there's a tremor in his voice now. A fracture in the wall of anger and resentment he's built around himself.He stands, dragging a hand across his lips. "I did what I had to do to show you she didn't really care about you."
I lick my lips nervously, my hands protectively shielding my unborn child. Burn would have been a terrible choice to be the father of this baby. And now that he has proven himself willing to kidnap me, I have every reason to distrust his slightest movement. As the two men circle each other slowly, I keep gradually orbiting around them.
"You have said that you stole Daisy to protect me. But you haven't apologized for doing it the way you did." Dare suddenly closes the distance between them and grips Burn's shoulders. "I didn't kill you today, even though I wanted to. I don't want to lose you again. But I need you fucking tell me you're sorry for all the shit that you caused. You tried to hurt Talia!”
