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Cait took us farther and farther away, and my heart began to break in two. I couldn’t bear to leave Graham, especially when I didn’t know if he was okay, without a goodbye and without a confession.
After what had just happened, it was clear Cael didn’t want me alive. Going back could be a death sentence.
The island retreated further into the distance, and I couldn’t stand it any longer.
“Cait,” I said. “I need to go back.”
“You need to be safe,” she said. “I’m not taking you back. Assuming Cael had control of this thing, he was trying to kill you.”
“I don’t understand,” said Keane, his eyes wide and his face pale. “Not even the Academy is so ruthless . . . killing a boat full of men at such a slight provocation. It was like . . .” He trailed off, speechless.
“Like he wanted revenge,” I said. “Remember the Enforcer Dunn answered to? The one you killed?”
Keane frowned. “I didn’t personally kill her, but yes. I remember.”
“Cael loved her,” I said. “I knew he wanted to punish you and your men, but I had no idea he was capable ofthat.” I met Keane’s dejected gaze, a tear dripping down my cheek.
His lip curled. “And that’s the man leading the Academy.”
I swallowed, another tear joining the first as the full weight of my terrible decisions buried me.
The boat suddenly veered, throwing us all to the left as it took a sharp turn.
“Careful, Cait!” Lachlan shouted.
But she was on the floor, her hands no longer touching the helm.
The boat curved in a circle, launching over the waves with reckless speed, our heads jolting from the impact of each landing.
It was taking us back the way we’d come.
Cait climbed to her feet and gripped the helm, trying to turn it, but it moved rigidly under her hands as if it had a mind of its own. She pressed one of the pedals. “It’s happening again,” she said. “I can’t control it!”
Lachlan reached for the helm, but it remained locked in place, the machine resisting both of them.
I reached over, adding my strength to the effort to pull it to the left, but it didn’t shift in the slightest.
“There’s nothing we can do!” said Cait, her face panic-stricken as she looked between the three of us. “I thought we were safe. I was wrong.”
Chapter
Thirty-One
The boat sped toward shore,with no sign of getting back under our control.
Cait wouldn’t stop tugging at the helm and pressing the pedals, but it was to no avail. We approached Cambria at a breakneck speed, the rushing wind making my eyes stream. When I feared we’d slam into the rocks ahead, the boat started to slow, turning toward the sandy beach.
I searched the shore but couldn’t find Graham.
Cael stood on a boulder, holding what looked like a radio in his hands. But he wasn’t talking into it and his eyes were on the boat.
I couldn’t fathom how it worked, but I knew he was the one controlling this vessel.
The boat slowed to a stop as Cael descended from the hill, tucking the black box into his pocket. He stopped at the edge of the waves. “Get out.” His voice was disturbingly calm as he raised a sleek black pistol at us.
Cait stared at him with defiance. I might’ve done the same if he didn’t hold so much power in his hands.
“Listen to him,” I told them as I climbed into the shallows and waded to shore, terrified to cross him now that I’d seen what he was willing to do.
