Page 39 of Bound By Roses

“You know why he left,” Quinn says, suddenly the reasonable one. “Maybe it’s better this way.”

I can’t help but agree with him. Jade was only with us two days before he disappeared. In that time, he destroyed one of the wooden shelters we’d constructed on the beach simply by touching it. One of Quinn’s people was inside at the time, and although Jade insists he was trying to get the man out before he ‘burned to a crisp’, the man claims he was uninjured until Jade grabbed his arm. He’ll live, but he’ll forever carry scars all along the left half of his body. He’s not even expected to leave the infirmary for at least another week.

And all it took was a single touch.

Out of whatever powers Jade gained from Inferna, this has to be the most concerning. Jade tried to control it, but more than once, that control slipped, and he set his clothes ablaze. He couldn’t so much as touch anyone or anything, except perhaps the fireproof dragons, without it bursting into flames.

Although he didn’t say it, I think that’s why he left. He’d already kept to himself, and in the rare moments I saw him, he was glowering at me. Whatever we awakened isn’t Jade. Not entirely. It’s as if the only part of him that came back was the anger and hatred that filled him before he allowed himself to be good, and without the curse forcing him to love me, I’m the biggest target for that hatred. Whatever Aurelia did to him may have calmed him, but it didn’t fix him. It didn’t bring back the parts of him that were lost.

“An unseen threat is far worse than a near one. I want him where I can keep tabs on him.”

“And what about what he wants?” I ask. He needs time to figure out what he’s become, and I can only hope that he’ll find himself in the process.

Merrick ignores my question. “Be careful out there, and if you find him, tell me.”

Quinn nods in quiet agreement, but I’m not so sure I want to. The odds of us finding him are small at best anyway, considering we’re not actually looking for him.

“Do me a favour while we’re gone,” Quinn says when Merrick tries to turn away again. “Keep an eye on my sister.”

“I think Rhett has that covered.”

I don’t need to see Quinn’s eye roll to know it happened. “You know what she is. She deserves her freedom before she becomes a prisoner to an empty throne.”

“We’ll do what we can.” Merrick doesn’t wait for a thanks before taking off at a sprint across the bridge towards the whirlpool.

With that settled, there’s no more reason to delay our journey. According to Aurelia, there’s a cave a bit of a walk from here that holds some information on Quinn’s lineage. With the shocking revelation that Jade is his cousin, I can’t blame him for wanting to eliminate the possibility of any other secrets justwaiting to spring themselves on him when he least expects it. Judging by Aurelia’s expression after we told her of our plans to go there today, I’m convinced there’s still something she’s hiding.

I take Quinn’s hand in mine and begin walking in the direction she’d pointed out to us just a short while ago. It’s about a five-hour walk, and if we don’t hurry, we may not have time to explore the cave and set up camp for the night before the sun sets and the sky turns dark. This will be the first night we’ve spent away from our tower—and away from my view of the ever-growing shadows above Lunae.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

QUINN

Finding this cave is proving to be a lot harder than I expected, though the journey is certainly as treacherous as Aurelia promised it would be. We’d been walking for about an hour when the soft, sandy beach turned sharp with shards of jagged rock that now threaten to pierce flesh with even the slightest misstep. Even with new shoes lined with sanded coral soles, we’re forced to slow our trek.

“No wonder no one comes here,” I mutter, nearly slipping on an unstable rock.

“You mean no onewalkshere,” Abby corrects, and she’s right. Aurelia said the cave is generally left undisturbed, but when it is visited, the sirens need only to swim.

I can’t imagine making this journey on an injured leg. I’m all healed up now, with only a fresh scar to add to the collection. I guess it’s a good thing the fear of spending a night out in the open kept me from venturing away from Marein. If I’m being honest, I’m not exactly thrilled to be doing this now. Of course I want to know the truth about my family, but at least in Marein, I had an escape from the veil wraiths if they ever came for me. There’s no guarantee they wouldn’t follow me beneath thesurface, but I felt a heck of a lot better having the option. Out here, we’re exposed.

I’m not going to be getting any sleep tonight.

“You okay?” Abby asks, and that’s all the prompting I need to turn off my emotions. I still haven’t told her about what seeing Evan in the veil meant, and I’m not in any hurry to do so. I hadn’t wanted to lie to her at all, never mind keep this from her for so long, but I’m not any closer to finding answers.

“Just a bit nervous,” I say, hoping she’ll accept the half-truth. “There’s no telling what we’ll find when we get there.” Like a pack of wraiths ready to devour my soul. Do they travel in packs? They fly, so maybe it’s a flock of wraiths. No, it’s definitely a murder of wraiths. It’s a more fitting name for them than it is the blackbirds that nest in the trees around Rosewood.

“It’s better to know the truth. No matter how bad it might be.”

I can’t answer her without risking my guilt shining through the facade I’ve been so careful to maintain. I hate this. I want to share everything with her, but I can’t share this. The burden of knowing that my time with her might be limited is something I won’t put on her shoulders. I’ll carry it until I figure out how to do what Evan said and live for her.

“Aurelia could have warned us we’d have to get wet,” I say when the silence between us goes on for too long. Abby seems unbothered by it, evidenced by the wide smile that hasn’t left her face since the rocky beach—if it could even be called that—became shoals littered with shallow pools of water, each filled with a variety of strange and wondrous creatures.

Abby’s sun-bleached hair blows in the salty breeze as she turns that smile on me. “For the son of a siren, you complain about the ocean a lot.”

I do my best to look offended. I probably look ridiculous, but at least it will help mask the absolute terror forcing my heart toslam rapidly inside my chest. We’re still hours away from sunset, but we’ve passed the point of no return. If we turned around right now, we wouldn’t be able to make it back to Marein before nightfall, which means spending a night out here is officially a done deal.

“How dare you?” I tease, hoping the playful tone masks my unease. “I never complain.” As if the ocean itself is daring me to prove it, an enormous wave washes up on a cluster of nearby rocks and sprays us with a salty mist. I keep my mouth clamped shut, but my expression must give me away because she laughs as if she’s already won this debate.

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