Page 31 of The Poison Season

She dropped down behind a bramble bush, listening. She must have veered closer to the trail than she realized.

Leelo would know her cousin’s voice anywhere, but it took her a moment longer to recognize the second voice.

Hollis.

“It’s quieter without her there. I guess I should have expected that. Violet was always complaining about something. She was small for her age, you know, so she couldn’t do what the other kids could. She was always falling behind and yelling for me to wait up.”

“And did you?” Sage asked.

“Only if my parents made me...” His words faded as they disappeared farther into the woods, and Leelo realized she’d been holding her breath to hear him. She exhaled raggedly and sat down all the way. Hollis must have taken over her Watcher shift when Sage woke up and found her missing. Leelo had never lied to her cousin before, and now she could see the lies she’d have to carefully weave together multiplying.

What she really wanted to do right now was go home and climb back into her bed. Mama would come and look in on her, pressing her cool palm to Leelo’s forehead to check for fever, the way she always did when Leelo was ill. She would bring warm honey-lemon water and a hot stone wrapped in a knit cover for her feet. She would sit by Leelo’s bedside and stroke her hair and sing something soft and meaningless, not a true Endlan song, just something she’d made up to soothe Leelo as a baby.

Leelo longed for those early days, before Tate was born and her father was dead, before Aunt Ketty’s meanness crystallized into amber, when she and Sage were two girls in pigtail braids with no cares in the world.

She couldn’t do any of that, but she had nowhere else to go.

As she approached her cottage, Leelo felt a moment’s relief. It looked peaceful and safe amid the greenery of late spring. Her mother had planted red geraniums in the window boxes, their color bright and cheerful against the blue-and-white trim. She pulled off her leather boots and left them by the front door, relieved that only Mama’s were there. Ketty must be with the sheep.

Inside, Leelo found her mother sitting near the fire. Normally, they wouldn’t heat the house at this time of year, but she was always chilled lately.

“Ketty?” Fiona called when she heard the door open. “Oh, it’s you, dear.” Worry flickered across her brow. “Did something happen on duty?”

Leelo desperately wanted to tell her mother everything. She of all people would understand why Leelo had been unable to kill the outsider.

But she also knew she would be making her mother complicit if she told her about the young man, and whatever happened from this moment, she wouldn’t let her take any of the blame. Leelo wasn’t sure Mama’s heart could take it, and she couldn’t bear the thought of being shunned like Isola.

“I never made it to my Watch this morning,” Leelo said instead. “I missed Tate too much. I went into the woods, to be alone.”

If Fiona didn’t accept the lie, no one would, but she nodded and smiled gently. “I understand. Your aunt and Sage were already out when I came downstairs, but I suppose they noticed your absence.”

Leelo twisted her braid between her fingers. “Do you think I’ll be punished? I know it’s terrible to miss my Watch.”

Fiona patted the arm of her chair, inviting Leelo to sit. She wrapped her arms around Leelo’s waist and kissed her shoulder. “We’ll tell them I couldn’t sleep last night and I sent you out early this morning for some foxglove on the far side of the island. Ketty will still be angry, but she’ll forgive us.”

Leelo breathed a sigh of relief, grateful for her mother’s calm, reassuring presence. It was a good lie, since Leelo did often gather foxglove leaves for tea. It was supposed to help Mama with her heart troubles, though Leelo had been warned to be careful. The entire plant was extremely toxic.

“Thank you, Mama. How are you feeling today?”

“Oh, fine. I was just thinking of your brother.”

“Are you worried about him?”

“No, no. He’s a brave, strong boy. I was only missing him, selfishly. But he’ll do just fine out in the world. I imagine it’s a far more welcoming place than Endla.”

As small and insular as her island was, Leelo had never considered leaving. She didn’t even try to imagine what life on the mainland was like, because her elders made the rest of the world sound terrible and frightening. Endla’s Forest was ruthless in some ways, but it was all she’d ever known, and as long as she played her part in its survival, she had nothing to fear from it. So it was strange to hear her mother say that Endla was less welcoming than the rest of the world. Hadn’t the outsiders been the ones who drove the Endlans to this island in the first place?

“Go on,” her mother said. “I’ll be fine here.”

Leelo kissed her cheek, drank some water from the pitcher, and headed back outside. She’d been up and walking for hours, and it was starting to take a toll on her. At least her mother had given her a plausible story. As long as the outsider was dead, everything would be fine.

Except that a person will be dead.

When she finally arrived at the beach, she found Hollis and Sage sitting on a log together, talking.

“I’m so sorry I’m late,” Leelo breathed as she trotted up to them. “Mama was ill and I—”

“It’s fine,” Sage said abruptly. “Hollis was able to cover for you. But you’ll have to take his shift this evening.”

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