“You lost them?” Lauren chuckled darkly. “That’s rich.” She sighed. “Brennon, give me your shirt.”
Brennon fumbled with the buttons on his dress shirt and handed it over. Lauren tossed the shirt over the water. Dane snatched it out of the air and helped me put it on. The cotton stuck to my wet skin like cellophane, but it was large enough to cover the parts that mattered.
“Brennon, take the princess back to her castle and don’t let her out of your sight until the solstice. And you”—she pointed at Dane—“you’re coming with me.”
I slipped my fingers through his in defiance.
“I can take her back myself,” Dane announced.
“Really?” Lauren laughed. “You’re going to take her back to the Larkin lodge looking like that? The whole community’s waiting for her there.”
“Why?”
“Some kind of emergency,” Brennon said.
I sprung out of the water. “Is my mother here?”
“Not yet,” Brennon said.
“Is Rhys okay?”
“Your brother’s fine,” Lauren snapped. “He’s been looking for you, though—worried sick.” Her eyes narrowed on me. “You shouldn’t be here. If anyone knew about the two of you, Dane would be—”
“It’s my fault,” I said. I couldn’t bear to hear her finish the thought. “Please don’t tell anyone.”
Dane walked me to the shore, his hand resting on my lower back. He pulled me close. “As soon as you’re ready, I’ll meet you by the corn beyond the prairie grass. I won’t interfere again. I promise.”
As I watched him walk away from me, slipping into the woods, I felt something break inside of me.
That’s when I knew.
I loved him.
I was all in—blood and salt.
37
HENRY
BRENNON AND I WALKED to the Larkin lodge in uncomfortable silence. The warmth of his gray eyes had hardened into brushed steel. As we broke through the trees, he gripped my hand. I tried to squirm out of his grasp, but he wouldn’t let go.
“Please don’t tell anyone,” I pleaded. “It’s not Dane’s fault.”
When I saw the crowd of people gathered on the lawn, my stomach coiled in knots. It felt like I was walking directly into a hornet’s nest.
“Where have you two been all night?” Mrs. Mendoza sighed as she led us toward a group of people swarming around the entry, but she held her head high, as if she were proud.
“Sorry, we lost track of time,” Brennon announced loud enough for everyone to hear. “Did you see the stars last night?” He grinned at me in that perfect Brennon way and I almost believed him myself. This was the nicest thing he could’ve done for me, but I was a little unnerved by how easily he switched on the charm.
Everyone stared at us briefly, then glanced away, almost out of respect. Seeing us in this way, Brennon shirtless, me wearing nothing but his shirt, seemed more than acceptable. It seemed expected.
After making sure they got an eyeful, Brennon steered me toward my brother and Beth, who sat slumped on a quiet corner of the lawn.
“We’ve been looking for you all night.” Beth jumped to her feet and hugged me.
“What’s going on?” I asked.
Rhys raised his head to look at me and I knew something was very wrong. His eyes were bloodshot, his hands trembled as he pointed toward the walkway. I turned to see people carrying what looked like a mummy on a strange-looking wooden stretcher.
“Another person died?” I asked. “Who?”
“Henry,” Rhys murmured, his chin quivering. “Henry is dead.”
It felt like I’d been kicked in the throat. “How?”
“The same way Betsy and Tommy died,” Beth answered as she placed her hand on my brother’s shoulder.
“There was so much blood.” Rhys looked like he was going to be sick.
“Blood?” I inhaled sharply. “When did this happen?”
“Sometime during the night,” Beth said.
A terrible thought crept into my mind. Could I have done this? I came out of my blackout, in the corn holding a knife, covered in blood. Could it have been Henry’s blood? I dragged my hands through my hair, trying to scrape my brain for any memory. Dane told me he’d seen conduits do miraculous and frightening things in the throes of their ancestor’s memories. Was Dane just trying to protect me?
“I’m not going to stand watch over you,” Brennon whispered through gritted teeth. “We should be happy. We’ve earned that right. This isn’t the old days.”
I had no idea what he was talking about, but I couldn’t deal with this right now.
“I need to change my clothes,” I muttered as I hurried into the house and down the stairs to my room. I wanted to close the door on everything, but when I got there I found Spencer Mendoza waiting.
“What are you doing here?”
“I might ask you the same question. You shouldn’t even be here anymore.” Spencer circled me like a shark testing its prey. “Where were you last night? And, Ashlyn, don’t insult my intelligence by telling me you were with Brennon.” The way he said my name was revolting.