Gasping, I flail up, but Ned’s already on top of me. His massive
hands close around my neck. In his eyes, I see nothing of the
man I’ve known my whole life. The man I called “uncle.” He’s
far away. Perhaps gone forever.
With a grunt, Ned pushes me beneath the black water.
Instantly, darkness engulfs me. I claw at his hands with all of
my strength, but I know it’s no use. I’m weakened, and he’s
twice as strong as me. My body writhes and flails, but he’s
straddling my waist, pinning me beneath the waves.
My lungs burn for breath. My eyes burn with salt water. The
wounds Ned’s fists opened on my skin burn and bleed into the
sea. My chest thrums and seems to tear apart from the inside
out, yearning to breathe. Gripping Ned’s hands, I struggle to
make out anything in the rippling black water above me. But
there’s nothing. Everything fades into darkness.
It’s over.
I shut my eyes. I don’t want it to end this way. I’ll gather my
final tendril of life and pour it into thoughts of Cassandra.
Perhaps, wherever she is at this moment, she’ll feel it and know
how much I love her. I’ll leave this world thinking only of how
I love her.
Goodbye,
Cassandra.
Chapter 35
Cassandra
’ve never loved any sight more than that of the
I
backyard. Basked in pale moonlight, it’s magical.
I’m flying, soaring over the grass, past the gardens, toward
the beach. The smell of the ocean in the distance is the substance that pulses through my veins.
I’m coming. I’m coming, Lawrence.
I push past the branches in a daze. I explode onto the
beach.
And immediately shrink back a step. There are people
here. Strangers. A woman sleeping on the sand and a big
man down by the shore. Recognition flickers through me. I
know him. I’ve seen him before.
Lawrence’s uncle. Ned.
There’s a splash. Another person. A body being held
under the water. I recognize the twitching legs.
Lawrence. It’s Lawrence.
“Lawrence!”
I barely recognize the anguished pitch my voice takes as I
fly toward the water. Ned’s dark features are twisted, unrecognizable with rage. By the time he sees me, my head is
connecting with his chest.
The impact probably hurts me ten times more than it
does him. But it’s enough. He teeters backward, thrown off
balance. His arms swirl in the air.
Lawrence bursts from the water. He gags and coughs. His
limbs flail, grasping for life.
But he is alive. Blessedly, beautifully alive.
I’m still screaming. “Lawrence!”
He blindly flings himself forward and collapses on the
sand. He presses his face to the ground, gasping for air with
his entire body. Deliriously happy, I reach for him.
The shadow falls over him before I realize what’s happening. Ned. Lunging toward me. His hands close around my
shirt. He lifts me like I’m a rag doll. One shove and I’m on
my back on the sand, the wind knocked out of me.
I blink in shock. But when his face comes into view again,
I scramble back to my feet. Trembling like a caged rabbit. I
hold up my arms, anticipating the next blow.
But Ned only stares at me. His brow lowers. “You.”
I have no words. My heart thrums within me, threatening
to explode out of my chest.
“You must be the one he fell in love with,” Ned says slowly,
the realization coming to him. “I should have known. I
should have listened to my instincts that day on the beach.”
“I won’t let you hurt him.”
Ned laughs. “This night keeps getting more and more
aggravating.”
I back up slowly, my eyes darting frantically around the beach
for something to fight him with. A stick, a rock—anything.
A flicker of movement catches my eye. The woman on the
beach is stirring. Whose side is she on? Ned’s or Lawrence’s? Is
it worth the risk to try to get her to help me?
“You’d better leave now,” Ned says. “Before I have to deal
with you too.”