Chapter 36

Groaning, Ree rolled over on the bed and touched her head. There was a very gentle light coming from the corner and once her eyes adjusted she could just make out Sophie sitting in a chair, holding a book on her lap.

“Don’t make any quick moves. Paden healed your head, but we still don’t know the extent of his ability and you may still have a concussion.” Closing the book, she leaned back in her chair and looked at Ree with sad eyes. “I’m so sorry I wasn’t there to help your friend.”

Tears poured out of Ree’s eyes as she remembered Claire’s body lying on the ground, surrounded by those monsters. Her brother’s face, twisted with evil laughter and covered in her friend’s blood, seemed to be printed on the back of her eyelids. Tristan, her dead brother, was the Dark One she would have to fight and kill. Her heart just couldn’t understand it. Part of her had been thrilled to see her brother standing there, but then the horror of what he had just done tore through her like hot steel. How could she look at her parents knowing Tristan was walking the streets of Savannah every night, hunting people as if they were animals? For that matter, how could she look at her friends, or Paden’s family? Her brother had murdered the baby of their family. A girl so full of life and love she lit up any room she occupied.

Her hands twisted in the blanket as she stared at the ceiling, tears dripping down her face. She wasn’t in her room on the island and the need to know where she was helped her gain control of her emotions. She wiped her nose on the sleeve of her shirt and dried her face with the edge of the sheet.

“Where are we?” Her voice broke on the last word, rough from the tears she was holding back.

“Above the shop. There is a two-bedroom apartment up here I keep for emergencies.” Sophie made no move to come closer to Ree, so she sat up slowly and turned to face the Guardian.

“You knew.” Ree’s voice was oddly calm as she made the accusation and was rewarded when the other woman nodded. “You knew Tristan was the person I was going to have to fight.”

“I suspected as much, but there was no proof.” Ree looked at her and the anger in her chest started to well up and out.

“You suspected my brother had been turned into a Dark One, the Dark One, the one that would be pitted against me in mortal battle, but you didn’t think you should tell me it was a possibility? When were you going to tell me, Sophie? When we received an invitation to come fight?” She stood up, anger filling each word until she was shouting. Sophie sat there calmly with her hands folded over the book in her lap and offered no response. With no outlet for all of the rage running through her, Ree grabbed the lamp off of the table next to the bed and threw it across the room. The stained glass of the Tiffany lamp shattered and rained down on the floor. Still seething, she picked up the little table and it, too, hit the opposite wall.

“Everything okay in there?” Paden tapped on the door.

“We’re fine,” Sophie responded.

Ree growled and walked over to the door and snatched it open. Paden stumbled into the room and looked at her with a little fear in his eyes.

“Did you know? Did you know my brother was a Dark One?” It wasn’t a fair question because she remembered the look on his face when he had seen Tristan holding Claire.

“No, Ree. I didn’t know.” Quietly he closed the door and leaned against it. “None of us knew.”

“She did.” Ree flung her hand in Sophie’s direction. “She suspected Tristan had been turned. Holy shit, I don’t even know how they make Dark Ones! No one tells me a damn thing!” Her head was starting to throb again but she was too angry to stop now. “Did Roland know, too? I want to be pissed at all of the appropriate people.” She pinned Sophie with her gaze.

“You would have to ask him yourself, but the last time either of us saw Tristan he was lying dead in a coffin. We waited to see if he would rise, but became convinced he would not. I have no idea what they did different, but he didn’t show any signs of coming back. We knew he had been spending time with Dark Ones, but couldn’t be sure of their influence over him. I never trusted his death completely, but I had no proof that it was anything other than a terrible accident.” Sophie stood and set the book down in the chair. Her face was a work of sorrow and understanding. “I really am sorry, Ree. When you are ready to talk I will answer every question I am able to.” She left, pulling the door closed behind her.

Ree sat down on the bed next to Paden and covered her face with her hands. The bed shifted as he moved closer. His callused fingers pulled her hands away from her face. Gently, he brushed the tears from her face and pulled her into his arms. Her control disappeared when his arms wrapped tightly around her and his face buried in her hair. Her sobs were uncontrollable, thick and loud. So much had happened in the last week, so much had changed. The whole world had been turned upside down and she was trying to keep up with the shift. Fear for her friends and her family, pain for what her brother had become seemed to beat at her heart. Grief for Claire and Paden’s family intertwined with the guilt Ree felt at her death.

Taking a mighty sniff after a very long time, she finally felt more in control of herself. The tears had helped to cleanse some of the pain that was clutching her heart. Paden had eventually laid her down on the bed, but when he had tried to move away she had yanked him down with her. She didn’t want to be alone with so much pain.

Tucked against his side with her head resting on his shoulder she toyed with a button on his shirt a little embarrassed by her outburst. “I’m sorry.” Her voice was thick and worn out.

“Why are you sorry? You haven’t done anything wrong.”

“I got snot all over your shirt.”

He laughed and his arm tightened around her for a moment. “It’ll wash out.”

“How is everyone else? Is Weylin okay?” She tilted her head up toward him and waited for his response. There was a brief hesitation before he answered and fear tightened her stomach.

“He’s fine, Ree. I don’t know much about what I’m doing when I heal, and his ear was gone. There was nothing I could do about it.”

“He’s missing an ear?” Ree’s voice squeaked. She remembered the ragged edges poking out of his bloody hair and squeezed her eyes shut. “Will he be okay?”

“Yeah, he isn’t saying much so we left him in the other room to try and get some sleep.” Ree frowned and decided to talk to Weylin as soon as he woke up. She owed him a giant bit of gratitude and hoped he could forgive her for getting him into this mess. “What about the others?”

“They’re fine. We all came back with some cuts and bruises, but you and Weylin were the worst. We don’t heal well when we’re bitten by Dark Ones. It won’t kill us, but it seems to interfere with our Immortal gifts. The biggest thing was the lecture we got once we were sure you two were going to be fine.”  Grimacing he wiggled on the bed in discomfort.

“What were we supposed to do? Not try to save Claire?” Shaking her head against his chest, she moved so she was more comfortable. Having him hold her was the best balm she could have imagined. “Where were they, anyway? They shouldn’t have just left us like that!”

“Roland ran into more trouble when getting John and his family to their house. It looks like the Dark Ones have started hunting any Immortal lines, or families that have a little something extra in their genes.” His voice was very serious, and Ree could feel the anger bubbling just under his calm exterior. She snuggled closer and wrapped her arm over his chest. “Roland texted Sophie to let her know his suspicions and she went to make sure that as many of our people were as secure as she could manage.”

“She thought we would be safe in the pub because she had placed protection spells there,” Ree told him.

“We would have been safe if we hadn’t left.” His voice was tired.

“We had to, Paden. It’s why we’re here, doing all of this. We had to try and save Claire.” She looked up at him. “I’m so sorry, Pay. I loved Claire too.”

His chest shook with his effort to not cry. Neither of them said anything for a few minutes while he tried to regain control of himself. Ree realized they still hadn’t spoken about Tristan and she had no idea where to start. That wound went so deep and was so painful she wasn’t sure she could actually speak about it.

Finally she broke the silence and asked, “What do I tell my parents? What if they go to the grocery store one night and run into Tristan?”

“I don’t know, Ree. I don’t think you can tell them their son is still alive, but that he’s a monster.” Anger edged his voice and his hand tightened on her arm. “I didn’t think about it until we got back to the house, but he started partying when he was hanging out with Michael and Shannon. It’s all starting to add up. The drugs and drinking could have been a cover-up for the Dark Ones’ influence.”

“You mean he was something like Michael and Shannon? What did Roland call them? Darklings? He wanted to be a Dark One?” Acid churned in her stomach.

“I don’t know, Ree. He may not have fully understood what they were offering. Who knows what they told him.”

She lay there quietly, lost in her own thoughts until she realized Paden’s breathing had become slow and even. She glanced back up at him and smiled when she saw his mouth hanging open.

For a moment she was overwhelmed with gratitude that her friends were with her and helping to fight this evil curse. They made all the difference. Without these people, she would be nothing but a lost girl, but with her friends she might actually have a chance.