Page 89 of Point of No Return

I tread water, surfacing while holding onto her. Her hat and glasses are gone, and her green eyes are wide. “No, no,” she’s gasping, her nails digging into me.

It hits me like a punch to the gut. Panic is all over her face, and I lift her back onto the dock, climbing up after her.

“Charlie,” I touch her face, but her breath is coming out in pants. Her eyes are squeezed shut, and she’s gripping on to my shirt like a second skin.

“I can swim. I said I don’t.”

“Charlotte,” I’m whispering, brushing her hair out of her eyes.

Her eyes snap open, and when she sees me, she’s shoving my chest, pushing me away from her. “Don’t touch me. Don’t fucking touch-”

“Charlie,” I’m holding onto her despite her thrashing. She’s still shoving, skin dripping wet until I clamp down and hold her tighter, soothing warmth into her. “Baby,” I say and then I’m just whispering to her.

Her movements are frantic at first and then it’s like she’s slowly relaxing into me. No longer squirming, no longer shoving me away. I wrap my arms around her, tangling a hand in her hair, and soothing circles into her neck.

“Breathe for me,” I echo, holding her. And she lets me, her hands still clenching my shirt as shallow gasps leave her mouth. “Deeper, baby.” I’m saying, cursing myself for not having considered the fact that there’s a reason she doesn’t swim.

She’s terrified.And I have no idea what to do.

“What do you need?” I whisper to her, aware of the fact that Aleks is now out of the water, fumbling around for a towel to give to me. He hands it over, and I wrap it around her shoulders, pulling back to look at her.

Those green eyes are nearly glass, and she’s looking at me like I’m some kind of puzzle she just can’t piece together. Like she doesn’t know whether to trust me or push me away.

Trust me. Let me in,I want to say but I can’t force myself to say the words. Her breathing is finally back to normal, and as she glances between Aleks and I, reality seems to slam into her.

“Let me go.”

She shoves me back, standing and grabbing her sandals before limping back to the house. She doesn’t so much as look back at us… and though I’m confused as hell, I know better than to follow after her.

Chapter Forty

Charlotte

“Again,” she ordered as the Prevyain sun beat down on the back of my skull. The sand bit into my knees, and the blade in my hand was razor sharp, glinting in the air. The heat was a living, breathing creature, and sweat dripped down my arms and neck. I was exhausted. I’d spent hours practicing the same maneuver against the waves, over and over again.

“I can’t,” I admitted on the brink of collapse.

My mother stood suddenly, the spindles of palm she was weaving a forgotten pile behind her. Her long dress dragged in the sand behind her as she treaded through the water toward me. I was too weak to react, to do anything but watch as she reached forward and hoisted my arm higher, the blade suspended mid-air.

Her hands yanked my hair back to my nape. She leaned down, her mouth at my ear where she knew I could barely hear.

“Why are you here, Lottie?” my mother said.

Because I do what I’m told.

“You and father…” I panted. “-want me to learn the old ways.”

She tugged my hair, and I swayed just slightly as her fingers began weaving my hair into a practiced plait. “Why are youhere?” she repeated firmer this time.

Why do I exist?

She tugged my braid back, forcing me to stare up at the sun’s blazing face. I knew this speech well.

I was born out of necessity. I was here because Camila was dead. I was here to train in the ways of my people- to keep the fire alive when all other lights went out. I wasn’t just learning how to fight or how to kill. I wasn’t just being taught how to become one with the shadows. I was the last of my kind. A future. A legacy.

But whenever I met my mother’s eyes, I felt like none of those things. I was the beginning of an end. A failure. A disappointment. Maybe that’s why I trained so hard, why I never stopped trying to be the best.

“Again,” she repeated, and though my arms shook, I forced myself to duplicate the move.

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