Page 188 of Drown My Sorrow

“They’re alive!” I whisper. “They have to be alive! Nat needs us!”

I shake my head in protest. Nat looks awful. Her head is lolling, and she needs to be supported. There is blood trickling down the side of her face and from her mouth.

I don’t want to leave her, but if they get their hands on us, it’s all over. They will kill all three of us. As long as they need to capture me, they will keep her alive.

I hope.

I’m torn for a second, and then I turn and lead Gael back down to the beach. I stay in the tree line and work our way through the forest. In one of the clearings, we come across a car.

Gael goes towards it confidently. He looks at me with raised eyebrows. “I am a man prepared.”

We get in, and he drives us to a beach we call Lover’s Lookout. He lets me out and then goes and hides the car before he returns with a huge pack and guides me down to the beach.

“Why here?”

“This is where I became Daane. I welcomed it. It was so messed up, but I was glad they were doing it. Seeing them, something felt right from the moment I met them. But having the choice taken away from me made it okay. They gave me something that helped mend the broken parts in me.”

We sit down near the cliffs, out of sight. The tide is far out, but I notice there’s an inflatable boat hidden.

“Did you do this as well?” I ask nervously. I hope he doesn’t expect me to get in that. The wind lifts my hair and sand hits my face hard.

I look up at the sky, clouds. Wind change. I nervously step back from the ocean.

Gael nods and points to the surfboards. “If we need to escape, we can. Oh, Mitch is a really, really good guy.”

“Why did you do this?” I murmur.

“Because I prepare for what is going to go wrong and hope for the best.”

I swallow hard, looking at the surfboard and then the boat. “I’m not sure I can get on there with you.”

“You can. It will be fine. You have done so many amazing, incredible things. I know you can do this.”

“Do you think he was telling the truth?” I murmur, my eyes fill with more tears. Just thinking about them floating dead in the black torrents makes me feel sick.

“No, they can’t be. Someone would have told us.”

I curl up in his lap, holding onto his arm to keep me safe.

Gael looks up. I follow his gaze and see someone walking towards us.

“Mitch?”

I scramble, but Gael catches my arm and pulls me the rest of the way up.

“I’ve contacted them, Gael.” Mitch pants. He sits down heavily in the sand. “I sent a message. But I don’t know if they got it, Sonny found me. I’m sorry. I tried. But I couldn’t get through.”

Are they dead? Is my pack dead? Wouldn’t I have felt it in the bonds? The panic surges up again, stealing my ability to vocalise.

“Where is he?” Gael asks urgently.

“He’s locked up right now. They are going to find you, though. This island is small, and they are offering a cool million to anyone who helps lead to your capture.” Mitch takes the bottle Gael passes him and drinks deeply.

I choke on the number. A million? People would do a lot more for a lot less.

“You need to get off this island.” Mitch points the bottle at me. “And you need to do it today.”

Fear chokes me. “We can’t. Even if we could, the nearest island is too far, and they have Nat.”

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