Page 39 of Reign of Light
“In the cabin. It’s just because of the storm. This way.” I grab his hand and walk along the boards until I get to the door Taril led me to during the last storm. I don’t want to barge in. While everything went well yesterday and the island seems to trust that the Voyagers won’t harm us, I don’t want to make any mistakes. I still want to tread cautiously, even if it is optimistic.
I raise my fist to knock on the door, but I don’t, instead spinning around quickly to face Weston.
He raises one eyebrow. “Change your mind?”
“No, but…” My voice trails off. I don’t know what came over me, or why I feel the deep need to do this, but I can’t push it away, and if I don’t follow through, I feel like I will regret it. “I want to be the one to tell them. When the island deemed me unworthy, I promised myself I would bring everyone back at camp to the waters, so at least they had a chance to be. I know they can’t bring it home, but I still want to be the one to tell them. To help them find it. I feel like it is the least I can do, especially with how things turned out with Dane.”
“If that’s what you want, Lennox. You can tell them.”
My lips turn up at the corners as he catches my chin between his fingers, tilting upward and leaning in closer. “But don’t talk like you’re responsible for any of them not finding the entrance, or for what Dane did. I’m sure if they all knew the truth, they would understand.” He presses a soft kiss to my lips and pulls away with a nod to the door. “Now knock.”
I shoot him a playful glare, then spin back around, pounding my fist on the door three times, then wait. There’s no sound from behind the door, and it feels like minutes pass in silence. I start to fidget, impatiently waiting as if there are hot coals on my bare feet. They’re probably confused and not expecting us since everyone at camp is behind this door already, but I’m anxious. I want to tell them, so we can all move on from it.
“Mara, it’s me. Open up,” I call out, and a few more long seconds pass before the door swings open. Mara stands in the doorway, her gaze flicking between Weston and me.
“Hi,” she says cautiously. “What’s going on?”
“We just wanted to talk to everyone. We have some things to explain.”
“Are you finally going to give me answers?” She folds her arms over her chest, and I’m brought back to the first time we met. It seems like no time has passed, even though it has, and she’s gone from hating me to befriending me too many times in that span.
“Some at least,” I answer.
She pulls the door open, gesturing inside. Weston and I step through the threshold only to be met with a room full of blank but curious stares.
“Hey everyone,” I say with a wave.
“Hi Lennox!” Gauge calls and raises his arm high from where he sits in the back of the room. Movement catches my eye as Roley runs up to me, giving me a quick hug before running back and sitting on his sleeping mat.
I breathe a sigh of relief. The sentiment from the beach doesn’t seem to have died overnight, and no one looks like they’re ready to stand and pick a fight.
Mara shuts the door and steps past us, plopping down on her cushion before calling out, “So what do you need to tell us?”
Everyone stares at me expectantly, waiting for whatever is so important that it brought the first Castaways to camp. I don’t know how Weston does it. He’s stood in this position so many times and delivered tough news or made commands, and that’s only since I’ve been around.
How would I have done it as queen?
I glance over at him, and he gives me a nod of encouragement, despite the stern Captain’s expression firmly in place.
Turning back to the group, I take a breath and let the words tumble out.
“First, I wanted to say thank you to all of you, you know, for not throwing us in the cage the moment we stepped through the door.”
“There’s a cage?” Weston mutters, and I clear my throat, ignoring him.
“I guess that’s a step up from my last first time in camp.” Weston grumbles behind me, and a few snickers erupt around the room. I smile, already feeling looser; more in charge.
“I know Dane disappearing was a shock to us all. To be honest, I’m still processing and dealing with the betrayal, and I might be for a while. You all have been here longer than I have, except you, Lilly, so I can imagine you feel like I do. Dane told me he didn’t know how to replenish the dust, and that’s why I tried so hard to come up with an answer. I didn’t want the choice of returning home taken from any of us. That didn’t turn out the way I hoped.”
I look down at my feet, trying to find the strength to say the next part and not feel like I betrayed my friends by keeping it from them. Even though it was the right decision because of what Dane was after, Istill feel a thread of guilt knowing I hid from them exactly what I vowed I would help them find.
“Dane kept us all controlled, in fear, focused on finding what he wanted. We didn’t have a choice in how he treated us and how it eventually took everything away. It is hard to come to terms with, and because of that, we…” I glance over at Weston, and he looks up at the group, his eyes falling on each of their attentive faces. “We decided to give you back the choice. Dane told all of us that the Castaways hunted the Voyagers, but that isn’t exactly true. He was right about one thing. Each of us was taken against his or her will, at first at least, but it was for a good reason. You only become one of the crew after you find the healing waters.”
Mara gasps. Her hands fly over her mouth as she stares at me in disbelief, and several other cries of surprise ring throughout the room.
“You found them? You all did?” Mara asks, her head swiveling between Weston and me.
“We did,” he grumbles, then looks back at me to keep explaining.
