you’ll need to climb and you won’t have gear.You won’t have a climbing kit or rope. You won’t be able to hook in or rappel back down. I’m here to show you that it’s possible. Because until you believe it, you won’t be able to do it.”
And then Carden simply turned and dove into an oncoming wave.
Priti chattered at us, droning on about the sea cliffs and stacks. About climbing kits. Free climbing. Bouldering. But I tuned her out, unable to do anything but watch his powerful strokes cutting through the water.
He disappeared under the surface, and concern nagged at me. I sent feelers out into the universe, trying to sense if he was safe. Somehow I knew he was. Somehow I knew I’d be able to tell if he were in danger.
“They call it the Needle,” Priti said. Water churned violently at its base, and Carden burst from the surface, riding the crest of a swell. It tossed him a few feet above the water, and he found his grip with ease. He began to climb at once. “McCloud is a local. It’s a particular favorite of his.”
I detected the hint of a smile on her face, and I wanted to smack her. I chafed my arms, trying to get a handle on these crazy thoughts. Was this jealousy? That she’d known something about him that I hadn’t? I was getting cold just standing there, and I hunched into myself, making myself watch instead of think.
The Needle dwarfed Carden, but his small figure clambered up until he reached a point where the rock forked into two. He swung like a monkey to the center and slipped between the cracks. The space was much larger than it seemed from afar, and he wedged himself in and began to hobble up, one foot braced on either side.
Near the top, he edged onto an outcropping. The glare off thewater had a way of distorting scale and distance, and I hadn’t seen it before. He stood, and I saw that, sure enough, a table of rock protruded from the side.
He walked to the edge. A collective breath sucked in, as loud as the ebbing tides. Then Carden dove off.
He swam back to shore. I’d expected to see giddiness on his face as he emerged, but he was grim. Sober. His white T-shirt clung to him, and I stared unabashedly. I didn’t care anymore—I couldn’t peel my eyes from him. He was magnificent.
Who was Carden McCloud, really?
Once more, the water churned and pulled at him as he returned to us, only now my heart felt as tossed as the seas.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
I stayed after, sitting on the cold, damp sand, contemplating the Needle, reeling from what I’d just seen. Would I have been strong enough to complete Kate’s climb? Would I have been brave enough to hold fast, seeing something so unsettling it’d made another girl lose her grip and fall to her death?
I’d thought I was alone with these thoughts, but then a heavy body plopped on the sand next to me, casting me in shadow. I knew at once who it was—his identity practically vibrated to me, echoing through my body with a pull stronger than the tides.
He’d said we needed to keep our distance, but Carden had sensed my distress before. Maybe he sensed my turmoil now, my need for answers.
I didn’t even look at him. I just said, “The girl who died climbing. Acari Kate. Why did she fall?”
“Pride goeth before a fall.”
“Please, Carden. I need to know—in English.” His nonanswer gave me the mental strength to angle my body to look athim, and I wished I hadn’t. He’d wrapped his arms around his bent legs, and his shirt tugged against his body, outlining ropes of lean muscle. I looked down the beach, back to the scene of the accident. “She climbed to the top and saw something. It scared her enough to make her fall. What did she see?”
“Only Acari Kate knows what awaited her at the top.” At my impatient look, he chuckled, but he continued. “You’ve seen the mysteries this island hides. What monsters lie in wait. Not all are as brave as you in the face of danger.”
Had she seen a Draug? A vampire? How many
And then Carden simply turned and dove into an oncoming wave.
Priti chattered at us, droning on about the sea cliffs and stacks. About climbing kits. Free climbing. Bouldering. But I tuned her out, unable to do anything but watch his powerful strokes cutting through the water.
He disappeared under the surface, and concern nagged at me. I sent feelers out into the universe, trying to sense if he was safe. Somehow I knew he was. Somehow I knew I’d be able to tell if he were in danger.
“They call it the Needle,” Priti said. Water churned violently at its base, and Carden burst from the surface, riding the crest of a swell. It tossed him a few feet above the water, and he found his grip with ease. He began to climb at once. “McCloud is a local. It’s a particular favorite of his.”
I detected the hint of a smile on her face, and I wanted to smack her. I chafed my arms, trying to get a handle on these crazy thoughts. Was this jealousy? That she’d known something about him that I hadn’t? I was getting cold just standing there, and I hunched into myself, making myself watch instead of think.
The Needle dwarfed Carden, but his small figure clambered up until he reached a point where the rock forked into two. He swung like a monkey to the center and slipped between the cracks. The space was much larger than it seemed from afar, and he wedged himself in and began to hobble up, one foot braced on either side.
Near the top, he edged onto an outcropping. The glare off thewater had a way of distorting scale and distance, and I hadn’t seen it before. He stood, and I saw that, sure enough, a table of rock protruded from the side.
He walked to the edge. A collective breath sucked in, as loud as the ebbing tides. Then Carden dove off.
He swam back to shore. I’d expected to see giddiness on his face as he emerged, but he was grim. Sober. His white T-shirt clung to him, and I stared unabashedly. I didn’t care anymore—I couldn’t peel my eyes from him. He was magnificent.
Who was Carden McCloud, really?
Once more, the water churned and pulled at him as he returned to us, only now my heart felt as tossed as the seas.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
I stayed after, sitting on the cold, damp sand, contemplating the Needle, reeling from what I’d just seen. Would I have been strong enough to complete Kate’s climb? Would I have been brave enough to hold fast, seeing something so unsettling it’d made another girl lose her grip and fall to her death?
I’d thought I was alone with these thoughts, but then a heavy body plopped on the sand next to me, casting me in shadow. I knew at once who it was—his identity practically vibrated to me, echoing through my body with a pull stronger than the tides.
He’d said we needed to keep our distance, but Carden had sensed my distress before. Maybe he sensed my turmoil now, my need for answers.
I didn’t even look at him. I just said, “The girl who died climbing. Acari Kate. Why did she fall?”
“Pride goeth before a fall.”
“Please, Carden. I need to know—in English.” His nonanswer gave me the mental strength to angle my body to look athim, and I wished I hadn’t. He’d wrapped his arms around his bent legs, and his shirt tugged against his body, outlining ropes of lean muscle. I looked down the beach, back to the scene of the accident. “She climbed to the top and saw something. It scared her enough to make her fall. What did she see?”
“Only Acari Kate knows what awaited her at the top.” At my impatient look, he chuckled, but he continued. “You’ve seen the mysteries this island hides. What monsters lie in wait. Not all are as brave as you in the face of danger.”
Had she seen a Draug? A vampire? How many
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