“–prophet himself!”
“Does anyone know what time he’ll arrive?”
The hair on the back of my neck stood on end.
That didn’t sound good at all.
And it instantly told me that this group of people weren’t locals. Anything semi-related to the Pilgrims was a one-way ticket to getting booted back to the mainland.
I suddenly remembered the pamphlet Zephyr had brought in. There was supposed to be some gathering happening somewhere in the islands. I thought it’d been one of the larger islands, not our small atoll, but I must not have read the paper well enough before Aiden ripped it up.
The crowd of people seemed to be growing as I made my way through, winding around a mother and daughter who held several signs.
A small bit of dread filled my stomach before I shook it off.
People are allowed to be religious. People are allowed to believe in gods. Those two things do not automatically scream terroristic cult.
I repeated my mantra to myself as I narrowly escaped a man holding a sign about eternal damnation. I cringed as a woman screeched about how the Crusader had saved her friend after they fell ill with some preventable disease, and then someone grabbed me.
A hand landed on my forearm, and I jolted, already too jumpy from the scene. I ripped my arm free, thankfully only sending some air into the threat. The air whooshed past me as I threw myself away from him.
“I’m sorry,” a deep voice said.
I whirled around to face him, my heart threatening to pound out of my chest. My thighs burned slightly, having gone numb from fear. My fingers twitched, but I managed to keep my hands from raising too defensively, which only would have invited my affinity tosqueeze. It writhed in my hands as it was, ready to lash out and hurt more than just this possible threat.
The man straightened slowly, keeping his hands raised in a show of friendliness. He was tall, close to Rafe’s height, with dark, almost black hair. There was gray streaked through his temples, betraying his age, though his cheekbones were still sharp, his jawline still pronounced. He looked a bit ridiculous, wearing a full suit while so close to the beach. It was tailored to fit him perfectly, showing off his broad frame.
His eyes were downturned, locked on my fisted hands. They flicked up toward me, and my breath caught in my throat. Frighteningly pale blue eyes looked back at me, wide with too many emotions. Shock. Surprise. Confusion. Too many to pin down, but it definitely wasn’t the expression of a man about to kidnap someone in broad daylight.
“I’m so sorry,” he murmured. His eyes slid down my frame, taking in my whole appearance as he blinked several times. He wasn’t checking me out, exactly. It was more cursory, even if his expression appeared like he’d seen a ghost. “You…look just like an old friend of mine. I-I thought you were her.”
“Oh,” I said slowly, relaxing slightly after seeing his shock. “That’s alright. You startled me when you touched me.”
“Of course. I shouldn’t have done that,” he mumbled. “I’m so sorry–” he chuckled, then his breath hitched. He shook his head while scrubbing a hand down his face, his eyes wide. “God, you even sound like her.”
I only gave him a tight smile in response.Where the fuck was Aiden?I wasn’t exactly uncomfortable, but the longer this man looked at me the more I began to feel like I probably did know him from somewhere, and I didn’t like not remembering.
“Well, I should probably…” I glanced behind me, again looking for Aiden. He had to be close. My phone buzzed in my pocket, but the man spoke again before I could reach for it.
“How old are you?” he asked.
I turned back to face him, furrowing my brow slightly.
He chuckled again. “Sorry, this is so awkward. I just…maybe I know one of your parents. What’s your mother’s name?”
I went very still.
And he noticed, of course, though there was no way he knew why that question unsettled me.
I considered lying to him, my mind racing to come up with another flowery name to give him, but I found myself blurting out her real name instead. “Iris,” I said, then softened my tone. “Her name was Iris.”
He paused for a moment, like he almost couldn’t believe what I’d said. “Was,” he nearly whispered. I hadn’t meant to let that part slip.This man was equal parts disarming and alarming. He took in a fast breath. “What happened to her? She…she was sick?”
I cleared my throat, blinking quickly through the sting in my eyes. “No, she died in the massacre.”
His jaw dropped slightly, and he took a staggering step back. “The…thismassacre?” He gestured around us. “The Gulf Capitol?”
I nodded numbly.
