It wasn’t until after she was gone that I realized I was still clutching something in my fist. And when I looked down in my hand, it was a bracelet made of black pearls.
PARTIII
THE DEEP
CHAPTER 31
ADORA
December 21, 2020
38 days until the Crimson Eclipse
41 days until the Cantini-Sullivan wedding
Seven days ago,I returned to the mainland.
I haven’t left my bedroom since.
My days and nights dragged on while the Cantinis celebrated Saturnalia. Through these tortuous hours, I worked like a madwoman and sewed all hours of the day and night until the dress orders were complete.I was afraid that if I stopped, even for a second, I would surely crumble, collapse, or go crazy. How was it that a hollow heart could weigh so much?
On this day, it was early morning.
In my bedroom, the curtains were drawn and the room was dark, as I preferred. I sat at the table under a hot lamp, stitching a tear in my dress for the ball.
I was determined to banish every insistent thought of him, passing the fabric faster under a hammering needle and driving my foot into the pedal. Echoes of the two of us together begged to take up space in my mind. And these memories were forceful, wrapping their fleeting moments around my throat and digging their nostalgic fingers into my skull.Remember me, miss me, come back to me,my past screamed.
I hadn’t realized the needle punctured my finger until warm blood pumped from it, slid down my skin, and wrapped around my wrist like a gory bracelet.
I turned my hand over, watching blood spill across my blue veins.
Alice grabbed my shoulder.“Adora!”
Her voice snatched me from the faraway place, and I pulled away from the sewing machine, blood spilling across my workstation.
“I’ll grab a towel,” she exclaimed.
Her return was instant. Or maybe it wasn’t, but it felt like it was. I didn’t know because my gaze was locked on my bleeding finger. It had brought me back to beating pulses, blood, and Bone Island.
She crouched down before me and took my hand in hers. “You’ve been working non-stop, hardly taking a moment to breathe.”
“It’s fine. It doesn’t hurt,” I insisted. “I didn’t even notice it happened.”
Alice’s shoulders fell when she let go of my hand, and her eyes filled with worry. “Miss, are you all right? You haven’t spoken a word about the stranger on the island since …” she leaned in, her voice dipping in degrees, “since that night. After you killed him.”
Alice believed he was dead because I’d told her I killed him, but she had no right to speak about it. “There’s nothing to talk about. He’s gone. The past belongs in the past.” And a shudder sailed through me as I said it.
She hadn’t moved from her stance. “But you know I’m here if you need to talk about it.”
I stood to my feet and cradled my wounded hand close to my chest. “I said I’m fine, Alice,” I grated out. “For mercy’s sake, I don’t want to hear any mention of that night or a word about him.”
Her eyes cast downward, and she patted her knees before standing. “As you wish.”
A light knock on the bedroom door came.
Cyrus’s knocks were hesitant, gentle. Camora’s were quick and excited. These were knocks from Viola—clipped with authority. I didn’t move to answer it and sat on the edge of my made-up bed, facing the window. I didn’t turn around when Alice answered it, either.
Viola’s voice filled the room when she called my name. “Get dressed. You have visitors downstairs waiting for you.”
