“Bridget!” I call out, then regret it as my throat aches around the word. “I’m also sorry to you. For trying to kill you. Twice.”
She stands beside Liney. Their hands intertwine. “We can call it once and a half,” Bridget offers graciously.
Liney gulps and begins what she must’ve rehearsed already: “Elle, we’re going to—”
“You need to leave,” I interrupt. I want to stand, to show them the strength I can hold. Liney can leave me behind. “Now. I’m burning it to the ground. Everything.”
Liney kneels beside me, her mouth quivering. She holds one of my hands. My heart thumps all the harder. My sister. My sunshine. After all this, she can still touch me.
I never thought of Liney as capable. That was my folly. She may manage to truly escape this. “Listen to me carefully. Both of you.”
They kneel beside me now, though Bridget stays leaned back.
“You must send word to the authorities,” I instruct them. “Tell themwhat I did. Here. And at home. I’m sure you’ve put it all together. There are accounts in the paper. All of it’s true.”
Liney shakes her head, looking away from me. “That doesn’t—”
“Tell them to check the records of Mr. Croxton at the harbor society. And that he’s been cheating keepers out of pay. That he’s connected to Thomas. They plot together. You’ll have the inheritance back, with me unable to claim it. You can buy a lawyer. Liney—”
Something on the island changes. I can still feel it through the dark ocean’s siphon to me. Footsteps on the far side of the island, at the dock. Too many.
I glance at Douglas, his features equally alarmed.
“Someone’s here,” I whisper. “A boat. Against the dock. A group of them.”
While we played at demons and devils, they organized. I had the clues. Mr. Croxton came, both for his own gain and to find girls the right age hiding. Thomas’s reward. They worked together. Now they’re here to collect.
We could’ve left. Been half an ocean away, safe on a ship. If I’d not been selfish.
“We need to get you both off the island. Bridget, you must protect—”
“We’ll protect each other,” Liney promises, her grasp on my hand so strong I wince. When did she find this force?
“Hide in the woods. Wait for them to pass you. Then make your escape. Take my boat.”
Liney leans down and hugs me. I never thought she would again. I can’t grasp her back, but this embrace feels ours more than any before. No secrets. No sacrifices. No one else’s bidding.
And I’m letting her go.
“I love you, my little ghost,” I whisper, tears streaking down my face.
She chokes back her own sob at her nickname and squeezes me allthe harder.
Bridget and Liney help me to my feet. Bridget grabs their bags while I instruct Liney on where to find our funds.
“I don’t need it,” I tell her despite her protests. I walk her to the door and shove the satchel into her hands. “This’ll help you both get a head start.”
“But—”
“Go to the authorities or go across the continent if you think they’ve been compromised. Follow your gut. I trust you. Promise me you’ll never return.”
The men have docked and tied their boat. Soon they’ll trek across the small forest. Their footfalls are ants crawling on my skin.
Liney nods, tears still falling freely from her eyes.
“Goodbye, Elle. Thank you,” she says. She squeezes my hand with hers. One quick squeeze. One last reach across the threshold that’s defined our lives here.
They leave the lighthouse together. I watch them until they reach the tree line, ducking into the underbrush. I close the door. Gather my breath. The kitchen knife—my true knife—sits on the counter.
