Slowly, Scarlet sat back down and looked at Gabriel. “How did Tristan’s blood ‘accidentally’ get on the arrow?”
Gabriel pursed his lips. “When Raven shot you, Tristan…sorta…jumped in front of the arrow to save you. The arrow went straight through his heart and into yours. So, the arrow was covered in his blood when it hit your heart.”
Scarlet leaned back, confused. “But you said you guys didn’t know you were immortal.”
“We didn’t.”
“So….” Scarlet’s heart squeezed. “If Tristan didn’t know he was immortal, why would he jump in front of an arrow…why would he risk his life…for me?”
If she’d been engaged to Gabriel, why had Tristan been willing to die for her?
Was that normal behavior for a brother?
Was that normal behavior for…anyone?
Gabriel hesitated. “You’d have to ask him.”
Scarlet narrowed her eyes.
What was going on?
22
Tristan made his way into the study and braced himself against the old mahogany desk.
He was angry.
He was scared.
And he was sad.
Angry because Gabriel had met Scarlet before the curse was broken and now she was in his living room, completely confused.
Idiot.
Scared because her memories could return any second—as evidenced by her flashbacks in the living room—and he couldn’t have her remembering him.
Not entirely, at least.
And sad because, once again, there was nothing he could—or should—do about Gabriel’s relationship with Scarlet.
Except watch it play out before him.
He swore under his breath.
Time was of the essence.
He needed to break the curse immediately, before things got out of hand.
He pulled his phone from his pocket and texted his most recently hired assassin.
Change in plans, we’re meeting tonight.
Tristan slid the phone back into his pocket and took a few deep breaths, his heart pounding recklessly inside him.
He waited a moment, hoping his chest would calm down, but it was no use.
Scarlet was two rooms away, and his soul had never been more happy.
Or hopeless.
The immortal blood living in the center of her heart was pulling for him with its heavy thumping, and breaking her heart little by little with each pulse.
He couldn’t control his blood in Scarlet’s chest—he couldn’t keep it from tearing her heart. And the closer he was to her, the more damage it would do.
It would only get worse if she remembered him.
He needed to stay away.
23
Scarlet tapped her fingers on her knees. She didn’t know where to begin
“So, we were engaged. Your crazy ex-girlfriend shot me. Tristan tried to save my life, but really what he did was turn me into a reincarnating, semi-immortal girl. And you never told me…any of this?” She looked at him in confusion and hurt.
Gabriel drew a long, deep breath. “I was hoping the curse would be broken before you remembered everything. I wanted to have good news for you. I didn’t want to freak you out.”
“But you did freak me out. I’m totally freaked out, Gabriel!”
He nodded and looked at her closely. “I am so sorry you’re scared. But I promise, I didn’t think it would be this bad. Usually, when you come back to life, you remember everything right away.”
Scarlet wrinkled her brow. “You lied to me. You deceived me. You came into my life and pretended you didn’t know me. You played with my head—you played with my heart, Gabriel. That was wrong.”
“I know.” His voice cracked with emotion. “But you have to believe me. I know you don’t remember me, you don’t remember us together, in the past, but I am crazy about you, Scarlet. I swear I wasn’t trying to trick you. I just…I just missed you. And I didn’t want to scare you. Please forgive me?”
Scarlet pressed her lips together, a myriad of emotions coursing through her. She was angry and she was hurt. But, try as she might, she couldn’t hate Gabriel. In a weird way, she almost sympathized with his desire to be in her life. Like she understood what lengths someone would go to for the person they cared about.
Scarlet shook her head, confused and frustrated. “I’m done with the lies. No more. From now on, you need to be honest. Because this,” Scarlet waved about the room with her hands, indicating all she’d learned since entering Gabriel’s cabin, “is not cool. You shouldn’t have kept this from me. It wasn’t fair.”
Gabriel looked like a wounded animal. “I know.”
“No more lies,” Scarlet said.
Gabriel agreed, “No more lies.”
Scarlet pressed her lips together. “Then I forgive you.” She paused a moment, thinking about her past relationships with Gabriel—the ones she couldn’t remember. “Have we been, uh, together in all of my lives?”
He shrugged. “Most of them.”
“And...how many lives have I had?” Scarlet scrunched her face.
Two? Three? Eighty?
“Six.”
Six? Okay, not bad. Six lives.
Less than a cat.
I can handle that.
Scarlet shook her head. “And what about the first fifteen years of this life? Why don’t I remember those?”
Gabriel looked sympathetic. “When you die, you’re body doesn’t get buried or decay. It just sorta…disappears.”
Well, that was good to know. At least she didn’t rot in a grave after every life.
“But when you come back to life,” Gabriel continued, “your body just sorta…reappears. Out of thin air, or whatever.”
Scarlet raised a brow. “What?”
“You don’t get born into a new life,” he said. “You just… materialize in random places. You wake up without any memories—like what happened two years ago—and you’re always fifteen years old when you…reappear.”
Scarlet’s mouth hung open. “I‘ve had six lives, but none of them have been complete lives?”
“Except your first life,” Gabriel said. “You were born into that one, of course. With a family and everything.”
Her heart sank.
Family.
If this was all true, then Scarlet didn’t have any living family members. No family had abandoned her in the park. No family would ever come looking for her….
“Wait.” Scarlet held up a palm. “If I materialize in random places, how did you know I was here in Avalon?”
“Because,” Gabriel shifted in his seat, “Tristan can find you.”
“What? How?”
Gabriel pressed his lips together for a moment.
“How can Tristan find me?”
“It’s really not my thing to tell you—“
“Gabriel!” Scarlet was so sick of all the half-truths and secrets.
“Okay, fine.” He turned and hollered down the hallway, “Tristan!”
Several moments passed before Tristan appeared at the living room entrance, looking annoyed. “What?”
“Scarlet wants to know how you’re able to find her,” Gabriel said, looking anywhere but at his twin.
Tristan narrowed his eyes. “Nope.” He started walking back down the hallway.
“Please?” All the secrets were suffocating her; she had to know.
Tristan kept his back to her for several long seconds and, for a brief moment, it was as if she were momentarily inside him, feeling what he did.
Fear, anxiety, helplessness… desire?