But the emotional onslaught disappeared as quickly as it had come.
Was she losing her mind?
Probably.
That would certainly explain a lot.
Slowly, Tristan turned around and met her gaze. His eyes were empty of emotion when he said, “I’m…connected to you. Because of the blood. So, I can sense you. If I follow what I feel, I always find you.”
Tristan briefly glanced at Gabriel.
“You can feel me?” Scarlet tilted her head to the side.
Tristan nodded.
“Can I feel you?”
Tristan blinked. “I don’t know.”
“Oh,” Scarlet said, unsure what to do with that information.
An awkward moment passed.
Scarlet cleared her throat. “Is that…is that why your voice seems so…,” Perfect? Beautiful? “familiar?”
“Probably,” Tristan said.
“And Gabriel’s voice?” Scarlet looked at her boyfriend.
“Sounds just like mine.” Tristan said. “Twins have almost identical voices, so your blood—or my blood, or whatever—probably registers our sound and identifies with it.”
“Right.” Scarlet nodded. “Because your blood lives inside me.”
Tristan looked away from her and nodded.
“The same blood,” Scarlet blinked, “that, literally, breaks my heart.”
He nodded again.
Scarlet looked at Gabriel. “And you think…my heart will break again? Like it did in all my other lives? You think I’m going to die?” Her voice was barely above a whisper.
Gabriel looked at her with pain in his eyes. “Only if we can’t break the curse.”
“Which we will do,” Tristan said, looking at Gabriel sternly.
Scarlet looked between the brothers for a second. “Have you tried to break the curse before?”
“We’ve been trying to break it for hundreds of years,” Gabriel said. “The key to undoing the curse is finding the fountain of youth—the same fountain that gave Tristan and me immortality. But we haven’t had much luck.
“The fountain is rumored to be in Florida, but we’ve combed the state and found nothing. We’ve searched all across Europe, the Middle East, South America…we’ve followed any and every legend pertaining to the whereabouts of the fountain, but we have yet to find it.
Scarlet said, “But it exists, right? I mean, your mom drank from it, so wouldn’t she have known where it was?”
Gabriel shook his head. “No, she never went to the fountain. She drank a vial of fountain water brought back from an expedfition to the New World. The man who returned with the vials never told anyone where he’d found the water, so it remains a mystery.”
“Vials? There was more than one vial of fountain water?”
Gabriel nodded. “There were three vials in all.
“Where are the vials now?”
“Two are empty and the other is...missing.”
Of course.
“So, there are no more vials left, and no one knows where the fountain actually is, but if we don’t find it then I’m probably going to…die?
Gabriel’s face was pained. “The fountain is the only sure way to cure you.”
Fear and defeat washed over Scarlet.
“That’s not true,” Tristan said. “I have a new plan, and it’s awesome.”
“I don’t think awesome is the right word for it.” Gabriel looked at his twin with narrowed eyes.
Tristan shrugged. “It’s foolproof, and it will save Scarlet’s life.”
“What’s your plan?” Scarlet looked at Tristan hopefully.
“Trust me,” Gabriel said, shaking his head. “You don’t want to know.”
Exasperated, Scarlet said, “You just promised me no more secrets.”
“I know but—”
“Gabriel might have promised you no more secrets.” Tristan looked at Scarlet firmly. “But I didn’t. And it’s my secret to tell.”
She glared at Tristan for a long moment. She wanted to argue with him but, somehow, she knew she would lose. “Fine. Keep your little secret. But are you sure this new plan of yours will work?”
Tristan nodded.
Gabriel made a face. “It might work. But I think we still need to continue our search for the fountain.” He looked at Scarlet with a reassuring smile. “And now that you know about everything, we can look for it together.”
Scarlet wasn’t reassured. She was scared. “But you just said you’ve been looking for centuries and can’t find it.”
He nodded. “That doesn’t mean it’s not out there. We’ll just keep on looking.”
“But…what if we don’t find it? What if my blood, or Tristan’s blood or whatever, kills me first? What if I die?”
Scarlet thought back to the morning she’d woke up in the forest two years ago. The fear...the confusion...the helplessness she felt.
It was coming back to her in vivid color and emotion.
She would not—could not—go through that terrifying experience again. She was on the verge of tears.
“Hey, hey,” Gabriel said, wrapping his arm around her. “That’s not gonna happen. We’ll figure out how to keep you alive, I promise.” He tucked his lips in. “Don’t be afraid.”
Scarlet rolled her eyes with a quivering lip as she stood up. “I’m probably going to die, Gabriel. So, forgive me if I’m afraid.”
If she stayed a minute longer she was going to burst into tears and have a total meltdown.
She had to get out of there.
24
Gabriel watched as Scarlet strode to the front door, her blue eyes wide and glossy.
She looked scared and overwhelmed, and Gabriel felt helpless. In a panic, he started to follow her out, “Scarlet, wait.”
Tristan shot him a warning look and shifted his body to stand in his way.
Gabriel let out a frustrated sigh, but let Scarlet go.
If she needed some space, he could give her that.
At least for now.
Scarlet silently opened the front door and disappeared outside, the large door slowly falling shut behind her.
A moment of tense silence passed between Gabriel and Tristan.
“Well…that went well.” Tristan crossed his arms in front of his chest.
Gabriel shook his head. “Don’t start.”
“You’re an idiot,” Tristan started.
Gabriel rolled his eyes.
“No, you really are,” Tristan said. “First, you go and introduce yourself to her when we specifically agreed to let her live in peace until the curse was broken. Then you jump into her life so she tracks me down in the woods where—surprise!—she learns Gabriel has a twin brother and she’s going to die. Epic fail, man.”
Gabriel shook his head. “I tried to keep her away, I swear.”
“It doesn’t matter, Gabe. She’s smart. She probably would have found out anyway.”
Gabriel exhaled, staring at the cabin door. “She freaked out.”
“What did you expect her to do? Jump for joy? We just told her she was doomed to die. Again.”
“Yeah, but she usually remembers everything once we tell her when she was born. What happened? Why didn’t she remember this time?”
Tristan shook his head. “I don’t know. But this is exactly why I didn’t want you to meet her. She’s scared, and we’re screwed.”
A moment passed.
Tristan said, “You left out a few details, you know. You didnh’t tell her what the curse actually was?”
Gabriel shook his head. “What was I supposed to do? Tell her she’s my only chance at true love? That would’ve been awkward.”