“Yeah. I know it seems weird,” she said. “And I’d really love to explain myself, but honestly, you came up out of nowhere and I haven’t had time to put together a good lie.”
“You snuck into my house,” he said.
“Yes.”
“And stole a bunch of my weapons,” he looked at her trunk again.
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Confusion.
Fear. Desire. Fear. Love.
What was going on?
Scarlet made a face. “Because I need…them?”
“So do I.”
She made a face. “You don’t need them.”
Fear. Love.
Why were her emotions all out of whack—
Scarlet gasped and covered her mouth.
“What? What is it?” Tristan looked around in alarm.
She dropped her hand, her mouth falling open. “I can feel you.”
He stared at her, his eyes growing huge. “You can feel me?”
She nodded.
Oh no. This was bad.
Well, it was awesome because it meant that Scarlet now had an inside track on all things Tristan. But it was still bad.
“No.” He started shaking his head, stress jumping out of his core. “No, no, no. That means the connection is stronger. I shouldn’t have touched you.”
“It’s amazing.” Scarlet set a hand to Tristan’s chest, wanting to feel more of him. “Our connection must be both ways now. Wow.” Warm, wonderful bliss slid into her hand and up her arm as she touched him.
He pulled her hand off him. “This is bad.” He cursed, rubbing his head. “We shouldn’t have touched.”
Scarlet tapped into Tristan’s feelings and was overwhelmed by love and passion and loyalty. He loved her—deeply. Everything pulsing out of him was laced in love and protection.
“Why are you smiling?” He asked.
“Because you love me. And I love you. And it’s the most powerful thing I’ve ever felt.”
He slowly nodded. “We have a very powerful love, indeed.”
They stood in his front yard, under the stars, staring at one another like they had when they were Scar and Hunter in the woods. Carefree. Hopeful.
He exhaled as a sliver of fear ran through him. “Which is why I’m concerned about you sneaking into my house and stealing my things—“
“Borrowing. Oh!” She thought of something else. “And I need money. Can I borrow some money?”
He narrowed his eyes. “Why do you need weapons?”
“Is that a yes on the money thing?”
He crossed his arms. “Tell me what’s going on and you can have whatever you want.”
“I can’t.”
He scowled.
“Listen,” she said. “I have to do something. And I know you’ll be tempted to track me down or whatever, but you can’t. I have to do this alone.”
“What do you have to do?”
“Can’t you just trust me?” She pleaded. “I have to go kind of far away, but I don’t want you to be in pain. Follow me if you have to, but don’t find me. Okay?”
“Not okay.”
“You are such a pain.” She growled. “Just let me do this without asking questions. Please?”
“Are you insane? You have a trunk filled with weapons, you’re asking for money, and our connection is now both ways, which makes you more vulnerable than ever before. And you don’t want me to ask questions?” His jaw tightened.
Fear, anxiety, faith, fear, love, confusion, love…
“I know you’re worried. I can feel that you’re worried. But give me one week. That’s all I’m asking.” With pleading eyes, Scarlet looked at the boy whose heartbeat was now echoing in her chest. “Trust me, Hunter.”
Racing back to Nate’s house, Scarlet ran inside with the Bluestone arrow, desperate to hide it somewhere apart from her in case Tristan ended up coming after her and riffling through his weapons on his I-must-die mission.
Upstairs in her room, she dropped to her knees in front of the wardrobe and pulled out the bottom drawer. Remembering her dolls from when she was young she searched for…aha! A false bottom—just like her father’s wardrobe. Once upon a time, Scarlet had stored doll shoes and ribbons in a secret compartment such as this. And now she was hiding the most dangerous thing she’d ever held.
She placed the arrow into the secret compartment, replaced the false bottom, and pushed the drawer closed. Satisfied that the arrow—and therefore Tristan—was safe, she hurriedly started packing, running around her room like a crazy person.
Throwing her duffle bag over her shoulder, Scarlet retrieved her mother’s brooch and walked downstairs, quietly slipping into Nate’s lab.
She searched through the blood samples he had stored and grabbed everything labeled TRISTAN. She was crawling with nervousness. She would be traveling by herself for the first time, hiking around in a bug-infested forest while searching for a mythical fountain, and battling magical vines with immortal blood-stained weapons.
It was a lot to think about and she was scared. But she was also determined.
Finishing in the lab, she went down the hall and knocked on Nate’s bedroom door. She heard the Atari game playing within and smiled to herself at his newfound hobby.
He opened the door. “Hey, Scarlet. What’s up?”
She took a deep breath. “I have to go somewhere for a little while. And I can’t explain. But I need a favor.”
He narrowed his eyes. “What’s going on?”
Scarlet held out the brooch. Since she had the journal, she already had a copy of the map and no longer needed the original, but she didn’t feel comfortable traveling with both copies at the same time. “Will you keep this for me, please? It’s very special and I need you to take care of it.”
He looked alarmed. “Are you planning on dying? Are you—“
“No. No, of course not.” She was just full of lies. “I just don’t want to take any chances. Oh,” a thought struck her, “and, you know, if anything should happen to me—which it won’t, by the way—could you keep my bedroom wardrobe, too? I really like it and I’d hate to lose it.”
Nate took the ring from her hand without breaking eye contact. “You’re scaring me, Scarlet. Tell me what’s going on.”
She smiled sadly. “I’ll tell you someday, I promise.” She kissed his cheek, her chest tightening as she did so. “Trust me.”
Turning in the hallway, Scarlet left the house with shaking hands and a hammering heart. There was no turning back.
Jumping into her car, Scarlet headed to Avalon. Ready for life. Ready for death. Ready for anything.
CHAPTER 33
There were no cabins or hotels near the forest where the Bluestone caves were located, so Scarlet had to find a place to stay in the town of Avalon instead. She settled on a tiny cabin in the woods. It was dark and a bit dirty, but it had a boarded up cellar with an old workbench and a pegboard.