Falling Light (Game of Shadows #2)(56)

“I didn’t. All I said was that it was a risk. I was undecided, and then I made up my mind.” He glanced at her, his keen gaze moonstone bright. “I’m not the only lunatic, you know,” he said. “I’ve followed you before too. And you never could give up on someone that you healed.”

The boat hit a bigger wave than most and lurched. She grabbed hold of Michael’s bicep to steady herself and hung on. After a moment, she said, “About that talk we were having before we were interrupted.”

This time he kept his gaze on the water. “Let’s finish that conversation later, when we have more privacy, and enough time to do it justice.”

“Okay.”

She looked out over the water too as she wrestled with her unruly emotions. She didn’t have time to think about her personal problems when she was treating someone in the ER, so she had some experience at compartmentalizing. She kept the thought of Jerry and Jamie in the forefront of her mind and settled into a clearer focus.

Michael said, “This is going to go one of two ways. Either we try hard on our own but we don’t make it, or Astra gives in and asks the Lake to help us again.”

“How likely do you think that is?” As she asked the question, she checked again for Nicholas’s presence. He was still with them.

Michael shook his head and shrugged. “I have no idea. Her decision will be based on weighing risks. We do have something in our favor that might change her mind.”

“What’s that?”

“When I made my choice, it shifted the balance. If we commit to fighting to keep Jerry and Jamie out of the Deceiver’s hands, we’re in more danger without her help than we are with it. Now she stands to gain more by helping us than by risking the possibility of the Deceiver taking one or both of us too. And she still needs our help.”

The bulk of hard muscle underneath her hand felt strong and steady. “For that to be true, she has to believe that we’re not just trying to force her into helping us.”

His lips pulled into a slight, hard smile. “Astra knows I don’t bluff.”

She looked back in the direction of the island—or what she had thought was the direction of the island. There was nothing on the horizon but the sun shining on the sparkling water. For all intents and purposes, the island had vanished.

She muttered, “That’s a fancy trick.”

He caught the direction of her gaze. “That is a much stronger and more effective null space than what I can produce. Astra started it, but over time, the land itself turned secretive. It began to project the null space on its own. It would be good if we could prevent Jerry and Jamie from giving that secret away, but over the years we’ve developed other contingencies. It won’t be the end of the world if we have to leave the island. We have several safe houses scattered across different states.”

“I just want to try to save their lives,” she said.

“I know.”

The sense of the lonely presence at the front of the boat became too agonizing for her to resist. She squeezed Michael’s arm. “I’m going to keep Nicholas company, if he’ll let me.”

Michael nodded without reply.

She made her way out of the cabin and toward the front of the boat. Think nautical. The prow. The edges of her poncho whipped in the wind, and she was grateful that she had grabbed it.

Nicholas’s energy was stretched so thin, he was barely present. She felt him straining in the direction of his father and nephew. She tried to think of something to say, but in the end, she remained silent. She simply stood at the prow with him. His presence grew stronger, and he wrapped around her, as if holding on to her helped to keep him anchored in place.

After several minutes, the boat tipped drastically as the water swelled underneath them. The swell turned into a high, narrow wave that built in size and speed, until they hurtled forward much faster than they could have ever hoped to go by themselves.

Hope surged, along with their speed.

Astra had convinced the Lake to help them again.

Chapter Twenty

THE MINUTES SCROLLED past. Each one was filled with an agony of waiting.

They raced across the water much faster than Mary would have believed possible if she hadn’t experienced it for herself. Her hands and face grew wet and cold, but she refused to go inside. If Nicholas needed to be out here, then she would stay with him.

A shadow grew on the tip of the horizon, and Nicholas stirred. That’s the mainland. I need to find out how close they’ve come to land.

His energy had changed. Now he felt sharp and eager.

She said out loud, “Be careful.”

I will. I’ll be back as soon as I know anything.

He vanished.

Shivering, she turned to make her way back to the cabin, taking extra care because they were traveling at such a crazy speed. A fall into the water at this pace would almost certainly kill someone.

Michael gave her a sharp look as she stepped inside. The tough lines of his face had settled into grim lines.

She joined him at the wheel. “What is it?”

“You’ve grown quite attached to him, haven’t you?”

She used the excuse of wiping off her hands and face with the dry underside of the blanket, so she could think about how to reply.

Were there nuances in his question? She thought there might be nuances.