Wonder Woman: Warbringer (DC Icons #1)(18)

Diana drew another blanket from her bag and tucked it around Alia. It smelled of sage and lavender. “What did you want?”

“It’s stupid,” Alia said.

“Please. I’d like to know.”

Alia closed her eyes again. She felt too weak to talk, but the guilt and shame were stronger than her fatigue. “There’s this summer-at-sea program for biology students. You get college credit. It’s really hard to get into, but I thought, I’ll just apply and see what happens. But then they accepted me and I realized—”

“How very much you wanted to go.”

“Yeah,” Alia said with a small smile. She felt it fade from her lips. “I lied to Jason.”

“Who is this Jason?”

“My older brother. He’s a great brother, the best brother. He’s just overprotective. I knew he’d say no to the trip, so I told him I’d been invited to Nim’s parents’ place in Santorini. You don’t know how hard it was to keep everything secret. I had to get a visa, get all of these medical approvals, but then I was just doing it. I ditched my bodyguards at the airport, and I didn’t call Jason until I was about to board the Thetis in Istanbul.” Alia released a sob. “He was so angry. I swear, I’ve never heard him raise his voice, but he was yelling. He forbade me—forbade me from going. I hung up on him.”

“Does he command you frequently?” Diana asked. “Many men enjoy having authority over women. Or so I’ve been told.”

Alia snorted, but Diana looked serious. “Well, sure, but Jason’s not like that. He was just worried about me, trying to keep me safe. I thought if I could show him that I could handle this on my own, he’d have to stop babying me.”

Diana sighed. “I understand. My mother doesn’t think I can handle anything on my own, either.”

“Are you kidding? You saved my life. You carried me to a damn cave on your back. You seem pretty capable.”

“In my family, among…my friends, I’m the weak one.”

“You don’t seem weak to me.”

Diana gazed at her for a long moment. “You don’t seem weak to me, either.”

Alia blew out a breath. “But Jason was right. If I had stayed in New York, if I’d just listened to him, no one would have died. I should never have left home.”

Diana frowned. “If you’d stayed home, maybe others would have been harmed. Your friends or your family.”

“Maybe,” Alia said, but the thought brought her little comfort.

“And you had this dream,” continued Diana, “to study, to garner accolades.”

“Well, college credit, at least.”

“How could it be wrong to wish to prove yourself?” she asked, a fierce light in her eyes. “You were not wrong to dare.”

“Jason—”

“Jason cannot protect you forever. We cannot spend our lives in hiding, wondering what we might accomplish if given the chance. We have to take that chance ourselves. You were brave to board that boat.”

“I was stupid. Everything that happened just proved Jason right.”

“No. You survived the wreck. When the waves came, you held on. Maybe you’re stronger than you think you are, than anyone thinks you are.” Diana stood. “Maybe I am, too.” She offered Alia her hand. “We have to get you out of here.”

“I thought you said—”

“I know what I said. Do you want to get off this island or not?”

Alia had no idea what had caused this turnaround, but she wasn’t going to look a gift giant in the mouth. “Yes,” she said eagerly. She took Diana’s hand and rose slowly, trying to fight the surge of dizziness that overtook her. “What do we do? Do you have a boat or something?”

“It’s more complicated than that. I’m going to need you to trust me. The people here…There are terrible risks, and the things you see…well, if we make it out of this, you can never speak of them again.”

Alia raised her brows. Was this girl messing with her, or was she a little nuts? “Okay, sure.”

“Swear by what is most dear to you.”

Maybe more than a little nuts. “I swear on Jason and Nim and my shot at an Ivy League school.”

Diana cocked her head to one side. “It will have to do.” She turned her back to Alia and said, “Climb on.”

Alia groaned. “Do we really have to do this again?” She wasn’t feeling particularly spry, but there was something humiliating about jumping on someone’s back like a five-year-old.

Diana shrugged and said, “See for yourself.”

After her first terrifying glance down, Alia had deliberately avoided the entrance to the cave, but now she gathered the blankets around her shoulders and peered over the edge again. The drop to the rocky boulders below looked even steeper than it had that morning.

Holding tight to Diana’s hand and the ragged rock of the cave mouth, she looked up. Somehow the sheer cliff rising into the stormy sky seemed twice as terrifying as the drop.

“We’re going to climb that?” she asked.

“I’m going to climb that.”

“With me on your back?”

“You’re very light. I wonder if you have a calcium deficiency.”