Gabriel rubbed the side of his face. “I’m not surprised, if that’s what you’re asking.”
“I wasn’t asking that.”
A few minutes passed as they flipped pages in their books.
Heather looked up. “I’m sorry about the curse. Hopefully, we’ll find the fountain and then you’ll be curse-free.”
Gabriel pursed his lips. “Hopefully.”
Heather nodded.
Gabriel nodded.
Then silence.
“This isn’t the first time, you know.” Gabriel played with his pencil, tapping it on the table. “Scarlet and I have broken up before.”
“Oh,” Heather said, looking a little stunned. “That’s…kinda awful. How many times…?”
Gabriel exhaled. “Uh…in her last life, a few decades ago.”
Heather’s eyes grew wide. “Ouch. That sucks.”
Gabriel shrugged. “You can’t make someone love you. You can try to fall in love with someone, but that’s not how it works. Love just has to…exist.”
He would know.
There was a hole carved out of his soul where love should exist.
“Hi, Gabriel.” He looked to his left and saw Kristy Stevens waving at him from an aisle away.
He waved back half-heartedly and caught Heather rolling her eyes.
“What?” he said innocently.
Heather raised a brow. “I bet you could get Kristy to fall in love with you. I bet you wouldn’t even need to try.”
Gabriel exhaled. “What’s your deal with Kristy, anyway? Why don’t you like her?”
Heather shrugged as she watched Kristy walk away from them. “She’s blond and happy and smart and annoying—”
“So, she’s you?” Gabriel quirked a brow.
Heather’s eyes shot to Gabriel. “No. She’s not me. That’s the problem. Everybody thinks I’m just like Kristy Stevens and I hate that.” She straightened her shoulders. “Just because you look like someone doesn’t mean you’re like them in any way.”
“Trust me.” Gabriel nodded with a tucked in smile. “I know.”
Heather smiled. “I suppose twins understand that more than anyone else.”
“Yep. Two of my faces roam the earth.”
Heather shrugged. “Yeah, but Tristan is nothing like you. He’s all heavy and dark. He’s not happy.”
Gabriel cocked his head. “You think I’m happy?”
Heather considered, looking over his face. “I think you’re…optimistic. You’re pleasant.” She scoffed, “Tristan is like the living dead.”
Gabriel looked back down at his books with a smile. “Yeah, well. He hasn’t had an easy life.”
Truthfully, neither of them had. And that was the fault of the curse.
47
Gabriel entered the gathering room where he and Scarlet were summoned to appear and immediately know something was wrong. His father looked upset and the guards around him shifted uneasily. Scarlet entered the room behind Gabriel and stood beside him as the earl motioned them forward.
Gabriel swallowed, the pit of his stomach falling heavy.
“My dear Gabriel,” his father said, looking at him, “and lovely Scarlet,” he glanced at Scarlet. “I am afraid Tristan has fallen in battle.”
Gabriel blinked. “What?” His voice broke.
“Tristan is dead.” His father put a hand on Gabriel’s shoulder, squeezed briefly, and moved past him out of the room.
Scarlet stared straight ahead with a pale face.
Gabriel froze, his body growing numb as he stood wide-eyed and stunned.
Tristan was dead? Tristan could not be dead.
Gabriel could not breathe.
Finding his legs, Gabriel stormed out of the gathering room, charged to the stables and mounted his horse.
He rode until the forest ended and then he rode more. Quick and angry, the sound of hooves beneath him was no match for the roar of his soul.
Tristan was dead.
His brother, his very first friend. Dead.
Gabriel had never felt so alone.
He stopped riding at the riverbank and jumped from his steed angrily. Wanting to scream, wanting to fight, wanting to break everything that was whole.
Frustrated, he gathered a large stone in his hand and threw it into the passing water. The river gave way to the weight of the rock and washed over it as the stone sank to the dark depths of the river floor.
He hurled another giant rock, and then another…and then another. He threw and threw, heavy stones flying through the air in anger and injustice, hitting trees, hitting the water. Breaking branches, breaking the waves.
And when his arms grew tired, his threw some more. He heaved until all the large stones around him were dug up and hurled away.
And then he fell to his knees.
Sadness ripped through him and left his mouth in a cry of rage.
Sinking his fingers into the upturned earth around him, Gabriel stared at the ground.
He had lost his best friend.
***************
Scarlet walked down the stone hallway that led to the field as a stream of tears coated her face. People in the castle stared at her, guards turned their eyes from her.
She was not supposed to cry so openly. She was not supposed to break in half.
But she did.
She broke in half, one side of her soul severing completely and withering within her. Tristan was dead. Her love was dead.
When she reached the field, she headed to the trees. She walked. She ran. She stumbled.
She wanted to leave it all behind. The castle, the servants, the food…the emptiness of life.
Were it not for her mother lying on her deathbed within the castle walls, Scarlet would have fled forever. She would have made her way through the woods to live as a wild woman. Alone, angry and empty.
Instead, she sobbed aloud letting the forest wrap her up in the shadows of the trees. She laid her head against the broken leaves beneath her as she cried.
She would never be whole again. Pressing her palm flat to the ground, she let her tears fall to the dirt as half of her soul died forever.
48
Friday afternoon, Scarlet found herself in Heather’s car as they darted through traffic on the way to the cabin. Heather was convinced Scarlet needed to see Nate.
Scarlet was not.
After leaving a tall, thick trail of dust, Heather parked her car at a haphazard angle in front of the cabin. Bursting through the front door with Scarlet beside her, Heather dramatically announced, “Scarlet is broken!”
Scarlet shook her head. “I’m not broken.”
“What?” Gabriel met them in entryway, looking at Scarlet in concern. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. I’m fine.” Scarlet slowly walked into the living room, her body aching with every movement as she laid down on one of the large couches.
“You are not fine, Scarlet. You are broken.” Heather turned to Gabriel with big eyes. “She was wheezing and coughing and moaning during sixth period. Moaning! Do you know how hard it is to explain to your economics teacher why your best friend is moaning during his supply-and-demand lecture?” She shrugged. “Someone needs to fix her.” Heather looked around. “Where’s the nerdy, little immortal?”
Nate entered the living room from the back hallway and shot Heather a dirty look. “I’m not little. I’m average-sized. And five hundred years ago I was actually considered a large man. But then humans started eating well and evolving and, suddenly, I’m no longer the tallest guy in the room—”
“I don’t care about the evolution of Nate!” Heather snapped. “I care about Scarlet.” She pointed to the couch.
Kneeling beside Scarlet, Nate pulled the small flashlight out of his pocket and looked in Scarlet’s eyes.
“Ah, come on, Nate.” Scarlet groaned. “Don’t make me go blind.”
He ignored her. “No flashes lately?”
“No.” Scarlet closed her eyes as more pai
n rolled over her.
Nate furrowed his brow. “How long have you been in pain?”
Scarlet opened her eyes. “A week?”
“A week?” Nate shook his head. “You should have told me sooner.”
“But I’m not having any weird flashy eye things and my nose isn’t bleeding. I thought I had the flu or something. But then the pain just didn’t go away, and…now it hurts. All the time.”
Nate looked at her with a grim expression. “Where does it hurt?”
“Everywhere.”
He scratched the back of his head.
Scarlet paused. “I think I’m feeling Tristan. I think…Tristan is in pain.”
Nate tucked his lips in.
Scarlet continued, “At first, it was really mild, but now it’s like…it’s like he’s hurting so much that I can’t ignore it.”
Nate rubbed a hand across his mouth and stood up. “Well, that’s disturbing.”
Disturbing?
Not the encouragement Scarlet was hoping to hear.
Nate said, “I think you should stay here this weekend, just so I can observe you. I’m not sure what this new connection you have to Tristan is doing to you.”
“Can’t I just…can’t I just go to Tristan? And see if he’s okay?”
Nate furrowed his brow. “Do you think you could find him?”
“Yes.” Scarlet was positive she could find him. All she’d have to do is follow the pull of his heart. Which was strong. And heavy.
And painful.
“You can find him, the same way he can find you?” Nate tilted his head. “Interesting.”
Scarlet moved to sit up. “If I just go to him—”
“No,” Gabriel said quietly from his post beside the couch as he looked into Scarlet’s eyes. “Tristan left to keep you safe, Scarlet. You can’t run after him just because he’s in pain.” Scarlet saw Gabriel’s Adam’s apple bob as he swallowed. “Being near Tristan could hurt you.”
“Gabriel’s right,” Nate said. “Tristan is used to pain. I’m sure, wherever he is, he’s fine. And I’m sure he’d be upset if you found him.” Nate turned to Heather. “Can you run and get Scarlet some things for the weekend? I want her to stay here so I can observe her.”
Observe her? Like she was a lab rat?
Agh.
“Sure thing, Captain.” Heather saluted Nate and headed for the front door.
“I’m going to try to text Tristan again. Maybe he finally has service wherever he is.” Gabriel disappeared down the hallway.
“You,” Nate pointed at Scarlet, “stay put. I’ll be right back.” Nate went upstairs.
After a few minutes passed, Scarlet stood from the couch and winced her way up the stairs.
She wasn’t good at staying put.
Upstairs, Nate’s bedroom door was open, so Scarlet stepped inside his room and looked around. Five computer screens were set up in a semi-circle around a large desk. Four of the computers had video games on them, all frozen on different levels and worlds. The fifth computer had three windows open, all with different maps displayed.
A long table was set up against the side wall, set with sterile instruments and vials of, what looked like, blood. Petri dishes, a microscope and another computer sat on top of the table as well.
A large bed was against the center of the back wall, adorned in Star Wars bedding and matching pillowcases and shelves and bookcases around the big room were covered with small figurines, comic books, and other pop-culture items.
“Nice toys.” Scarlet smiled as Nate turned his eyes from a cabinet he’d been searching through.
“They are collector’s items, not toys.”
Scarlet nodded. “Even the Thor hammer in the corner?”
“Yes, especially the Thor hammer.” Nate shook his head as he looked at her. “I told you to wait for me downstairs.”
She shrugged. “I didn’t listen. What are you doing?”
He exhaled as he pulled some tubing out from the cabinet. “I’m getting everything I need to take a sample of your blood.”
Scarlet looked at the sterile hospital pack he brought over to her. “That looks official.”
“Yeah, well, when your good friend is constantly dying and coming back to life, you get yourself a few medical degrees and learn how to be a doctor.”
“You’re a doctor?” Scarlet asked, although the idea didn’t really surprise her.
“Yep.” He motioned for her to sit in a chair beside the table. “Or, at least, I’m usually a doctor. Right now, I’m on hiatus. Give me your arm.”
“Wow.” Scarlet watched as he tied off her upper arm and started cleaning the inside of her elbow. “So, you really do play with blood.”
He smiled. “I’ve been trying to find a cure, a vaccine, for Tristan’s blood. You know, just in case the fountain thing doesn’t pan out.”
Scarlet nodded as he unwrapped a new needle. “Do you always take my blood?”
“Yeah.” Nate gently slid the needle into her skin, but Scarlet felt nothing except the ache that was pulsing through her bones and muscles. The ache of Tristan.
Nate continued, “I usually do it right after you come back to life, but this time I just got so caught up in how you didn’t vanish, I forgot. But now that you’re feeling Tristan’s pain,” he looked at her in concern, “I’m worried that maybe something significant has changed, you know?”
Scarlet nodded even though she didn’t “know”. She watched her blood pump out of her vein and into the tubing Nate had attached to a vial.
“Are you hurting right now?” Nate asked.
“Yes. Everywhere.”
“And you’re sure it’s Tristan?”
Scarlet inhaled. “Yes, I think so. It’s not me. It hurts like it’s my own pain, but it also feels like an echo. Like it’s far away inside me.”
Nate nodded, watching the vial fill. “Your connection is stronger than it used to be.”
Scarlet bit her lip. “Do you have any guesses as to why?”
Nate glanced at her, but let his eyes fall back to the vial. “I think you and Tristan got a little too close in your last life.”
Scarlet’s heart started to race. “What do you mean?”
He sighed. “I don’t know, exactly. And I don’t really want to know.” Nate looked at her. “Maybe you high-fived each other. Maybe you hugged each other. Maybe more.” He looked at the tubing. “But you touched. And touching makes the immortal blood inside your heart stronger.” Nate looked at her sternly. “Which is why you shouldn’t touch at all.”
Why did people feel the need to keep reminding her of that?
And why did their warnings make Scarlet want to touch Tristan that much more?
Nate continued, “And I also think Tristan’s touch is why you’ve had trouble remembering things.”
Scarlet’s lips parted. “What?”
Nate twitched his mouth. “Witches used to search for immortal blood for spells and potions, claiming that it had the power to erase memories. I never gave much thought to it in the past because you always got your memories back. But with your amnesia as strong as it is, it’s possible Tristan’s touch captured your memories in your previous life.”
Well, that sucked.
Just how much touching had she and Tristan done in her last life? And why?
Scarlet looked down. “How do you know so much about immortal blood? And my connection to Tristan?”
“I know more about witchcraft than I probably should,” Nate capped off the first vial, replacing it with another, “and I’ve performed a lot of tests.” He pointed to a Petri dish. “I’ve done countless experiments with your and Tristan’s blood. If a drop of your blood gets close to a drop of Tristan’s blood, it expands. And over time, your blood cells burst. But if a drop of your blood touches a drop of Tristan’s blood, your blood cells burst at a much faster rate.”
Scarlet nodded. Tristan made her blood explode.
Great.
Nate said, “
But if I separate Tristan’s blood from yours for a lengthy amount of time, his blood cells implode, shrinking until they are dead. So you see, there is a delicate balance to keeping you both alive.”
Scarlet’s stomach lurched. “Tristan could die just by being far away from me?”
Nate said, “Only in theory. But don’t tell Tristan that. We both know he has a death wish when it comes to saving you.”
Scarlet’s heart pounded even harder. “Is that what’s happening right now? Is that why I feel him in so much pain? Because I’m…I’m killing him?”
Nate quickly shook his head. “I doubt you’re killing him.”
“But what if I am?” Scarlet looked at Nate intensely. “He’s hurting, Nate.” Scarlet waited until Nate looked back up at her before continuing. “Tristan is in serious pain.”
Nate pressed his lips together. “Tristan will be fine. Pain is normal for him.”
Scarlet shook her head. “No way. This can’t be normal.”
Nate sighed again. “Don’t worry about Tristan. He’s probably just really far away and his body is trying to adjust to the distance between you guys.”
“No.” Scarlet watched her blood flow out of her arm. “I can feel him. He’s close to the cabin. I could probably walk to him if I wanted.”
Nate furrowed his brow. “That doesn’t make sense.” He looked down at the vial. “If he’s so close, he shouldn’t be hurting.”
“Let me go to him.” Scarlet watched Nate cap off the second vial.
“No.”
Scarlet licked her lips. “I’ll go really fast, just to make sure he’s okay, and then I’ll come right back. Or...or you can come with me.” Scarlet’s eyes lit up. She could find Tristan and take away his pain.
“No,” Nate repeated. “Tristan left so that you wouldn’t die. There’s no way I’m going to send you out after him just because he’s uncomfortable. Geez. Does everybody in the house have a death wish?” He gently removed everything from Scarlet’s arm and looked at her sternly. “You’re staying here at the cabin, where I can make sure your heart doesn’t split open. Understand?”
Scarlet slanted her eyes at him, frustrated that everyone in the world was trying to keep her safe. “Whatever.”