I'm not a victim. I'm the villain. The bad guy that killed millions. Controlled and manipulated thousands. I stained my own hands with blood of innocents. I may have become one of Morgiana's puppets... but that doesn't give me a pass.
Even if she sa...
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We're cautious as we make our way down the mountain. I can't help but feel giddy, adrenaline rushing through me at tremendous speed. There are very few people running around the island to hunt, but we seem to come across all of them. I lead her through Revli Territory and she leads me through Initi, her bare feet fast and nimble, as if she's moved through these trees thousands of times. She knows this place like the back of her hand, it's apparent.
I smile to myself sadly. Sure, I could steal time with her now, but in three years she'll meet Tamir... I'll be nothing but a boy who showed her how to become a fish.
I'm not sure how I feel about that yet.
We break through the clearing, knowing good and well no one would be down at the beach. Not at this time. The only people that come down here are people who gather water, and they are so shunned in the villages that no one will speak to them because they might have touched the water.
Poor, unfortunate souls.
I pull her over to the far side of the beach, to a place where an overhang kind of hides the beach's end. Broken rafts and frayed ropes and tons of fish skeletons litter the ground below, making Cressa-la's nose scrunch before she realizes where we stand.
"This is where..."
I nod. "This is where people are banished from the island. Where they send them out on rafts."
She covers her mouth with her hand, her eyes seeming to water, but she blinks away the tears, not wanting to show weakness in front of anyone. The people who would break the rules of the island, people who were found out as One-Hundreds or Ones, or people who needed punishment for their sins would be sent out to sea to live out the rest of their lives there. Alone.
"But of course this isn't the only place," I tell her, trying anything to make her feel better. "People are also dropped into small pools around the island and drown, so I'd think being sent out on the rafts would be a lot better than that."
She makes a disapproving sound. "Yeah, okay, because that makes me feel better about breaking the number one rule on the island."
She sniffles, glancing over her shoulder to the beach.
"Do I really have to do this?"
I frown, crossing my arms over my chest patiently. "Not if you don't want to. You can walk away and never see me again, but..." I bite my tongue. "But I need you." The words startle me. Once again, I backtrack. "I need you to help me take down Morgiana."
"Why me?" She asks. "How do you know I'll be of any help?"
"Because I do." I shift my weight, kicking a fish skeleton into the water as it laps at our feet, missing us by an inch. "If you don't do this then you can't help your people at your fullest potential." I'm using her weaknesses against her. My stomach twists at the words. "So which would you rather when the tsunami comes?"
