Chapter 3

I stayed out until evening the day before my eighteenth birthday.

I walked through town, past the bakery my mother used to take me to and the little shops along the harbor. I stopped wherever I needed to, pretending to look in windows while I waited for the pain to ease.

I wanted one last look at the land I would never see again.

By the time I reached home, I could barely lift my feet.

“Where is the healer?” Adrian demanded inside. “Get someone. Now!”

Caleb was pacing beside the sofa. Noah knelt in front of Claire, wiping her forehead with a damp towel.

She lay against the cushions, pale and trembling. A thin smear of blood marked the corner of her mouth.

Adrian saw me and crossed the room.

“Isla. The pearls. You have more, don’t you?”

His hands closed around my shoulders.

“No.”

“Think,” Caleb said, coming toward us. “Did Mom leave any somewhere else?”

“She started coughing up blood this afternoon,” Noah said. “The healer said she’s too weak to tolerate other medicine. Those pearls were the only thing that helped.”

Adrian tightened his grip.

“Whatever you want, you can have it. Just give us the pearls.”

I looked at his hands on my shoulders.

“You already took everything I had.”

“Isla, this isn’t the time.”

“I told you. There aren’t any more.”

Claire coughed and reached weakly for her mug. Caleb handed it to her, then bent to pick up the cushion that had slipped onto the floor.

“The draft isn’t helping,” Noah said as Adrian went to close the window. “I’ll get you a blanket.”

With none of them watching, she met my eyes over the rim of her mug and smirked.

“Can’t you see what she’s doing?” I asked. “She is pretending.”

“Enough, Isla.”

Adrian’s eyes flashed gold.

The force of his wolf’s presence pressed down on me. I swayed and caught the edge of the table.

He stared at me, disappointment plain on his face.

“When did you become so cruel?” His voice was quiet. “She’s begging for help, and all you can think about is whether we care about her more.”

“I’m not…”

“I know you’re upset. But I never thought you’d want me to stand by and let someone die.”

I struggled to draw a full breath.

“When you gave her the pearls I needed to survive, did you worry about me?”

His voice filled the room.

“That curse is just a story, Isla. Nothing’s happened to you!”

I looked at him and smiled. There was no point in arguing.

“You’re right,” I said. “Take as many pearls as you want, if you can find any in this house.”

The three of them exchanged glances. Then Noah straightened.

“The pack archives,” he said, rushing toward the door. “There might be something about such pearls…”

He left before I could answer.

Adrian returned to Claire.

I stayed beside the door, watching the moon rise over the sea.

About half an hour later, Noah returned with several copied pages.

“I found it.”

He spread them on the table.

“The pearls come from shellfish that grow beyond the outer reef. There used to be divers who collected them.”

Caleb bent over the pages.

“How deep?”

“I don’t know. But there’s a map.”

All three of them turned to look at me.

“You grew up by the sea with Mom,” Caleb said. “You’ve always been the strongest swimmer among us. You can do this, can’t you?”

I almost laughed. They wouldn’t believe a word I said about the curse, but now they were certain I belonged in the water.

“No.”

Caleb stared at me.

“Her life is at stake, Isla. Can you really stand here and let her die?”

I turned to Adrian. “Is that what you think too?”

He held my gaze.

“Go, Isla. You’re the only one who can save her.”

“We’ll take a boat out tomorrow. You won’t have to go far.”

Tomorrow.

My eighteenth birthday.

The day I would return to the sea.

Claire looked up at me, barely hiding her satisfaction.

“Please, Isla.” Her voice trembled again. “I know you’re still angry with me. If you don’t want to go, I understand. I just don’t know what else to do.”

I looked from her to the three men waiting for my answer.

“All right.”

Adrian exhaled.

“Thank you.”

“Remember, this was your choice,” I said.

But their attention had already turned back to Claire.