Page 51 of Don’t Let Me Go

“But did we die young?” Riley insists.

Jocasta studies him, and something in her dark piercing eyes makes me wish he’d never asked. “You were eighteen when you died

in Pompeii?”

“Yes.”

“How do you know you were eighteen?”

“Because it was my birthday.”

An icy chill roots me to my chair and fills my chest with dread. “The day that we died in London, it was also your birthday,”

I remind Riley. “And in Greenland.”

“His eighteenth birthday?” Jocasta asks.

I nod.

“Interesting.”

“Why is that interesting?” Riley asks.

“It seems as though each time the two of you are reincarnated, you’re given the exact same lifespan that you had in your first

life.”

Riley’s face goes white. We’re both thinking the same thing.

“How old are you now?” Jocasta asks.

“Seventeen,” Riley answers.

“And when do you turn eighteen?”

“In two weeks. July thirteenth.”

“Ah.” Jocasta doesn’t say anything more. She doesn’t need to.

“Hang on,” I say, shaking my head in disbelief. “Are you saying that in two weeks, Riley and I are gonna—what— die ?”

Jocasta sighs. “I told you. Reincarnation is highly unusual. Human beings are meant to live one life and one life only. Each time the two of you come back, you’re breaking the rules.”

“What rules?” I demand.

“The universe’s.”

“It’s not like we’re doing it on purpose!” I shout.

“But you are,” Jocasta says simply. “At some point in that first life of yours, you bound your souls together. And in every

life since, you’ve continued to join your souls in a bond so powerful that it has overcome death itself.”

“That’s insane,” Riley scoffs. “You’re saying that every time Jackson and I are reincarnated, the universe starts actively

plotting to kill us?”

“You’re an aberration to the natural order. You’re chaos. It can’t permit you to exist.”

“So what are we supposed to do?” I ask. I’m trying to stay calm even though my head is swimming in confusion. “If what you’re

saying is true, how do we make sure we don’t end up like we did in our past lives? Aside from avoiding volcanoes and Nazis?”

Jocasta reaches for a macaron, then reconsiders.

“I’m not sure there’s anything you can do. On July thirteenth, there’s a very good chance that you both will die. I’m sorry,

but that’s the truth. Furthermore, after you die, the cycle will begin anew. You’ll be reincarnated, you’ll find each other

in some future time and place, and you’ll die. Over and over. On and on. Until the end of time. Unless...”

“Unless what?” Riley asks.

“You break the cycle.”

Riley shoots me a nervous glance. “And how do we do that?”

“You break the very thing keeping you trapped in the cycle. You break your bond.”

“Our bond?” I repeat.

“Your love is a bond that has kept you coming back in search of each other time and time again across the millennia. Break

that bond, and the cycle breaks with it.”

Riley shakes his head and stares at Jocasta incredulously. “You’re telling us we need to break up ?”

Jocasta nods. “If you renounce each other—truly renounce each other—and stay away from each other for the rest of your lives,

then the bond you made in Pompeii and have reaffirmed in each of your subsequent lives will fail to renew itself. It’ll be

broken, in which case the universe will no longer have a reason to cut your lives short. You’ll both go on to have very long,

very full lives, after which your souls will be free to move on from this world and never return.”

“Bullshit.” Riley snorts. “Do you actually expect Jackson and me to believe that if we don’t break up, the universe is going

to kill us on my birthday?”

“I think it would be more accurate to say that if you don’t break up, the universe will find a way to maneuver you both toward

a predetermined historical tragedy that has already been set in motion.”

Riley scoffs. But I can’t shake the feeling that every word Jocasta is saying is true. It’s too impossible not to be.

“More to the point,” she continues, “I think that—for whatever reason—the universe is giving you a very rare opportunity to

learn from your mistakes and choose a different path for yourselves.”

“Says you,” Riley sneers.

“Do you think it’s a coincidence that you two are the first ones in all your many lives to have access to your past memories?

The universe has been swatting you like flies for two thousand years and you still haven’t gotten the hint that it’s time to let go of each other.

So now, if I’m right—and I usually am—the universe has changed its strategy.

It’s given you a glimpse of your past so that you learn from your mistakes and put an end to this cycle of death once and for all. ”

“And I say, where’s your proof ?”

Jocasta’s thin lips curl into a patronizing smirk. “You mean aside from the fact that you tracked me down because you thought I was a witch that you’d encountered over a thousand years ago when you were Vikings?”

Riley shakes his head. “I’m not saying weird shit isn’t happening. Weird shit is definitely happening. But that doesn’t mean Jackson and I need to break up. And it certainly does not mean we’re going to die .”

Jocasta arches an eyebrow. “Enlighten me, then. What does it mean?”

“I don’t know. But I do know that you’re a self-admitted fraud, even if you do claim to be helping people. I also know that

your great-great-grand-whatever got Jackson and me killed, so your family’s track record when it comes to helping us is pretty

much shit.”

“It’s not my job or my family’s job to help you. Our job is to carry out the will of the universe. And the will of the universe

is and always has been quite clear. You must die.”

“Jesus Christ, you sound like that crazy high priestess,” Riley growls.

Jocasta bristles, and her pale cheeks color in anger. “That crazy high priestess sacrificed her life for you. Don’t you understand?

She foresaw what you were about to do, and instead of fleeing Pompeii when she had the chance, she stayed behind and gave

her life trying to stop you from making a terrible mistake. A mistake that you will spend eternity repeating unless you choose

a different path!”

Fuming with animosity, Riley stares across the table, his eyes shooting daggers at Jocasta. He’s so angry, he looks like he might erupt. But instead, he goes dangerously still.

“I. Don’t . Believe. You .” He enunciates each word so clearly that there’s no mistaking the contempt in his voice. “Come on, Jackson. We’re leaving.

She’s wasted enough of our time.”

Riley pushes himself up from his chair and stands defiantly. Almost immediately, though, he stumbles and has to lean against

the table for support.

“Are you okay?” I ask, watching him shake his head like he’s fighting off a dizzy spell.

“I’m fine,” he answers. “I just?.?.?.?stood up too fast.”

He sits back down and massages his temples as if he’s trying to ward off a migraine. Maybe it’s the stress stemming from everything

we’ve just been told, but I can feel a headache of my own building behind my eyes.

“I understand that what I’m saying is difficult to believe,” Jocasta says with a sigh. Her voice has taken on an air of good-natured

patience, but something behind the forced pleasantness makes my skin crawl. “However, if you won’t listen to me, perhaps you’ll

listen to yourselves. Consider it a parting gift.”

I have no idea what she means by that, but I’ve no intention of sticking around to find out. Every nerve in my body is telling

me that we’re in danger and we need to get out of here. But when I try to stand, my body feels as though it’s fighting to

move through wet concrete. Before I know what’s happening, I collapse back into my chair.

Beside me, Riley groans and slumps over. He rests his head against the table as his eyes flutter shut. I know I need to wake

him, but my own head feels impossibly heavy. It’s a struggle just to keep my eyes open.

I reach for Riley, but my hand is an anvil. It falls to the table like a dead weight, knocking over my tea.

Of course.

“The tea...” I gasp. “You put something?.?.?.?in the tea...”

Jocasta blinks innocently and sips from her cup.

“Don’t be absurd,” she scoffs. “I put something in the macarons.”