Page 15

Coming to see Antonio was a mistake.

The older man has been moved from the hospital to a rehabilitation center. When I arrive, a nurse directs me to the physical therapy room.

It’s about the size of a high school gymnasium, broken down into different sections. Some people are using weights, others are doing guided stretches. Along the far wall, on one of the exercise machines, sits Antonio. A trainer is right there beside him, helping form or coaching him through it…

And getting cursed out in Italian, by the sound of it.

I catch Antonio’s eye and wave.

He scowls at me.

The trainer tells him to go again, and Antonio slowly pushes his arms forward. Like a vertical bench press. He has two grips in his hands, each with a length of cord that feeds back into the machine. Where one might put a pin in the weights, at the center of it, a two-pound bar rises.

“Good!” the trainer says. “Two more.”

Sweat dots Antonio’s brow. He continues his Italian tirade under his breath, but the trainer seems to not mind.

The trainer, in a royal-blue polo and slacks, introduces himself to me. “Jared Brown. Physical therapist.”

Right, therapist. Not trainer.

“Saint,” I greet him. “How’s he doing?”

“Good.”

“You have experience?”

He lifts his pant leg, revealing a metal ankle. It disappears under the hem. “Real-world experience plus training. Antonio asked me the same thing.”

“Right.” I nod once, forcing myself not to focus on my embarrassment.

“That he’s talking through the exercise, even swearing, is a good sign,” he adds.

Antonio finishes his set, and Jared takes the handles back. He helps Antonio stand, and the older man glares at me.

“What are you doing here?” he asks.

I raise my hands in surrender. “I came to check on you.”

“Bah.” He scowls. “You spent too much time at my bedside.”

“I don’t see it that way.” I shove my hands into my pockets, or else they’ll be balled into fists in no time. “Artemis?—”

“Artemis,” he interrupts. “Yes. Exactly. Artemis .”

“No. She would’ve?—”

“I have a family,” he snaps. “Who does she have?”

She has her brother… who is currently out of town.

She had Nyx… who died.

“Reese was with her,” I argue. “She was sleeping. Unconscious. The nurse?—”

“Jace told me,” Antonio interrupts. He eyes me. “You haven’t talked to Jace King, have you? Been skipping his calls to hide in your tattoo shop?”

I lift my chin. The words hit home, but he doesn’t have to know it.

Doesn’t stop him from seeing right through me anyway.

He sighs. “Stop hiding.”

Right.

“Do you need anything done at Bow & Arrow?”

He shakes his head. He walks slowly, his physical therapist right beside him. I follow along on his other side, tempted to reach out and grab him. But why would I, when it’s clearly unwanted?

“Vittoria is handling the bills.” He glances over. “How’s Tem?”

“She’s…”

“You don’t even know, do you?”

“She’s fine.” It’s a bald-faced lie.

He’s right—I don’t know. All I have is Reese telling me to be home more, to see her, and Tem avoiding me. Or starting fights. She’s been acting flighty, but why wouldn’t she? I could see how I devastated her by informing her about Kade’s tattoo.

She left. I presume she’s staying at Bow & Arrow to avoid me, and Reese hasn’t been around either. Which is fine. I could use some alone time…

Lies .

At least I haven’t been back to Elora’s house in West Falls.

That’s something, right?

And that reminds me?—

“I think she burned down Kade’s house.”

Antonio pauses, then bursts out laughing. Immediately, he presses his hand to his chest and doubles over. He gasps and takes a long moment to straighten again.

“You think ? I would, too. I hope the fucker was inside it.”

I wince.

He waves me off. “Your heart is too kind sometimes, Saint. And sometimes, it’s far too cruel to the wrong people.”

Maybe so.

My conscience is clear, though, now that I’ve at least confirmed that Antonio is awake and kicking.

While I’m walking to the car, my phone buzzes.

Kade

Where are you?

Leaving rehab place.

***

Antonio.

Come to Starlight.

My tattoo shop? I gulp. The sudden anxiety that takes flight in my chest is foreign. I don’t get anxious . And I do not come when called.

Bite me.

If you’re into that…

I shake my head and delete his texts. I was going to head to Starlight, funny enough.

Now, I’m going to avoid it. I grab a sandwich from the local deli, then make my way to North Falls.

I’d like to see that Bow & Arrow is being looked after first-hand.

Vittoria might say she’s got things under control, but she can’t be in five places at once.

Except it’s not open when I get there, and I don’t have a stupid key to get into the club.

Turning on my heel, I pause long enough at the car to empty my pockets, kick off my shoes, and tear off my shirt. I’m left in jeans and boxers. I rub my hand over the hourglass branded on my chest. Of all the things that happened last year, that was one of the worst.

The inked skin under the angry, raised brand is blurred, some sections gone entirely where scar tissue took over. The important thing is that it didn’t obliterate the tattoo I dedicated to Nyx—a galaxy over my heart.

My skin prickles. The weather is slowly shifting, summer sliding headfirst toward winter. The water will catch up later, but for now… it should be manageable. Nice, even.

I cross the street, then the boardwalk, and finally put my feet in the sand. The waves at this section are gentler, better for swimming, while farther down tends to favor the surfers. It’s strange how different the ocean sounds at different points.

It’s angry at Olympus, beating the cliffside.

It’s soothing at Jace’s house, and also at the jump spot halfway between here and Olympus.

And here, it’s calm.

Calm is good.

I walk into the ocean, and it’s weirdly reminiscent of the day Elora died.

The same water, which is nearly warmer than the air, greets me with little splashes against my thighs. It comforted me and held me close when I wanted to pitch myself in and let it take my last breath.

And when they dragged me out…

I wade in up to my waist, then dive under an oncoming wave. I swim out past the break and pause. Considering.

Only a mile or so down is the remnants of Kade’s house.

I swim in that direction, my thoughts on my breath, my stroke, the waves that push me toward shore and back out. A rocking lull.

I approach the house sooner than I expect, and I angle toward the beach. It isn’t until unusual splashing draws my attention, and I jerk my head up a second too late.

Someone collides with me.

Our limbs tangle, and I’m dragged under a wave. I kick, forcing some distance between us, and come up just as Kade’s head pops above the water.

“What the fuck?” I snap.

He laughs. “Why are you cursing at me? You’re in front of my house.”

He treads water easily. We can’t touch here… I guess I drifted out a little farther than I thought. It’s a good thing sharks aren’t known to lurk around Sterling Falls’ water, or else I’d be hightailing it to land at the realization.

“Saint.”

“What?” I stare at him.

The water plasters his dark hair to his head. It’s slicked back, a quick head-toss when he first came up achieving that. I run my hand through my hair. I trimmed it last night, maybe too much. It barely moves under my fingers.

He catches my wrist and drags me closer. “You seem unsettled.”

I scowl. “I am.”

“Did you come to gawk?” He shifts us, so I have a better view of the house. “I was in the ocean when it happened. I was so focused, I didn’t…”

“You shouldn’t be swimming with a fresh tattoo,” I blurt out.

My gaze lands on the art on his chest. It’s loud and proud, a black-and-gray masterpiece of Heaven and Earth. And a pillar between them.

“You’re right,” he says evenly. “Come on.”

He still has my wrist, and I don’t resist him pulling me back.

It rings in déjà vu, although a very different kind. He tows me effortlessly through the water, until he’s striding. And then my toes brush sand, and I stagger along behind him.

He doesn’t stop until we’re right at the edge of the house.

The remnant of it anyway. It stinks of smoke, the still-standing metal pillars coated in soot. The rest is ash. Even the glass walls, the giant, impressive glass walls, have melted.

That’s some fire.

“Artemis,” Kade says with a frown.

I glance at him. Then away. I don’t know what’s wrong with me. The breeze is cold, but I fight off a shiver. The last thing I need is to show any sort of weakness. Instead, I slick the water from my torso with my palms, shedding the droplets. I shake out my hair.

Kade, in swim trunks alone, goes to a surviving chair. He grabs a towel and wipes his face off, then tosses it to me. I dry briskly. My jeans are a hopeless matter, but as soon as my upper body is try, I give it back.

He smirks, carefully blotting his chest, then firmly swiping it down his abdomen.

“You didn’t want to see me,” he said. “I suppose I should be offended by that.”

Ugh.

“Maybe ask next time instead of making it an order.” I wrinkle my nose. “Why are you swimming here anyway? Shouldn’t you be in West Falls?”

“This is a natural intersection of West and North.”

It sounds like he’s agreeing with me?

“Where do you and Artemis stand?” I ask suddenly, facing him.

“That’s what you want to talk about?”

“Yes.”

He frowns. “I’d say Artemis and I aren’t standing anywhere near each other right now.”

“Because…?” I just need him to admit it. And then I need to make sense of why me giving him a tattoo led her to burn down his house. I’m eighty-seven percent certain it went in that order anyway. She went on the defensive after I told her, which means…

I need to get my head out of my ass when it comes to her.

And Kade can’t come between that.

“Because Reese Avery saved my life,” Kade says on a sigh. “And when it came down to it, I owed him the same. So I did that.”

“I don’t think Reese is your biggest fan,” I point out. “Didn’t he come to Sterling Falls to stop the Cyclopes?”