Reckoning (The Watchers Book 5) by Verónica Wolff Read Free Book Online Page A

protracted silence filled the car. Tension thrummed through me as Ronan studied the beach, studied my gear. Studied me. “And yet he’s not here. Are you finally fleeing the vampires and escaping this godforsaken isle?”
    It wasn’t the direction I’d expected this conversation to go, and I let out a humorless laugh. “Would you stop me?”
    “Stop you?” He took my hand in his. Suddenly the old Ronan was back, and the force of his presence, his attention, took my breath. “Ann, I’d help you. Why did you not trust enough to tell me? You wee fool, were you afraid of telling me? You know I’m more than just your teacher. How could you not know that? How could you not think I’d want to help you? Getting off this island to safety is all I’ve wanted for you.”
    His intensity, the sudden earnest yearning I saw in his eyes, flashed me to my last conversation with Carden. Why wasn’t my vampire trying to get me off the island to safety?
    Stop. I needed to stop that sort of thinking.
    “Tell me.” He held my hand so firmly in both of his, a thumb making circles on my wrist. “How can I help? Where are you going?”
    I hated this lie that had unexpectedly sprouted between us. But it was a blessing, too; I didn’t see any other way to handle it. I couldn’t let Ronan know I was hunting his sister.
    I blotted the emotion from my face. “I’m going to Norway.”
    Ronan laughed.
    I snatched my hand away. “Why is everyone laughing at me today?”
    That stopped him. “I’m not laughing.” He stared at me for a long moment. “Never. I’m just…I confess, I’m so relieved, Ann. Why Norway?”
    How can I explain this while leaving Charlotte out of it? I decided the best lies contained a whiff of truth. “I have reason to believe that is where I’ll find my…my mother.”
    His eyes bulged. “Your mother?”
    Relief swept me. Part of me had feared he’d known about her imprisonment and kept it from me, too. “So I hear.”
    I was too busy chanting don’t ask how I know in my head that it took a moment for his next words to register.
    “I’ll go with you,” he said, and I felt the longing behind the statement like a wave, hitting me, threatening to engulf me. “I’ll help you. We’ll run together.”
    He did care about me. Slow, searing, stubborn pain unfurled in my chest. He cared, but this had to be goodbye.
    “You can’t.” Lies. I needed more lies. “There’s, um, no room in the boat.”
    I couldn’t pit Ronan against his sister. I was on my own path now.
    Would I ever see him again? I couldn’t just flee the island and then come back when everything was over. Accepting this felt like being gutted with a dull, rusty blade.
    “So, Carden? He’s traveling with you then?” He’d tried to act casual, but something in his voice sounded dejected.
    His vulnerability cracked me wide open. I dared meet those green eyes. “No. It’s just me—”
    He turned, practically jumping into action. “Then let me get my things.”
    I grabbed his arm. I was off chasing his sister, and I’d do whatever it took to stop her. Whatever it took. “I said no.”
    How I longed to confide in him. But there was no way I could tell him what I was really doing. How would I even broach it? Hey, looks like your sister’s on a murderous rampage that’ll end with you if she thinks I care about you, so how about we go find her and see what happens?
    No way. I’d never ask him to hunt his sister. And I’d never put him in that sort of danger. If Charlotte wanted to kill everyone who was dear to me, I needed to distance myself.
    “I need to be alone for this.”
    “You’re not alone, Ann.” He took my shoulders in his hands, pulling me to face him. “Wherever you go, I’ll find you.”
    I tried to wriggle free. This was too hard. The hardest thing I’d ever done. But I had to remind myself that I had a mother, and I needed to find her. My duty was to her. “You can’t.”
    His jaw was tight, eyes glittering