I didn’t know what was different about me, or what was to become of me. But whatever the case, one truth remained: I no longer belonged in The Shade.

Chapter 32: Annora

Anselm had been gracious enough to grant me the corpse of a black-haired woman without asking many questions. I’d noticed it piled up outside the royal kitchens as I was escorted back toward the gate. After the guard led me back out onto the beach and set me down next to the circular hole in the sand I’d arrived through, I looked over the body. I waited until the ogre had disappeared behind the iron gates before starting work on it. This woman looked very different from Rose. Her hair and height were the only similarities. I walked over to the ship I’d found the chest of daggers in and started running thin cuts along the body, enough so that no discernible features could be made out. Since the hair also wasn’t the right length, I slashed the tips to give them a ripped effect.

Dragging the body with me toward the edge of the gate, I leapt through with it.

Once I arrived at the other end of the tunnel, I had to be careful. If Caleb or Rose found me before it was time, my plan would be spoiled. And more than just the plan lay in the balance. Anselm was scheduled to come to collect his gift soon and if Caleb got in the way, Anselm would realize I might not be who I said I was. No, I couldn’t afford for that to happen.

I dragged the body closer to our tree and left it in some bushes while I crept to see if Caleb or Rose were anywhere in sight. They weren’t. I circled the trees closest to ours, looking upward and straining my eyes to spot the bees’ nest I had noticed the day before. On spotting it, I hurried back to fetch the body and placed it directly beneath the nest—some meters away from the foot of our own tree. Then I covered it with piles of leaves. Fortunately, the body had already been treated with preservatives by the ogres, so it would still look fresh. But there wasn’t much I could do about the fact that the corpse was naked. Caleb would just have to assume that her underwear ripped away from her body during her fall to the ground, and sharp branches had sliced her skin. Since Rose seemed to like roaming around in the treetops so much, I hoped it wouldn’t be too implausible a story that she might have tried to gather some honey. It was far from ideal, that was for sure. But it was the best I could do. I had to hope that the shock would leave him too devastated to think much further into it.

Then I waited until Caleb and Rose returned to their beds before approaching them. It stung me to see the way they were dressed, and the way he was touching her. And when Caleb told me he no longer loved me, I wasn’t sure that I could keep up my act. But I had to, so I did. I told them what I needed to and left them alone that night, and the next morning.

It was fortunate that Caleb had decided to leave Rose in the tree while he ventured into the jungle. Otherwise I would have had to cause a distraction. Now, all I had to do was uncover the corpse, loosen the bees’ nest from its branch and cover up Rose’s screams as Anselm carried her away… and of course hurry to the well to say goodbye to Rose. The latter wasn’t difficult. Caleb seemed so consumed in grief as he tried to brush away the bees, I doubted he even noticed me slip away.

He was still in the same spot that I’d left him in once I returned having bidden farewell to Rose. He was crouched down on the ground next to the body, his head on his knees. He was so still, I wondered if he was even breathing.

I hated how affected he was by her. I wondered if he would have ever grieved so intensely for me.

I snapped myself out of my jealousy. I needed to think straight now. Caleb and I needed to leave this island as soon as possible. It wasn’t safe to be here any more. If the black witches found out about my visit to Anselm and that I’d handed Rose Novak right to them, my life wouldn’t be worth living. And they were still after Caleb too for stealing away Rose from Lilith’s cave.

I approached Caleb cautiously, touching his shoulder. The moment I touched him, his hand shot out and gripped my throat. Before I could even gasp, he slammed my head back against a tree trunk. Pain seared through my skull. It felt like it had cracked. He held me in place by my throat, his eyes blazing into mine.

“You did this,” he snarled.

“What?” I choked, my eyes widening.

His grip on my neck tightened as he slammed me against another tree. His claws extended. I felt their tips beginning to dig into my flesh.

“C-Caleb, no! I swear!”

His eyes darkened. He seemed to be losing control.

I thrashed, trying to pry his hands away from me. “There’s no way I could have done this,” I wheezed. “I haven’t been near our tree since morning.”

“You lie.”

“No!” I began to panic as his claws dug so hard into me, they drew blood. I clutched his hair. “Please, Caleb. It’s me… Annora,” I whispered. “Don’t do this to me.”

Growling in frustration, he threw me to the ground. When I looked up again, he had vanished into the jungle.

He just needs time to get over the shock. He’ll be all right.

Shaking, I climbed up our tree and sat on our bunk. I waited there for hours, and by night, Caleb still hadn’t returned. I began to fear that perhaps he had finished the boat and left the island without me.

No, I can’t believe he would do that…

During the early hours of the morning I was seriously debating leaving and going to look for him. But I forced myself to trust that he would return. If I left, I might get lost in the jungle and wouldn’t be here if he came back.