?There?s plenty of time for us to see the world, but for now, I
think you?d better stay local. And since I can?t ask you to do
something that I wouldn?t be willing to do myself, I promise I
won?t go off island without you,? he said.
?Yeah, right,? Helen said, laughing and trying to pull her hand
out of his, but he held on to her.
?I?m serious,? he said, tugging on her hand and pulling her toward
him until she was practically stepping on his feet. ?There?s
another reason I want you stay over the island, especially when I?m
not with you. My family can?t protect you if they can?t find you.
Don?t forget, those women are still out there. And Creon will be
back for you. . . .?
264/395
At the mention of Creon?s name, it came flooding back to her. He
had tried to kill her, and he very nearly succeeded. The dizzying
darkness had been bad enough, but he had forced her to use her
lightning and relive another terrible memory as well.
?Helen?? Lucas said, touching the side of her face and turning
her eyes to his. ?I?m sorry to bring him up, but you know I had to.?
?I know, Lucas, it?s not that,? she began and stopped, needed a
second to regroup. ?Do you think my lightning is dangerous??
?Very,? he said seriously. ?But only if you don?t learn to use it.?
?I don?t want to use it! I want to go back to forgetting about it!?
?Helen, you don?t need to run away from yourself anymore,? he
said, scowling down at the ground. ?Look, this is partly my fault. I
should have told you about your lightning sooner, but I could tell
you were avoiding it, maybe even repressing it, for some reason.
What I really wanted was for you to discover it yourself and want
to learn about it, like you did with flying.?
?Lucas, I . . .? Helen broke off, shaking her head. ?I think I killed