It’s Dare’s and it’s full of life this time, not like before.
I open my eyes and his face is in mine, his dark eyes panicked.
“What’s wrong?” he asks me, his hands closed around my arms. “Are you ok?”
I think he’d been shaking me, trying to get me to focus. But I don’t know.
I shake my head. “What happened to the dogs? Oh my God. What happened?”
Dare cocks his head, quizzical. “What do you mean?”
From behind him, Castor whimpers and I startle, sitting up so I can see.
Castor is sitting a few feet away, staring at me with canine concern, whimpering because I’ve unnerved him, wagging his tail hopefully. His bones are fine. There is no blood.
He’s fine
He’s fine
He’s fine.
I suck in a breath. It wasn’t real. Was it real?
“I thought… Castor was…” my voice trails off, because this is exactly what happened when I thought my brother had died. It wasn’t real.
It clearly wasn’t real.
“I need Finn,” I say finally.
Because Finn will help me understand. Finn is the only one who can know.
“Are you crazy?” Dare asks me as he helps me to my feet. “My step-father said you were.”
“No!” I snap. But I’m not sure. I probably am. “That’s a mean thing to say.”
“My step-father is mean,” Dare answers without apology.
From behind him, my mother rushes down the path, in a robe and her hair standing on end.
“What’s wrong, what’s happened?” she asks as she reaches me, pulling me into her arms. “I heard you scream.”
Finn is behind her, and Sabine. They are all watching me, because they know what I won’t admit.
I’m crazy.
“Nothing,” I tell them all. “I thought I saw something and I didn’t.” Clearly I didn’t. Pollux is with Finn and he’s fine.
Sabine looks at Dare. “You know you aren’t supposed to be out here,” she tells him. “You know there will be consequences.” He nods seriously and Sabine looks at me.
“You shouldn’t be out here, either,” she announces. “You shouldn’t invite trouble, little one.” She’s stern and I feel like I’m in trouble and I don’t know why. If anyone should be mad at me, it’s my mother. But mom doesn’t say a word, she just holds me in her arms.
“It’s my fault,” Dare interjects quickly before I can respond to Sabine. “She heard me and followed. It’s my fault.”
“It’s no one’s fault…” I start to say, but Sabine is already nodding.
“Don’t misguide her, boy,” she says. “Richard will hear about this, if he hasn’t already.”
Dare’s face pales and he’s silent, but it didn’t stop him from trying to save me from trouble. He stood up for me. I grab his hand, but he pulls it away without looking at me.