LIAM WALKED ME out of the building and down a trail that snaked along the cliffside at the northern end of the island. Despite the clouds in the east, the sky above the island was clear, and the sun made the water gleam. Still, the wind threatened to push the storm our way, so we were both wearing rain shells just in case.
“What do you think Abby’s deal is?” Liam asked as we walked, picking our steps carefully along the steep path.
I gripped the strap of my bag in a stranglehold and tried to sound casual. “You heard her. Some school project.”
“Seems like a lot of effort. And over the summer too.”
“Maybe it’s one of those funky private schools for rich kids,” I said.
“I doubt it. I’ve gotten kicked out of several of them. I like to think I can spot their denizens, and Abigail Ryder doesn’t fit the bill.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Does that mean you’re rich?” I asked, hoping to get him off the subject of Abby and talking about himself. With most people, it was the quickest way to derail a conversation you didn’t want to have.
“Old family money,” Liam said. “Tainted money, according to my mother, since the only reason we have it is that my grandfather died before he could disown her. She gave most of it away, but Dr. Kapoor convinced her to use some for my education. Whenever I get kicked out, Mum’s torn between disappointment and glee that I’m squandering her father’s money.”
“Did he disown her because of Dr. Kapoor?” I asked, genuinely curious now.
“No, it was because she argued against the Oxfordian theory of Shakespearean authorship in her thesis.” I stared at him, and he laughed.
I rolled my eyes. “You know, it’s not fair. With that accent you sound very authoritative.”
“Only to an American. Though this country is growing on me for that very reason.”
Down at the dock, Kenny was packing gear into a skiff with the name KATYDID stenciled on the side. Kenny looked up as if surprised to see us. For a minute I wondered if he hadn’t known I was coming, but then I realized it was his default expression.
“Oh, hey. Good morning, you two. Sophia, I forgot to ask if you like coffee.”
“Yep. But I left mine in the car, sadly,” I said.
Kenny bent over and extracted a long thermos from an army-green bag. “Vital scientific equipment. Never leave base without it.”
“You’re a treasure,” I told him, meaning it.
Kenny smiled. “We look after our own out here. And you’re one of the flock now.”
I wished in that moment that I was really the person I was pretending to be—a girl with a passion for birds and a bright future ahead of her. But without a past, I couldn’t have a present, much less a future. I didn’t know who I was—or who I wanted to be.
I helped hand Kenny the last of the bags, waiting as he maneuvered each into place in an arrangement that seemed to be exacting but looked like a messy heap to me.
“Everything stowed?” a voice said behind us. I turned to see a man in a long-sleeved tee. He was a big man, solidly built, with salt-and-pepper hair that was tousled—not like Kenny’s and Liam’s genuine what is this ungodly hour look, but carefully sculpted with gel, matched by a meticulously trimmed goatee. Abby stood next to him, her hands jammed in her pockets and a knit cap covering all but a fringe of her dark hair.
“You must be Sophia,” the man said, holding out his hand. “I’m William Hardcastle. Call me Will.”
I should have reached for it. I should have shaken his hand, said it was nice to meet him, smiled. But I was frozen. Because I’d met William Hardcastle, though I hadn’t realized it before. I hadn’t recognized the photo or the name. But I knew that voice. How did I know that voice? Why did it send a shiver of fear down my spine? The fear was corrosive, acid trailing down my vertebrae. And with it came a whisper, almost real enough to hear—hide.
But he couldn’t know who I was, could he? Hardcastle had been here with my mother, but I was only three years old in 2003. My hair had been dark brown, not blonde. You could see the resemblance if you were looking for it, but I didn’t think that a shared first name would give me away.
The fear didn’t know logic, so I gritted my teeth. My “moods,” as my last foster mother had called them, were uncontrollable. Some were backlash, but other times they came out of nowhere. Whatever this was, though, it didn’t feel like that—didn’t feel like the panic was slamming into me out of nowhere. I didn’t know why I was afraid, but the fear was all mine.
Dr. Hardcastle’s hand remained extended. One second, two, and I forced myself to come unstuck, to reach out, because if I didn’t move, he would know something was wrong.
But then Dr. Kapoor was striding across the beach, Lily in tow, and Dr. Hardcastle half turned, his hand dropping. I curled my fingers under, ignoring the voice in my head telling me to run. Liam gave me an odd look, but I didn’t meet his eyes.
“What are you doing, Will?” Dr. Kapoor demanded.
“The same thing you are?” he said, with a chuckle that suggested he knew exactly what she was asking.
“I told Lily to deliver Ms. Ryder back to Mrs. Popova’s until we can arrange a ride to the mainland,” Dr. Kapoor snapped. “Lily says that you stopped her.” Lily looked like she’d rather be a mile out in the open ocean without a boat than here. Abby showed no such distress.
Hardcastle ducked his head with a performative wince. “I know I shouldn’t have overruled you like that, but what’s she going to do all day? Make doilies with Mrs. Popova? If she’s with us, at least we can keep an eye on her. Maybe she can even help count some of your hatchlings.”
“I’ll be quiet as a mouse. I won’t get in your way at all,” Abby said.
“She’s not LARC staff,” Dr. Kapoor said.
“Neither is Liam,” Hardcastle pointed out.
Dr. Kapoor’s jaw tensed, but she turned to Abby. “Do exactly as you’re told, and no straying off on your own,” she said.
Abby threw her a salute. “Aye-aye.”
“Let’s get moving. We’ve lost too much time with this weather,” Dr. Kapoor said, as if the clouds and rain had been arranged to personally inconvenience her. The LARC researchers climbed into the skiff with practiced ease, and Abby followed nimbly.
Liam and I stepped out onto the slick, water-swollen boards of the dock. Liam got in first and offered me his hand. With a glance at the slippery dock, I accepted the help.
The boat rocked as I stepped in, pitching me toward him. He caught me by the arm. “Careful, there. That was very nearly the start of a romantic comedy,” he said.
“If it was really a romantic comedy, I would have knocked us both into the water,” I pointed out.
“And with that, my hopes are cruelly dashed,” he replied.
I stared at him, and suddenly realized there might be a reason besides concern that I kept catching him looking at me. Could he actually be flirting with me? Boys didn’t flirt with me.
Of course, all the boys I knew had figured out I was a freak a long time ago, and I’d done little to alter that opinion. Liam might be interested, but it was only because he didn’t know me. Still. It wasn’t the worst thing to happen since I came to Bitter Rock. I smiled at him. I was surprised at how easy it was.
“It’s a full house, so get friendly,” Hardcastle said amiably.
The engine started up, and my smile dropped away. We were going to Belaya Skala.
And somehow I knew, deep in my bones, that whatever had happened, whatever I was trying to discover—it had happened over there.
I watched William Hardcastle, sitting at the prow of the boat and chatting with Lily. I knew something else: William Hardcastle had been involved. That fear started up again, a bitterness at the back of my throat and the sound of my pulse in my ears.
“Sophia?” Liam said uncertainly. It was the second time he’d said my name.
I gave him a wide smile. I couldn’t be calm, but maybe I could fake it. “Sorry. I’m still jet-lagged, I guess.”
He was looking at me strangely, and I found myself frantically cataloging every aspect of my demeanor, my appearance. What would give me away? What was the detail that would make him start to turn, to dislike me, the way everyone did in time?
“Yeah. The sunlight messes with your circadian rhythms,” he said at last.
We rode the rest of the way in silence.