Page 39 of Fall into Place
“Okay.” He leaned toward her, resting his arms on the stones between them. “Another time.”
“Soon, I hope.”
“Can I…” He hesitated. “Would it be an imposition if I told you something personal?”
“Not at all,” Tess breathed.
“It’s just—when you asked me if I bathe here often. I actually haven’t been here in years, since my lover died. This was one of her favorite places on the island.”
“I’m so sorry,” Tess murmured, her mind flashing instantly to Isobel’s shocking death scene. Tess didn’t need Felix to tell her about it. She’d read it dozens of times.
“Thank you.” Felix nodded. “It’s strange, isn’t it? The night I finally come here just happens to be your first time at these pools. It reminds me of Virgil: ‘Wherever the fates lead us, let us follow.’ ”
Tess smiled, remembering Flora’s complaint about Felix quoting poetry instead of choosing a restaurant. She had to admit, it didn’t seem so bad to her.
“ ‘Our remedies oft in ourselves do lie, which we ascribe to heaven: the fated sky,’ ” Tess replied.
“Shakespeare!” Felix’s eyes lit up. “So you don’t believe in fate? You think us meeting here is just coincidence?”
“I’m not honestly sure.” Tess laughed. “But if it’s a coincidence, it’s a happy one.”
Felix gazed at her, but then his face turned more serious. “Promise me you’ll look out for yourself back at Nantale’s? Stay safe?”
“I’ll do my best,” Tess promised.
“Good.” He smiled. “Because I’d really like to see you again.”
Chapter 9
Text message transcript: Joni Chaudhari and Tess Rosenbloom
Joni [7:23 AM]: TESS TESS OH MY GOD TESS
Joni [7:24 AM]: Okay so I understand that you’re probably not getting these because you’re on an island in another dimension and whatnot But JUST IN CASE here is the deal:
Joni [7:26 AM]: I went to your hotel last night to try to talk to you and INSTEAD I met OCTAVIA FREAKING YOO and we HUNG OUT and she told me EVERYTHING well maybe not like everything everything, she was reallll glib and did not care for my questions, but I feel like I have a pretty basic understanding of what’s going on.
Joni [7:28 AM]: ps she’s ridiculously hot??? Idk what I expected but truly wow
Joni [7:29 AM]: Anyway, I’m just leaving the hotel now, I’m gonna go home and crash and then meet back up with Octavia tonight. I want to take her to Central Park to check out the spot where she crossed over, see if anything weird happens!! Maybe we’ll be able to communicate with you somehow??
Joni [7:31 AM]: (And for the record, she’s worried you might be dead. Well, not worried, exactly, but she lists it as a thing that could possibly be true. But I don’t. Because I can’t. Please don’t be dead, okay? I need you to come home so I can yell at you about my birthday.)
“What in the name of god is all of this?” Octavia guffawed.
She wasn’t surprised to see Joni wearing sweatpants, a plain tee, and rubber Birkenstocks—in Octavia’s experience, most humans lacked even a modicum of shame. But the girl was carrying a huge backpack plus a couple of shopping bags, and Octavia couldn’t begin to fathom why.
“I had an idea about how to find the portal that got you off the Isle!” Joni said brightly.
“You understand I spent years researching that very topic to no avail?” Octavia sniffed. “I’ve delved further into interdimensional portal theory than you could possibly grasp. Magical history, physics, geography—”
“Totally—it says so in Blood Feud.” Joni nodded. “But you were kind of flying blind, right? I mean, all that research was theoretical, you didn’t have any hard data points to work with. But now we do—we know where you crossed over. So I was thinking maybe we could spend the night at Bethesda Fountain? See if the portal that brought you here is some kind of nightly recurring thing?”
Octavia peered at Joni—she hadn’t imagined the girl was capable of this much rational thought.
“Fine,” Octavia conceded. “I suppose that’s not a terrible idea.”
“Yeah? Okay great! And I brought provisions!” Joni nodded toward her shopping bags. “I have snacks, games, an iPad loaded with vampire movies—sorry, is that too on the nose?”
