Gemma had always wondered how Penn, Lexi, and Thea got to the cove, and she was eager to find out. Thea drove the car around the bay and headed to the coast on the other side. Once she parked in a gravel lot behind a patch of cypress trees, all the girls got out of the car.

Gemma noticed that they left their shoes in the car, and she would’ve done the same if she’d even remembered to put them on before she left the house.

Nobody said much of anything as they walked on a beaten path through the trees. The moon was nearly full, shining above them, but other than that there was no light.

Gemma’s heart continued racing, and she wasn’t completely sure she’d done the right thing by going with them. Part of her knew this was dangerous, especially after what had happened last time she was with them.

But she had a feeling that if they really wanted to kill her, she would already be dead. They were the only ones who knew what was happening to her, and she had to risk going with them to find out what it was.

When they reached a rather steep rocky incline, it took Gemma a minute to realize that they were at the back of the cove on the bay. She’d expected the girls to show her some hidden entrance that allowed them to get into the cove without getting wet, but instead they started climbing up the rocky face.

“You expect me to go up that?” Gemma asked, staring at the sheer climb. She couldn’t see anywhere to grip or put her hands, and she’d never been much for climbing anyway.

“You can do it,” Lexi assured her as Penn began the ascent to the top of the incline.

“I really don’t think I can.” Gemma shook her head.

“You’d be surprised what you can do now,” Lexi said with a smile. Then, without waiting to see if Gemma followed, she started climbing.

Penn, Lexi, and Thea were all moving nimbly up the rocks. Gemma debated for only a second, then went up after them. It came surprisingly easy to her. It wasn’t that she was a better climber exactly, but she was faster, stronger, more deft. She still slipped a few times, but she recovered easily.

When she reached the top, Penn was standing at the edge in front of the bay, so the mouth of the cove was below her. This high up, the wind was stronger, whipping through the girls’ hair. A fall from that height, even into water, would be dangerous, and that was assuming she missed the rocks.

“What are we doing up here?” Gemma asked and walked closer to her.

“I wanted to show you what we are,” Penn said.

“What are you?”

“The same thing as you.” Penn faced her, smiling.