The Golden Cavern is alight with fire lining the torches on the walls, and the music resonates through the entrance and into the marketplace. I stand in the entrance, watching the people gathered inside as they dance and laugh with one another.

A shiver runs down my spine as I remember the last time there was a party at the Golden Cavern. It was the night before Will Marule made himself known in Adaymos; it was the night Alyx was killed.

I search through the crowds of people in the Golden Cavern. Krysta stands against the bar and stares into space wistfully. She's all alone, ostracised by the village because of her involvement with Ethii.

It seems unfair that while this hasn't dented Ethii's reputation, nobody wants to associate with Krysta. They'll whisper in the shadows, they'll call her ruined goods.

My stomach twists with guilt. Even though she hurt my sister and did this to herself, she was my friend and her life is now over. I know what it's like to be the outsider.

Somebody appears beside me, so close their arm brushes against mine. I turn to look at them, a chill running down my spine as I crane my neck to meet his gaze. If he were to do anything, everybody would see. He can't hurt me, not now.

"What do you want?" I ask, clenching my fists so he can't see the way they shake.

Ethii Toledano doesn't move; he stays beside me with his arm brushing against mine. He doesn't look at me, talk to me, or even acknowledge that I'm there, but when I take a step to the side so that we're no longer touching, he grips my upper arm to hold me in place.

"Ethii." My voice shakes. "Please let go of me."

"I'm not doing anything wrong, Alera," he says. His fingernails dig painfully into my skin. "I simply want to talk to you. Can we walk?"

Alarm flares in my veins. "No." I try to pull my arm away but he won't release me. "I don't want to walk with you, Ethii. Please let me go."

His fingernails dig in deeper. "Fine. We can talk here, in front of all these people."

I swallow. "I don't want to talk to you at all, Ethii."

"You don't have much of a choice, Alera," Ethii hisses, spinning me around to face him. He steps closer so that I'm trapped against the doorframe.

"What do you want from me?"

"You've ruined my life." He leans closer, his breath hot against my face. "Do you realise that?"

I wince and turn my face away. "Why don't you marry Krysta instead?"

"You think I care about that?" he scoffs. "Once Mr Marule returns to the palace and he tells people about me, there is no chance I will ever get to sell my garments there."

I should've known he didn't care about Imelda. All he cares about is his stupid garments collection.

I gulp. "And you're going to ruin mine, you're going to make nobody want me. I already know that. My celebration is tomorrow, and you're going to make sure nobody turns up."

His face stretches into a grin but it is anything but friendly. "Your celebration will commence as usual, Alera." A chill runs down my spine. "But don't underestimate me; I have a few tricks up my sleeve."

Alarms go off in my head. "What are you talking about?"

"Where were you the night Alyx died, Alera?" he tilts his head sideways, eyes drilling into me.

I try not to flinch. "I was in the Golden Cavern. You can ask anyone, they saw me."

He quirks an eyebrow. "Alyx didn't die while you were in the Golden Cavern, Alera, that's when he was found. Mr Marule said he was killed several hours before that. I've been asking around, and you were nowhere to be seen."

My heart drops into my stomach. "I.... what're you saying, Ethii?"

He shrugs and steps back. "I'm just saying, this wouldn't be the first time you've been the murderer."

And though he isn't holding me anymore, I can't move, paralysed by his words as my blood runs cold.

"What're you talking about, Ethii?" The music from the Golden Cavern is drowned out by the screaming in my mind. "I'm not a murderer."

Ethii reaches forward to pull my sleeve up, revealing the ugly, rippled skin on my arm. "You may not be old enough to remember how you got these scars, Alera, but I am," he says. "And when I bring you forward as the murderer of Alyx, I don't think it'll be any trouble for people to believe me since I've seen you kill before."

Fear crawls up my spine as I flinch backwards.

"I was born with these scars." I rip my arm from him and pull my sleeve down. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"You will, Alera," he smiles, "just you wait."

I choke on my own words as he starts to walk away, my fingers quivering by my side. Ethii thinks I killed Alyx; he's going to tell people I killed Alyx.

"You think I killed him?" I call out with a strangled voice. "You think I killed Alyx?"

"No, I don't think you did." Ethii looks back at me over his shoulder, his eyes cold and calculating. He tells me honestly, and then he grins. "But who will everybody believe? Me, or you?"

And then he walks away into the Golden Cavern. I can't breathe. Fear pumps the blood from my veins to my heart. If Ethii accused me of murder, it would be his word against mine. Compared to him, my word means nothing.

The once tempting music makes my head pound and the laughter wafting towards me seems mocking as it rebounds off the wall of my head. My muscles feel weak as I stumble backwards, my chest rapidly rising and falling as I dash through the marketplace and try to get home as fast as I can.

I've seen you kill before.

I need to find my father before I choke on my own breath. I need to ask him about my arm; I need to know the truth. Am I a murderer? Was Ethii telling the truth?

The breath is completely knocked out of me when I run face first into a solid barricade as I stumble around the corner. We crash against one another and I tumble to the ground, cluttering on top of them as they roll us over so I land on top of their chest instead of the ground.

When I open my eyes, my heart drops into my stomach. This night could not get any worse.

Will stares up at me, his dark eyes reflecting the moon that shines above him. My body is pressed against his and his hands are rested on mine to keep me steady. The position we are in is entirely inappropriate, but I can't bring myself to move.

"Fancy seeing you here." Will's teasing voice breaks me from my trance.

I immediately clamber off of him and crawl backwards along the ground, pushing to my feet as Will does the same, brushing his pants with the back of his hands. He has a smudge of dirt across his cheek.

I blink at him, my heart picking up in my chest as I stumble backwards. Once again, I've run into Will Marule in the dark shadows of the night when there is nobody around.

"Alera." His playful smile drops and he steps forward. "What's wrong? Where were you running to?"

I stumble backwards and bite the inside of my cheek. "Stay away from me, Mr Marule."

I'm not afraid of him, even though I wish I was. But something deep inside of me knows he is dangerous, and after my encounter with Ethii, I am in no state to converse with a killer.

He furrows his brows. "Alera..." he takes another step forward but pauses when I take one back and wrap my arms around myself. "I'm not going to hurt you."

I swallow when my back presses against the wall of the cabin behind me. There is nowhere for me to run; I'm frozen against this wall and Will Marule stands across from me with his dark eyes and charming smile. I should be afraid of him killing me but instead, I am afraid of the way my heart beats when he says my name.

I shake my head. "Leave me alone, please." I'm breathless from my talk with Ethii and from my fall. But when I breathe in the cold air stabs the back of my throat like little daggers. "I won't tell anyone, I swear. I'll keep my mouth shut if you just leave me alone."

Will doesn't listen, he only steps closer. "Not when you're in this state." He scans me with his eyes. "Tell me what happened. What's wrong?"

I stare at him evenly. I hold my breath to keep myself from speaking. Everything inside of me wants to tell him what Ethii said, but I can't trust him. I can't trust myself around him.

If Will really is Alyx's killer, he will be more than happy to take Ethii's side and frame me for his death.

"Alera." Will narrows his eyes at the way I'm pressed against the wall. "Are you... afraid of me?"

"I..." I can barely speak because I can barely breathe. I should be afraid of him, I should be trying to stay away from him, but I'm not. "Did you kill him? Did you kill Alyx?"

His eyebrows furrow as he takes a step back. "I -" I watch him as he shakes his head, blowing out a breath of air and reaching around to rub the back of his neck. "You think I killed Alyx?"

I bite my lip. "I don't know."

He stares at me, his dark eyes swimming with secrets. And then he reaches a hand towards me. "Will you let me show you something, Alera?"

I look at his hand stretched out towards me and wonder how it would feel to take it, to feel his bare skin brush mine. I shake my head to clear it.

"Answer my question," I say, my voice wavering.

"I didn't kill Alyx." He keeps his hand stretched out. "Are you afraid of me, Alera? Are you afraid that I'll hurt you?"

It takes everything in me not to dart my gaze to the ground from the intensity of his stare. Why do I believe him? Why do I trust him so much when he hasn't given me a reason to? Why do I believe him when I know he's lied to me?

"I feel like I should be," I murmur.

He steps forward. "But you're not."

I shake my head. "No." I swallow. "Should I be?"

"I would never hurt you," he says, stretching his hand out again. "Let me show you something."

I stare blankly at his hand and try to convince myself not to take it. I need to get home, I need to ask my father about my arm, I need to figure out what to do about Ethii. But when Will Marule stands in front of me and promises to whisk me away and share his secrets, I cannot refuse.

I don't take his hand, afraid of what I might feel if I do. Instead, I take a breath of air and step towards him. "Okay."

He smiles, dropping his hand when he realises I'm not going to take it and looks towards the gate. "Come on."