“I need to be alone right now,” he told her, and left the hall before she could protest. Erika watched him stalk off, her heart sinking. When she turned to go up the stairs, she saw Kala sitting in the cage, preening her feathers, the morning hyacinth wilting in one of her claws. Erika poked a finger through the silver bars. “Does anyone ever watch after you?” she whispered. The bird twittered softly in her throat and dropped the flower as she tucked her beak under one wing and closed her eyes. Erika went on up the stairs and locked herself in her room, where she took off her filthy clothes and stepped into the bathroom, bracing for a shower cold enough to numb away the guilt. After a few minutes longer on the lake, Shawn noticed the spread of light creeping down the prow of the boat, but he didn’t know what to make of it. Then a burst of summer sun forced Shawn to close his eyes. Spots danced inside his eyelids. When he opened them again, the twilight had vanished, leaving the lake bathed in a silky afternoon gloss.
