“He’s okay,” Macy reassures me when I don’t say anything else. “I promise, Grace. He’s just busy right now cleaning up the mess in the tower.”

Oh, right. Arterial bleeds aren’t exactly tidy. “Is it bad?” I know it’s ridiculous, but I’m embarrassed that I bled all over Jaxon’s tower, that I caused all this fuss for so many people. “Does he need help?”

“I’ve got it covered,” Uncle Finn assures me dryly. “Thankfully the earthquake only caused minimal damage throughout the rest of the castle, so all my people are up in Jaxon’s room.”

“You’re sure?” It’s a question for Macy, not Uncle Finn. I don’t know why I’m being so insistent, except there’s this feeling deep inside me that something isn’t quite right. That Jaxon is in trouble somehow. It’s probably just the medicine messing with my head, but I can’t seem to shake it. I need to know for sure that he’s all right.

“I swear, Grace.” She reaches over from her spot at the end of the bed and squeezes my hand. “Everything is under control with Jaxon. He’s fine, his rooms will be fine soon enough, and no one else was hurt in the earthquake. You can relax.”

It’s hard to imagine relaxing when fear is still a tight ball in the pit of my stomach. But it’s not like I have a choice with everyone hovering over me.

Though it’s the last thing I want to do right now, I relax back against my pillows. Maybe if I start being more compliant, Marise and Uncle Finn will leave me alone for a while.

“Are you thirsty, Grace?” Marise asks after a moment. “Do you want some juice?”

For the first time, I realize I am thirsty. Like, really, really thirsty. Like, can’t remember the last time I needed a drink this badly thirsty. “Yes, please. Or water. Anything would be good.”

“Let’s start with a little cranapple juice. The sugar will be good for you, and then we’ll go from there.”

“Why do I need sugar?” I ask, even as I accept the small bottle she hands me. I drink it down in one gulp and pretend I don’t see the look she exchanges with Uncle Finn.

“Can I have another?”

“Of course.” A second bottle appears in her hand, though I would swear she didn’t even turn around. I’m too thirsty to care, though, so I take it with a murmured thank-you. I try to drink it more slowly but end up chugging this one, too.

When I’m finished, Uncle Finn takes the bottle from me. Then he strokes a hand over my hair in that way that always makes me think of my dad and says, “I’m sorry, Grace.”

“For what?” I ask, confused by the words and the pained look on his face.

“First the altitude sickness, now an earthquake. I brought you to Alaska because I wanted you to feel safe, wanted to help you find a new home. Instead, you’ve been miserable since you got here.”

“I’m not miserable,” I tell him. When it looks like he doesn’t believe me, I reach for his hand. “I mean, Alaska is about as different from San Diego as it can get, but that doesn’t mean I hate it here. I thought I would, but I don’t.”

I start out meaning to reassure him, but the more I say, the more I realize I mean every word. Alaska does feel alien, but if I didn’t come here, I wouldn’t have met Jaxon. I wouldn’t have had that incredible kiss. And I wouldn’t be living with my cousin, working on a friendship that I’m pretty sure is going to last the rest of our lives.

“Besides, the altitude sickness is gone. And we have earthquakes back home, too, you know.” I grin. “It’s pretty much the one thing Southern California and Alaska have in common.”

“Yeah, but I should have given you more of an introduction to Katmere Academy. I guess I thought ignorance would keep you safe.”

“I don’t think a tour of the school would have stopped me from getting hurt in an earthquake, Uncle Finn.”

He smiles a little sadly. “That’s not what I mean.”

My radar, fuzzy as it is, goes off again. “What do you mean, then?”

“He means that, like any school, it takes a little time to learn the ropes here,” Marise interjects, and the look she gives my uncle tells him now is not the time to discuss those ropes. “I’m sure Macy will help you out with a lot of it. Plus, you’re a smart girl. I think you’ll be fitting in here in no time.”

I’m not so sure, but I’m not about to argue with her. Not when doing so will just keep her and my uncle here longer.

Instead, I change the subject, hoping covering the last of my medical stuff will move them along. “What about my other cuts?” My hand goes to my cheek and the bandage there. “Are they bad?”

“No, not at all. They’ll be healed in no time, and none of them was deep enough to leave a scar.”

“Except on my neck.”

“Yes.” She sounds reluctant to admit it. “You will have a small scar on your neck.”

“Better than the alternative, I guess.” I smile at her. “Thanks for taking care of me. I appreciate it.”

“Of course, Grace. You’re a model patient.”

We’ll see if she still thinks so after I sneak out of my room tonight to go to Jaxon’s. I want to see him, want to make sure he wasn’t hurt, too. And I want to know how he feels about our kiss, if he’s still thinking about it—or if he’s decided I’m just too much trouble.

I also want to know what happened between the glass breaking and me getting to the nurse’s office, and he’s the only one who can tell me. I hate that I can’t remember anything. It makes me feel completely out of control, and I can’t stand that feeling. It gets my anxiety up, so much so that I’m sure I’d be on the verge of a panic attack if it weren’t for the sedative.

“Is it okay that I’m still so sleepy?” I ask, not because I actually want to take a nap but because I want everyone to stop hovering. Especially my uncle.

“Of course,” Marise tells me. “It will probably be tomorrow morning before all the sedation wears off.” She turns to my uncle. “Why don’t we head out, Finn? Give Grace a chance to rest. I’ll come back and check on her before bed and, in the meantime, I’m sure Macy will get us if there’s any problem.”

“Of course I will.” Macy gives her father the most virtuous look I have ever seen on her face or any other. If I weren’t so impressed, plus desperate for Uncle Finn to leave, I’d probably burst out laughing.

“How about you?” my uncle asks, stroking a hand over the top of my head. “You okay with us leaving so you can get some sleep?”