“We’re not busy,” I rush out. Stepping around Jaxen, I ignore his questioning stare. “We can walk together. I-I’m sure Jaxen would like to catch up with Weldon anyhow. Right?” I ask over my shoulder.
“Yeah, of course,” he says without hesitation. He kisses the top of my head and then stops by Jezi.
She doesn’t look up at him, even though he’s looking down at her. I think they might be exchanging thoughts, however, it’s hard to tell from just observing them. It’s something I thankfully haven’t experienced with either of them, though supposedly our strange connection to one another should permit it. He lifts his hand, squeezes her shoulder, and then disappears down the hallway.
“So,” I say awkwardly, biting the inside of my lip, “what do you think of the uniform?”
Turning, she starts down the hallway to the elevator. Jaxen gives me a small smile when we pass by him, leaving him standing outside of Weldon’s door.
“It’s a uniform,” she says with a shrug. “What am I supposed to think?” She presses the button for the elevator.
“I don’t know,” I say back, not sure of how else to answer it.
When the door slides open, we get in, and then she presses the button for the ground level. I look off to the side, wondering why she even bothered. The air is so thick between us I can barely breathe. And what’s the point of faking it? She clearly hates me, and I don’t blame her. I couldn’t imagine having to suck it up and watch your affinity partner in the arms of another. Especially someone as reserved and closed off as Jaxen.
You’re fine. Everything is okay. I pin my hands to my side and clear my gaze. Pretend I’m fine with this silence that picks away at my composure. Imagine I don’t notice her contempt for me. And a part of me starts to believe it, begins to harden a little. Shuts down completely.
What feels like a century passes before she clears her throat again. I look over at her, feeling every startled emotion string themselves across my eyes. “I-uh-I’m not good with small talk,” she says, avoiding my gaze. “I usually just say what’s on my mind and, sometimes, there’s not anything in there worth talking about.”
“I get that,” I say, turning to face her, trying not to sound too excited that she’s speaking again. “Totally.”
“And I’m also trying this new thing. The whole ‘If you don’t have anything nice to say, then don’t say anything at all’ approach to life. Not that I don’t have anything nice to say about you. Or to you. Hell,” she says, palming her forehead. “I’m shutting up now.”
“You’re fine,” I say quickly, wearing a small smile. “I ramble too. Not that you’re rambling.” Nervousness tears away at my ability to think. A fact pops into my head and slips out of my mouth before I can stop it. “You know, I read once that people who get angry often, and over little things, are really subconsciously revealing a need to be loved and accepted by their peers. You have a big heart; you just need the others to see you for that.”
Her eyes scrunch. A frown mars her lips.
“Or… something… like… that,” I fumble out. “It’s my turn to shut up now.”
There’s a long moment of awkward silence, and then the bell dings. We exit the building and head out into the city, both purposefully not looking in each other’s direction. The sun is setting, dipping behind the buildings. Pinks, oranges, and a small hint of lavender contrast against the turquoise waters. A perfect photo for a wall in my room that’s no longer my room.
I’m still waiting for her to freak out as she takes us over a bridge, and then down a cobblestone path. She hasn’t said a word, and that makes me wonder.
I said the wrong thing. She hates me more now. God, I’m an idiot.
I slip on a robotic smile as passersby nod their heads in greeting, focusing on counting my steps and not the seconds between the last thing I said and Jezi’s silence. Noticing there are more Elites out now than there were this afternoon, I realize nighttime is the only time an Elite has the relief to really live.
“You can definitely tell a man designed these suits,” Jezi says as we pass a restaurant carrying smells of fresh fish and vegetables stewing. A small line waits outside the front of the two-story, rustic building. Quaint chatter carries on the breeze.
“Huh?” I ask, only having half heard her.
“The uniforms. It’s obvious a man designed them.” She opens her arms, showcasing her many curves that are on display for the public eye. I can’t help but notice the male heads that turn in her direction as she spins in a circle. The hungry smiles that curve their lips.
“Yeah,” I agree, picking up the pace. Curling into myself to keep from being noticed.
“We should find him and shoot him,” she says, and I can’t tell if she’s joking or not. “I almost feel naked.”
“Then maybe you should just strip off that uniform and eat dinner naked,” Weldon throws in from behind us. He lets out a short, boastful chuckle. “It’d be the same thing, right? And I sure as hell wouldn’t mind.”
I look over my shoulder to find Jaxen and Weldon a few steps behind us. Jaxen has his hands tucked in his jacket pockets. He smiles at me, and I can’t help but blush a little.
“Ugh, pig,” Jezi says, turning back around.
Weldon has to jump back to avoid the harsh swish of her dark hair from slapping him in the face. “Maybe. But I bet you I’m the best swine you’ve seen in a long time,” he says, poking at her with his words. His voice is light and airy. He’s enjoying every second of watching her unravel at the seams.
She rolls her eyes. Points straight ahead. “Thank the Goddess,” she says a moment later when Gavin and Cassie come in sight. They’re standing in front of a small taco stand that’s tucked discreetly between two large, brick buildings. Stringed lights hang, and small, round tables with umbrellas fill the alleyway.
“We ordered a round of tacos for everyone. On us,” Cassie says, “so I hope you’re hungry.”
“Hungry?” Jezi asks. “I’m famished. I’ve been dying for some real food.”
“What’s wrong? Meal replacement bars aren’t your thing?” Weldon asks, stepping up next to her.
She eyes him down. “They can take their bars and shove them up their asses,” she retorts. Reaching over the counter for one of the tacos, she shoves it in her mouth and bites down with a small moan. Her hand flies up to cover her mouth as she chews and says, “This girl loves food.”
We all laugh when her words come out jumbled from behind her taco.
“And I’m the pig?” Weldon asks, looking thoroughly disgusted. He snorts, and then takes his share from the vendor and finds a small table to sit down at.
Jaxen grabs ours and points to where Weldon sits. Gavin, Cassie, and Jezi take the table next to us. I know I should say something, start some form of pleasant conversation, but Jezi was right. The meal replacement bars sucked, and this food… it smells so amazing. Mouth-watering. My manners quietly slip out of the back door as I dig in and devour all three of my tacos before Jaxen can even finish his first one.
“Jesus, now I’ve seen it all,” Weldon says as he pokes at his food. “A human garbage disposal.” I look up, my face twisted in disbelief and my words ready to protest, when he adds quickly, “But you’re the hottest disposal I’ve ever seen, so that’s a compliment.” His hands are raised in surrender.
“Because that makes it so much easier to swallow,” I retort. Rolling my eyes, I wipe my mouth with a napkin. I hate that my cheeks are on fire, and that I feel Jaxen next to me, looking at me. It’s only food, and I need to eat, I tell myself defensively. There’s not one reason on earth why I should pretend otherwise, not if it’s only to impress a man and make him think I’m some kind of bird or something.
So I take a large, very unladylike bite right in Weldon’s direction.
“Do you always have to mess with people?” Jezi says loudly as she dots a napkin around her lips. “Is that your way of compensating for whatever it is you’re lacking?” Her gaze drif
ts past his midsection, and then a slow, winning smile lifts the corners of her lips.
I bite back my amusement, swallow, and meet Jezi’s gaze. There’s a small, almost infinitesimal moment of camaraderie between us, and it makes me feel like maybe we could be friends. Like she truly is trying to be… nice.
“It’s okay. He doesn’t mean anything by it,” I ease out.
She lifts a lone eyebrow. “Don’t make excuses for him, Faye. You’re not the dipshit whisperer.”
Weldon pretends like he’s been shot in the chest. He falls back, out of his chair. “I’m wounded,” he says gravely, reaching up into the air, “wounded by the small-minded brunette with more insults than a comedian. Tell me,” he pleads, reaching out to Jaxen, “tell me the truth. She loves me, doesn’t she? Madly.”
Jaxen shakes his head and hides his smile before standing up. He grabs Weldon’s hand, pulling him to his feet.
“She’s got it bad, doesn’t she?” Weldon asks, pushing his gaze past Jaxen and onto Jezi.
“Ugh,” she says, “I swear, you just like the sound of your own voice.”
Weldon looks back up at Jaxen. His features widen in mock surprise. “You told her, didn’t you? Traitor,” he says playfully. “You told her who I was really in love with.”
“All right,” Jaxen says, chuckling a little. He lightly pushes Weldon back into his seat. “Sit down and shut up before she whoops your ass. You know she can.”
Weldon looks over at her again. “Oh, yes. I remember,” he says, his eyes swimming in a distant memory. “She’s a strong one.”
“Had you not ran your mouth and pushed her over the edge that night, she wouldn’t have had to flex her Witchy muscles on you,” Cassie says, tossing a wink in Jezi’s direction.
“What night?” I ask, looking between all of them.
“It was before we met you. Jezi and Weldon butted heads, and it resulted in Jezi blasting Weldon’s ass with a bit of magic. Typical female anger issues kind of shit,” Gavin explains, chuckling when Cassie elbows him in the side.
“Whatever,” Jezi says. I swear I see a faint blush in her cheeks, but she turns before I can really tell.
Weldon looks over at me. “You done eating? Want more?” He pushes his food toward me. “I don’t really eat this stuff anyway.”
My stomach rolls as I try not to think about his consumption of blood.
“I’m good,” I say, reaching for my water. Leaning back in my chair, I take in the people that pass between the buildings heading to God knows where. Jaxen finishes off his three tacos and reaches for Weldon’s.
“Freedom never looked so good,” Gavin says as he pushes his empty plate away from him. His gaze takes in the soft, ambient light that glows down the canal as if they plucked a million tiny stars from the sky just to light up the city. “Who’d have thought we’d be here, training to become Elites?”
“Better enjoy it now,” Cassie says, stabbing her fork through the air, “because I’m sure tomorrow won’t look as beautiful.”
A couple takes the table on the other side of us, and I can’t help but notice them staring at me, like I’m one of the seven wonders. I don’t know if I should act like I don’t see them, or let them know I do so they will finally look away. There isn’t much time to think about it because the woman grabs the man’s hand, leaning over enough to ask, “Aren’t you the Everlasting?”
Jaxen stiffens. Spins around. “She’s trying to eat.” His tone says back off, and the man reads it clearly. He tugs on the woman’s hand, trying to get her to sit back, but she keeps on.
“I’m sorry. I don’t want to interrupt you,” she says, tucking a strand of blonde hair behind her ear.
“Then don’t,” Weldon says pointedly.
“I just-I wanted to know if it was true or not,” the woman continues.
The man whispers something to her.
“No,” she says heatedly. Under her breath, she adds, “I deserve the chance to ask.”
Jaxen grips the arms of his chair as if he’s ready to lose it. Like he’s ready to escort me away.
But I’m curious now. “Ask what?” I say, resting my elbows against the table.
The woman looks at me as if she’s not sure I just spoke. “Oh, I just wanted to know if what the media and the Priesthood have been saying is true. Are you really going to take the Darkyn Coven down? I mean, you’re just so… young looking. Are you really the answer we’ve been waiting for?”
Jaxen’s chair falls back as he stands up. Weldon and Gavin follow, all three waiting for me to give the go ahead.
Her insult heats through my cheeks. I swallow it down. Dig my fingernails into my palm. The answer? Me? The one who doesn’t even know what’s going on? How can I tell her I don’t know? How can I tell her I probably know less than she does, when she’s looking at me like that’s exactly what she expects me to say?
I can’t. I won’t for a second let her opinion of my appearance lesson the person I know I can be.
“Yes,” I push out through my teeth. “I am the answer. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’d like to finish my dinner.”
The man tries to avoid looking up at Jaxen, Weldon, and Gavin as he grabs the woman by the hand and pulls her out of her seat. The woman is too shocked to notice. Too surprised to protest as he whisks her away from us and back out onto the main sidewalk.
Weldon and Gavin fall back into their seat. It takes Jaxen a moment to follow.
“Well, that was interesting,” Gavin says, running his hand up the back of his head.
“And so it begins,” Cassie follows, picking at her napkin.
“What begins?” I ask, almost afraid to hear her answer.
“Rumorville,” she replies with a blatant look in my direction.
“Shh,” Weldon says, “no need to stir anything up. It was just one nosy lady.”
“One nosy lady that I’m sure has a bunch of other nosy lady friends. Trust me. This is only the beginning,” Cassie retorts, dropping the napkin.
“Can’t you feel it?” Jezi asks, her eyes solemnly grazing over the building and down the romantically lit alleyway.
“Feel what?” I ask, following her gaze, glad for a change of subject.
“The proverbial ‘other shoe’ hanging over our heads? The person waiting in the wings for the moment they can snatch the rug out from under you?”
I guess I was wrong.
“What are you talking about, chic?” Cassie asks, leaning up in her seat to nudge Jezi playfully.
“I’m talking about this city,” Jezi says, her eyes roaming back over to mine. “It might be beautiful, but it’s a dangerous kind of beauty. Like a Venus Flytrap or something.”
“Hotel California, baby,” Weldon says with a blank expression.
Gavin snorts. “What the hell are you talking about, man?”
Weldon leans forward, his face growing more serious than I think I’ve ever seen it in my life. “You can check out, but you can never leave.” His words crawl up my spine and weave a nest in the back of my mind.
Silence settles over everyone. I swallow thickly, watching every inch of his expression. Waiting for the moment when he slaps his thighs and says it was all just a joke. Just another one of his sarcastic, twisted ideas of making fun.
But that moment doesn’t come.
“All right, you two. Enough with the ghost stories,” Cassie says with an uneasy laugh. “You’re going to give Faye a heart attack.”
“I’m fine,” I lie, running my hands up and down my arms. I can’t seem to shake the chill that’s settled into my bones. I let out a small sigh, looking past them as Jezi and Weldon’s words take shape in the back of my mind. Could this place really be a trap? Could this city be a reconstructed, beautifully built lie? A mirage set in place to keep us thinking that harmony dwells all around us? In the way the light orange reflection of the gas lamps dance along the waters like tiny sprites. Or the Elites who walk in small groups, laughing and joking to one another without a
care in the world. Or how the civilians head in and out of the small shops that make up the network along the streets of the canals.
Only time will tell.
“So what are you doing later?” Jaxen asks Weldon.
He leans back, tucking his hands behind his head. The smile he wears could hang the moon. “I’ve got a date,” Weldon declares smugly.
“That fast? With who?” Cassie asks, sounding thoroughly surprised. She takes another bite and stares across the table at him.
Weldon leans forward. “Well, you all have met her.” He smiles, taking his time to revel in the attention he’s drawn. “She’s blonde and blue-eyed, with lips to die for. And her voice…” He rolls his eyes in pleasure. “She’s in the broadcasting business. You see, I like my women—”
“Oh, God,” Jezi says, cutting him off with sharp laughter, “don’t tell me. It’s the woman on the screen, isn’t it? The robot.” She slaps her thighs and burst out in laughter. “This is perfect. Only you would think—”
“Unlike you,” Weldon says harshly, cutting her off, “she’s well educated.” He pulls at the collar of his uniform.
“She’s a robot,” Gavin points out.
“Yeah, well, robots deserve love too!” Weldon says in mock defense. “And she’s going to appear on my screen at nine pm sharp to go over the layout of the city and the background of each member of the Priesthood. One can’t be too prepared, and I don’t buy into the whole ‘Clara’s our ally’ thing. She can’t be trusted. Period.”
“So she’s not really a date?” I ask, choosing to ignore his comment about Clara.
“No,” Jaxen says to me. “You can’t take anything Weldon says too seriously.” He eyes Weldon down. “He’s one for jokes.”
“And on that note, I leave this dull crowd,” Weldon says, standing up. “I need to eat real food if I’m even thinking of functioning tomorrow. And get out of this stifling joke of a uniform. You couldn’t even have a bad thought in this thing without someone noticing.”
Jezi snorts at his crass remark. “Good luck with that,” she says with her arms crossed.