Fable rolled her eyes and looked back at the line once more, almost jumping in her sneakers. “Asshole.”
“Should have come prepared, sweetheart.” He shoved his hand inside the popcorn resting against his chest and popped the handful in his mouth as he walked off. A small group followed behind him.
“Who was that?”
“Annoying piece of shit. That was Wren Wildes, Phoenix’s little brother.”
Complaints and groans went off like a domino effect within the line waiting for the concession. I craned my neck, noticing Mina Mae inside the tent, gray hair falling from her braid and framing her face, pacing the stand and juggling the popcorn and drinks and exchanging money. She only had one helper keeping the popcorn flowing and filling drinks, but Mina, patting her forehead with a hand towel, looked as if she was going to pass out at any moment.
An idea popped into my head, and I took off for the tent.
“Where are you going?” Fable called out, then caught up beside me as I entered the concession stand and stood behind the counter. “Fallon,” she whispered, but I proceeded to pull an apron over my clothes, tying it behind my back. The sheer black sweater I wore was from The Row, and I didn’t want it stained. “You’re crazy, you know that?”
Mina Mae, in a black and white pinstripe apron, rushed past me. “Fallon, yah adarling. It’s about time someone helped out. Everyone wants to enjoy the events, but no one wants to do the dirty work.”
“Ten minutes,” I told Fable, waving over the next customer. “Let me get this line down,”—I leaned over when the customer rambled her order before sliding to the popcorn machine— “It’s better than waiting in line, and Mina will reward us. Won’t ya, Mina?”
“I’ll throw in a few hotcakes too, dear.” She winked.
Fable jumped over the threshold and grabbed an apron off the hook. It only took four of us, including an employee from Mina’s Diner, and twenty minutes to get the line caught up. Between customers, my eyes flicked up and caught on to silver ones.
My pulse quickened. My breath caught. My insides felt like fire against the autumn breeze.
Julian was standing against the apothecary storefront, one leg propped, watching me from under a dark shade.
“You girls did good!” Mina released an exhausted sigh, and I returned my eyes in front of me and handed over the bucket of popcorn to the last customer. “Take what you want and enjoy the movie,” she continued, and when I looked back at Julian, he was gone.
We hung our aprons, took two beers each, a bucket of popcorn, Twizzlers, and chocolate-covered Mashuga Nuts. My hair smacked me in the face, smelling like a blend of sugar and butter.
“Totally worth it,” Fable said upon an exhale after her first sip of her Angry Orchard. “And we did a good deed.” She turned to face me once we reached the lawn. “You’re making me a better person, Fallon Morgan. Don’t ever leave Weeping Hollow.”
Smiling, I popped a Twizzler in my mouth and tore off the end.
Sacred Sea members sat at the very back, and we arrived just when the movie was starting. We scattered across the large blanket over the grass, and Kane had pulled me down to sit beside him. Every so often, I couldn’t help myself from looking back to where Blackwell’s Apothecary was, looking for a certain Heathen who made me feel so out of control.
Kane dropped his mouth to my ear. “Mabon is two days away,” he whispered. I nodded, my gaze searching for Julian. “There will be a bonfire over at Crescent Beach after the feast. It’s the perfect time to officially become one of—Ow!” He whipped around, rubbing the back of his head. “Shit, Monday. Why’d ya hit me?”
“Well, stop talking then!” she whisper-shouted.
Kane wrapped his arm around me and pulled me closer, his nose in my hair. “Become one of us.”
“I don’t really know whatone of youis,” I whispered back, pulling away from him. Kane smelled like an ocean of liquor during a storm whereas Julian smelled of nature, of woods and fresh air. Julian smelled of a crisp winter night.
My eyes closed briefly to take me back to our nights before he turned into a jerk. When I opened them again, there he was, standing with the other Heathens under the large beech tree beside the outdoor TV screen, his silver eyes bound to mine as he leaned against the thick trunk in his black coat.
Kane’s hand drifted over my face to redirect my attention, then wrapped a stray tendril behind my ear. “A sweet mix of pleasure and power. That’s who we are.” Then he chanted in my ear, a low hum I couldn’t understand, and my head dropped to the side where Julian lifted off the truck, zoned in on us from the corner of my eye. I felt Kane’s mouth on my neck, his hand skimming up my thigh near the hem of my shorts. “What do you say?”
I’d become dizzy all of a sudden, confused, buzzing with need, either from Kane’s spell-binding voice or Julian’s pull with a sharpness in his eyes, forcing himself to stay in place with his fists clenched at his sides.
“Kane, stop,” I was able to get out, and Kane’s hand gripped my hip, trying to pull me under and forcing his mouth on mine. I pushed him off me. “What the hell, Kane?”
“What?” He looked around, confused. “You were into it.”
“No,” I stood and fixed my sweater. My eyes snapped to Julian, and he looked just as shocked as Kane from a few yards away. “Don’t ever try that again on me,” I said, scanning over the rest of their dumbfounded expressions. “I’ll see you guys later.” And I took off across the greens toward my scooter, unsure of what just happened.
“Come back, I’m sorry!” Kane called out, and the townies collectively told him to shut up behind me.
My feet stayed ahead of me as I ran through the dimly lit and empty streets. I snatched my helmet from my scooter’s handlebar and shoved it over my head as the lamplight buzzed above in front of Mina’s diner.
