23 Days until the Crimson Eclipse
26 Days until the Cantini-Sullivan Wedding
If another daypassed by without Stone, it would be the longest stretch of time we’d been apart. Thoughts of Kane’s ripped flesh and rich blood and vacant eyes were the only reprieves to avoid drowning by Love’s hand. Because ... love was an infliction, bloodthirsty and bound together by obsession and death—a disease you wound up fighting off in fear it scarfed you down its throat. Because in the end, love always spilled blood.
It was past curfew. Darkness hugged us. Not a single star lit up the black sky.
Cyrus drove down Seaside, streetlights on both sides burned out at last. Only two dim headlights from the Aston Martin lit our way, reflecting off depressed snowflakes before the windshield collected them. We passed Town Hall, where clumps of filthy snow napped in piles on every step, and alleyways were soaked in the darkest shade of black. Keep out was spray painted in black on wooden planks nailed to abandoned buildings in Town Square, the doors, the windows. Business owners could no longer afford to keep the lights on.
Weeping Hollow’s soul had abandoned its children, taking every color with it.
I began dreaming of times before the Shadows when Town Square had a friendly personality, and the steps leading up to the massive doors of Town Hall were decorated in amber, gold, and green like fall ornaments.
Julian’s Garage appeared next, garage doors dingy and closed, ailing cars tucked inside for the frightening season, giving a new meaning to carsick. Above it, the Heathen’s name in script dashed across the washed-up brick, reminding those who crossed this point was no longer on the east side.Will satisfy from the inside outscrolled across the garage door, and I rolled my eyes as we passed.
Despite my distaste for anything to the left of Town Square, Voodoos Bar was the only place we could escape the elders and kids without being bothered. Four walls and loudspeakers to chain-smoke shots, twirl on bar tops, make poor decisions, and be twenty-two. Never mind the Heathens, who would always huddle around the pool table. Once the liquor burned, the hell in our hearts was forgotten.
But the Shadows were stalking the other side of the veil, watching, waiting.
Cyrus and I should have remained at the Cantini Manor in case they returned. Not on our way to a midnight party.
My gaze bounced to my left and traced Cyrus’s handsome profile.
Until this night, I hadn’t seen him since his father died. A joint bachelor party was the distraction he needed, and the celebration I wanted.
Anything to keep my mind off Stone.
Cyrus pulled into the empty lot and crawled into a parking space. The old-fashioned, three-story building staggered high, icicles hanging from every point. People no longer loitered in the parking lot. The neon sign poking from the brick no longer flickered. Paned windows along the front of the building no longer muffled music. The brick exterior seemed to sag, broken hearted and left for dead.
Cyrus’s voice filled the cab. “Pretend to be surprised. For their sake.”
I faced him, and the lights from the dashboard reflected in his eyes. They were a faded blue tonight—the color of cozy denim jeans. Here, with Cyrus, I was safe from myself. Outside of this car, I was glass.
I looked back at the bar, uneasiness creeping inside me. “I don’t know. Maybe this isn’t such a good idea.”
Cyrus put the car in neutral and looked at me, grinning. “Adora,” he said, and I wished it affected me the same as when Stone said it. “We only get to do this once.”
“Are the Heathens here?”
“Only Phoenix.” He turned off the ignition and leaned back in his seat. “It’s his bar, his home. It was unavoidable. But we have an understanding. The others won’t show.” He turned to me again and reached for my thigh but stopped and clutched the shifter between us. “This is our night. After everything, we deserve this.”
It has been awkward between Cyrus and me. Since our kiss, I have avoided any chance of it happening again at all costs. It wasn’t only because of Stone, but Ivy, too. Each time Cyrus happened to brush me, whether it be fingers or a knee or a shoulder, I missed Stone’s warm hands on my skin. Each time the shade of his irises changed, I could see Ivy crying. It seemed impossible to harden again after melting.
When Cyrus opened the passenger side door, the cold instantly clawed at every exposed slice of me. I wrapped my coat closer to my body and followed him to the entrance, imagining our friends inside, hiding under tables and behind the bar, waiting for Cyrus and me to arrive.
Cyrus reached for the door handle, finding it unlocked.“That’s them,”I imagined Monday saying, and“Shhh,”they would all hush her in unison. In my mind, Phoenix stood behind the bar, drying a glass and peering down at the crouched bodies, annoyed.Why the fuck did I sign up for this?he would be thinking.
The door creaked when it opened.
I stayed close behind Cyrus, looking back to make sure there weren’t five shadows stalking the abandoned street behind us. When the door closed behind me, I reached out to feel for Cyrus’s coat.
“Get the lights,” I whispered, seeing absolutely nothing.
Cyrus flipped the switch, and buttery light spilled into the deserted room.
Then a crowd of familiar faces popped up from every angle.
“Surprise!” they all shouted.
