She waves as he takes off. “Don’t make me regret hanging out.” Her whispered words knock hard into me.
“Maybe I’m jealous, too.” Jealous of how she feels about him and how he feels about her. Jealous of their shared history and familiarity.
She tips her head up. “Adrien is important to me, Slate—he’ll always be important to me—but you’re the guy I’m going to dinner with. Not him.”
But is that because he’s busy with Charlotte? I bite back the question, which tastes bitter on my tongue.
As I study her heart-shaped face, I wonder if my attraction to Cadence could be another Brumian curse. I mean, I haveneverwanted anything or anyone more than this girl, and I’m a man with a lot of wants. Bastian says it’s to compensate for not having had much during my childhood.
Shit! Bastian.
I turn toward the station, which is pretty big for such a puny town in the middle of bumblefuck nowhere. Like everything else here, it’s made of aged gray limestone and looks like it popped off those collectible miniature Christmas villages Bastian adores. I’ve never understood the fascination with fake little holiday towns, too cheesy and saccharine for me. But Bastian has a thing for them. Hell, I remember his face when I surprised him on his fourteenth birthday with a midnight stroll through one of those fancy shops that had dozens of these villages set up. I’d temped there over the holidays and had managed to filch not only the key but the alarm code. He’d spent well over an hour drooling over the teeny cathedrals and ice-skating rinks and plastic gingerbread houses, eyes watery and lips wobbly. I told him to take one, that I’d worry about the consequences. Righteous as he was, he refused. So, we’d gone home empty-handed to a house that forever smelled of athlete’s foot, warm beer, and camembert past its prime.
I shake the memory out of my mind as Cadence and I pass under an illuminated clock with a cheery mechanical wizard that clangs a bell every hour. I realize it’s only seven, even though it feels like midnight. The smell of hot chestnuts blasts into me and makes my stomach rumble like a Rottweiller.
Cadence grins. “Hungry?”
“I could eat.” I’m so relieved by the appearance of her smile that I almost miss the sound of my name.
Bastian’s standing by the information office at the other end of the station, a brochure dangling from his hand. Just the sight of him makes my lips curve—black-rimmed glasses sitting crooked on his nose and navy peacoat swallowing up his scarecrow frame.Putain, I love this kid. But my smile turns to a deep frown. However glad I am to see him, I need to get him away ASAP.
He stuffs the brochure back into the rack, lobs his backpack over his shoulder, and meets me halfway. “Big bro!” He punches me in the shoulder, giving me a half-hug, but then his grin falters. “You got into a fight?”
I put a hand to the bite on my jaw, grateful he hasn’t spotted the bandage on the nape of my neck that feels soaked again. “Good news is, I won.”
“And here I thought some schooling would civilize you.”
“And here I thought you knew me.”
His gaze slides over my shoulder to Cadence, who’s hanging back to give us some privacy.
“Bienvenue.” She shoots Bastian a smile that makes him go a little red.
“No wonder you haven’t been calling me back,” he says under his breath as he skirts me to reach her. “Hi. I’m Bastian.”
“Cadence.” She leans in and gives him a kiss on each cheek, the normal French greeting, nothing else, but I find myself scowling.
Bastian, an expert on all-things-Slate, cocks an eyebrow. I cross my arms and wedge my lips into a firm line. He gives the faintest of nods, which is bro-code for:Got it. Girl’s off-limits.
“We were thinking of grabbing dinner tonight.” Cadence puts a hand on my arm, a spot of sudden warmth in the freezing cold station. “Unless you want to catch up with Slate alone.”
“Nope. Dinner with you and Slate sounds awesome.” The beginnings of a smirk grows on his lips.
I know the reason for that smirk. I’ve never had dinner with a woman I didn’t want to strip of intel. Five days in Brume, and I’m a new man.
The crazier bit is I kinda like this new guy.
A prickly lump forms in my throat. Who the hell am I fooling? I’mstuckhere and trying to make the best of my containment. This whole scene is not in line with my life. This new me is not in line with my life. It’s not like I’m going to stay one more second than I have to once I get the ring off my finger.
Cadence releases my arm to tug down her pompom beany. “I’m going to go home to change, then meet you two at the tavern. Eight sounds good?”
“I’ve been entrusted”—or rather I’ve entrusted myself—“with your safety, so we’ll walk with you.”
Cadence’s lips part as though to protest.
“Bastian adores sightseeing almost as much as you love dusty old books, so it’ll give him the chance to see all the hotspots in Brume.”
“There are no hotspots,” she says, with a little curl of lip.
