Cass shuddered. “You say things like that and then expect me to sleep. That only makes it worse.”
“Sleep will come when the body gives up,” Harmony replied. “Don’t turn Candy into something she wasn’t. The dead always become martyrs, but most don’t deserve it.”
“She wasn’t perfect, but no one deserves to go out the way she did,” Cass argued.
Harmony sat back. “Why? What makes her so special?”
“That’s awful, Harm. Don’t you remember my mom always said we shouldn’t speak badly of the dead?”
“She was also realistic and knew that most didn’t deserve hero worship,” Harmony argued.
“She doesn’t deserve to have her name smeared either,” Cass argued.
Harmony shrugged. “She had a lot of demons. Now she’s gone. People die every day—natural causes, murder, accidents. It doesn’t make them special. It just means they’re remembered for a while before they’re eventually forgotten.”
Cass’s eyes filled. The glitter wasn’t from sunlight. “So you think your dad and my mom should be forgotten?”
Harmony’s expression softened, the blow landing where it hurt most. Regret flickered across her face as she recognized Cass’s pain, feeling her own defenses falter. “Good point.”
She looked down as sadness gripped her, sharp and familiar. A sudden ache rose in her chest. When she met Cass’s eyes again, the anger between them had dissolved into something quieter, the tension replaced by shared understanding.
Cass reached for her hand. “Sorry, I’m on edge.”
“I deserved that,” Harmony said. She sighed. “I go cold sometimes. Otherwise, I feeltoomuch. It’s easier to feel nothing.”
“I know. We’re all jumpy right now,” Cass said.
They sat in silence, trying to sort through fear, grief, and exhaustion. Nothing was settled.
“Who do you think did it?” Cass asked.
“It could be anyone,” Harmony said.
“Do you think Torie’s capable?”
Harmony smiled. It didn’t reach her eyes. “I think we’re all capable. The real question is who’s willing.”
Cass swallowed. “I don’t know.”
They leaned back, both turning to watch the calm waves gently lapping at the shore. Avalon looked deceptively normal, like the island hadn’t been cracked open.
They both knew that could change in a heartbeat.
***
“You never change!” Torie yelled.
She and Tosh stood near the small stage in the middle of town, the ocean lapping behind them, the air humming with the buzz of nearby voices and music.
“You can’t charm your way out of it this time. I’m done, Tosh.”
“You’re drunk again,” he said tightly. “You need to sober up.” He looked like he wanted to be any other place than where he was.
“You’re always drunk. You just fake sober better than me,” Torie spat, jabbing a finger hard against his chest. “We’re all marionettes, and you don’t even fight the strings.” Her voice sliced through the air, loud enough that nearby tables fell silent, ears straining for more.
Tosh rolled his eyes. “If you were paying attention—or capable of seeing anything beyond your own reflection—you’d have noticed that I haven’t touched alcohol in two weeks. I’m not an idiot, Torie. Idosee what’s happening. The difference is that I give a shit about someone other than myself.”
Harmony and Cass stood off to the side, watching. Harmony was calm as ever, her composure nearly unsettling, while Casswrung her hands, anxious. Every word was another spark on a fire that was growing by the hour.
