“Then you’re braver than most. Or more foolish.” She refills my glass even though I didn’t ask. “Either way, Crave’s not going to like it. And it could cause problems… for all of us.”
“Why does everyone keep talking around the truth?” My voice rises, frustration bleeding through. “Whatisthis place? Whatareyou people?”
Eden’s smile is sad. “It’s not for me to say, sweetheart.”
Before I can process that, before I can ask what the hell she means, Crave emerges from the back hallway.Alone.
He walks straight to me, his expression unreadable. “Outside,” he says. “We need to talk.”
It’s not a request.
I follow him out the side door, into the alley where the night air is cool and sharp, and the noise from the bar is muted. He runs a hand through his hair, looking more rattled than I’ve ever seen him.
“I’m sorry about Ronan,” he says finally. “He shouldn’t have said what he said.”
“Is it true?”
“Sloane—”
“Is it true?” I step closer, anger, fear, and desperate hope churning in my chest. “Is this place running on magic? Are youall—” I struggle for the word. “Are you all something other than human?”
His jaw tightens. “I can’t answer that.”
“Can’t or won’t?”
“Both.”
I laugh, but there’s no humor in it. “That’s not good enough. I’ve been coming here for weeks. Over a month of feeling like I’m losing my mind because strange things keep happening to me, and every time I’m around you, around this place, it gets worse. I deserve answers.”
“You deserve to be safe!”
“I don’t wantsafe!”The words burst out of me, raw and honest. “I’ve been safe my whole life… small, invisible, playing by the rules. And you know what? It’s a fucking lie. Safety is a lie. Normal is a lie. And whatever is happening to me, whatever I’m becoming…” I hold up my hands, and in the dim light of the alley, they’re glowing faintly crimson-gold. “This isn’t normal. So, stop protecting me from the truth and tell me whatthe hellis going on!”
Crave stares at my hands, and the look on his face is pure shock.
“When did that start?” he demands.
“Three days after I met you. It only happens at night. Only when I’m alone.” I lower my hands, the glow fading. “What’s happening to me?”
He’s silent for so long, I think he won’t answer. Then, quietly, he exhales, “I… I don’t know.”
“Bullshit!”
“I’m serious. I’ve lived a very long time, Sloane. And I’veneverseen anything like what’s happening to you.”
Lived a very long time.
I grab onto that phrase. “How long?”
“Too long.”
“Crave—”
“There are things I can’t tell you. Rules I can’t break. Not because I don’t want to, but because breaking them would put both of us in danger.” He steps closer, and I can feel the heat radiating off him, or maybe it’s me, my blood responding to his proximity. “But you’re right. You deserve some truth.”
“So, give it to me.”
He looks at me for a long moment, and I see the war happening behind his eyes. The desire to tell me everything versus whatever is holding him back.
