“Oh my God.Thisis where you guys have been hiding?”
I go suddenly solid, ice chasing away the heat in my veins so fast I almost shudder.
“Crap,” Ella whispers.
“You two have no shame, huh? You were just going to desecrate a graveyard? Can’t even keep your clothes on in this freezing weather?”
“Kenji,” Ella says quietly. The word is a warning.
“What?” He crosses his arms. “I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again:gross. I think I need to go bleach my eyes.”
I help Ella to her feet, drawing an arm around her waist. “What do you want?” I say to Kenji, entirely unable to rein in my anger.
“Nothing from you, buddy, thanks. I’m here because I need Juliette.”
“Why?” Ella and I ask at the same time.
Kenji blows out a breath, looking away once before looking back at Ella. Cryptically, he says, “I just need you to come with me, okay?”
“Oh.” Her eyes widen a fraction. “Okay.”
“What’s wrong?” I ask. “Do you need help?”
Ella shakes her head. I feel her apprehension, but she pastes on a smile. “No, it’s nothing—just boring stuff out onunregulated turf. We actually managed to track down one of the pre-Reestablishment city planners in this area, and he’s coming by to discuss our ideas.”
“Oh,” I say.
Ella is hiding something.
I can feel it—can feel that she’s not being entirely truthful. The realization provokes a sinking feeling in my gut that scares me.
“You won’t miss me, right?” Her smile is strained. “I know you always have a ton of stuff to do.”
“Yes.” I look away. “There’s always a great deal to accomplish.”
A pause. “So—I’ll see you tonight?”
“Tonight?” I glance at Ella, then the sun.
There are still hours left before nightfall, which means she intends to be gone for all of them. My mind is overrun with doubt. First our wedding, now this. I don’t understand why Ella isn’t being honest with me. I want to say something to her, to ask her a direct question, but not here, not in front of Kenji—
Ella’s emotions take a sudden turn.
I look up to find her staring at me now with concern, with a palpable fear—forme.
“Or I can stay here,” she says more quietly. “I don’t have to go anywhere.”
“Uh, yes, princess, you do—”
“Be quiet, Kenji.”
“We need you out there,” he insists, throwing his armswide. “You have to be there—we can’t just deci—”
“Aaron,” Ella says, placing a hand on my chest. “Are you going to be okay?”
I stiffen, then step back.
The question inspires in me a reaction I do not admire. I bristle at the sympathy in her voice, at the thought that she might think me incapable of surviving a few hours on my own.
