Cal picked up the last piece of sea urchin from his plate and studied it for a beat before popping it into his mouth. “I suppose it’s meant to be a cautionary tale. That some people are simply doomed to go through life hurting others, even if it’s against their own interests to do so.”
“That sounds like a warning.”
“Perhaps it is,” he said wearily. “Let’s get back to town.”
They drove back to Argentum under black and thunderous skies. The windshield wipers were going at full-blast but the windows kept getting reslicked with rain. Nadine realized when they pulled up at the house that she had left her slicker in the restaurant but Cal shrugged it off.
“There’s no going back for it now. We have plenty more.”
Well, that’s ominous.
Nadine got out of the car, the smell of new leather yielding to the sweet scents of old wood and rotting paint. Cal moved to the door of the carriage house, but Nadine caught his arm, surprising both of them. She felt the muscles flex beneath the shirt, all latent, coiled power.
(he can be as hard to wrangle as a wild stallion)
“Yes?” he said, looking at her intently.
Now that they were back at the house, she suddenly felt shy. Glancing over her shoulder nervously, she said, “I—I think . . . your family might be, um, trying to . . . set us up?”
Several emotions flickered over his face. It was terrible to watch because none of those emotions looked particularly flattering, and at least one made her feel a little sick.
“I mean, I don’t know for sure,” she stammered, throat tight. “But your sister said—”
“That’s not what they’re doing,” he said ominously.
Nadine stopped, confused. “But—”
He tugged her closer. “Whatever they told you to do, don’t do it.”
“L-like wear a dress for dinner?” she asked, confused and frightened. “That’s what your sister said.”
“No.” Cal closed his eyes briefly. “Not like that.”
“Then what—”
“You should leave. I’m sorry to say it, but fuck your sister. Fuck the festival. Fuck everything and just leave.”
Nadine reeled back from him in shock, but he was still holding onto her arm tightly enough that she felt the resistance of his grip at the joint. “W-what? Leave? But I thought—”You were going to be his girlfriend?Tears stung her eyes and she hated herself for them. “Are you trying to get rid of me?”Like all those other girls you’ve taken into the woods?
“That’s not what this is about.”
“But that’s what you’re doing.” She was crying in earnest now. “Youusedme. And now—what, it’s notconvenientanymore to have your family know?”
“This isn’t about them.”
“But it is,” she said. “You act strange when they’re around, Cal. Like you can barely stand to be seen with me.”
“Goddamn it,” Cal said, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Fuck. This is why I don’t sleep with sparrows.”
A ringing started in her ears. It drowned out everything, including the rain. Lightning flashed, causing the windows to flare a brief, blinding white.
“What did you just say?”
“Nothing. Forget I said it.”
“No! Noelle mentioned sparrows. So did Odessa and Ben. So didyou. What the fuck is a sparrow, Cal?”
He leaned in, gripping her by both arms now, his fingers biting into the flannel.
