The music changes, the melody becoming faster, and Karston pauses his fireworks mission long enough to entertain everyone with some spectacular dance moves. People clap and whistle. He’s the life of the party tonight. I have to imagine he’s relieved that themetal soldiers have been locked up ever since the almost-deadly demonstration.
As I twirl Ruthie around, I catch sight of Meredy in her flower crown, standing off to the side to watch the dancing. Somehow, knowing she’s not dancing with anyone else only makes me feel worse. I want at least one of us to be happy after all we’ve suffered, but it seems we’re equally miserable. I just hope the reason she hasn’t snuck off to use the crystal yet is because the recordings finally got through to her. Then all this unhappiness will have been worth it.
“Sparrow,” Ruthie whines. “You’re all frowny again.”
“Sorry. I’m just—hungry,” I murmur in reply. It’s true that I haven’t eaten much today, and supper won’t be served until everyone’s exhausted from dancing and light-headed from all the wine. But right now, light-headed sounds good. “And thirsty,” I add.
After returning Ruthie to the care of her brother and sister, I grab a flute of wine and find a seat on a bench near the musicians, well away from Meredy. I watch Valoria force Jax to do a twirl in the middle of the dance floor. I drain my glass. The dancers become a blur, one face indistinguishable from the next.
A short while later, my stomach growls. I guess I really do need to eat something.
As I make my way to the food, a low rumbling like thunder shakes the sky—the first firework exploding. Usually, there would be a swarm of Dead around the sweets and cheeses, trying but never managing to sate themselves. I think of them longingly as I reach for a plate, but a tap on my shoulder makes me turn.
“Here, try this,” Karston says, holding out a thick slice of strawberry and rhubarb cream cake cradled in a napkin. He grins. “I managed to steal a piece before someone took the whole thing away to carve it up for after supper.”
I shake my head. “You stole it, you eat it,” I tell him, almost smiling.
“No, I owe you,” he says quickly, shoving the cake into my hands before I can protest. “Aside from Noranna, you’re the first real friend I’ve made since coming here. Don’t get me wrong, the others are great—but you’re the one who let me in. Besides, I need to save my appetite for supper.” Grinning again, he gives me a wave and dashes off.
Shrugging, I stuff the cake in my mouth as I work my way back toward the benches. The sweet frosting reminds me of Simeon, as it’s his favorite, and I search the crowd until I find him. He and Danial are setting off the fireworks together, and he can’t seem to stop laughing.
For the first time all night, I smile. There’s nothing like seeing my almost-brother happy, truly happy, after everything we’ve endured.
I polish off the cake and, after stashing its cloth wrapping on the edge of a table, spot Meredy again. Now she’s dancing with Lysander, Elibeth, and Elibeth’s growing pack of greyhounds—which, for all their graceful stature, can’t easily move to the music. I take a deep breath and try to stop shaking inside as I watch her having fun.
More wine helps.
This is what I wanted: Meredy, healthy and herself again without the crystal. But then why do I feel so terrible? I wish she could be happy withme, but even if I watched her throw the crystal into the ocean tonight—could I ever trust her again, after all the times she’s lied?
I stride toward Ruthie and the other two Wylding siblings, intent on joining them to have some fun myself, but a voice stops me in my tracks. “Sparrow! Where are you headed?”
Jax and Valoria have been inseparable tonight. So when I turn and see Jax sitting alone on a bench near the start of the pathway leading into the garden, frowning at his flask, I hurry over to see what’s wrong.
“Where’s Valoria?” I ask, slightly out of breath. I blame the wine. “You two looked like you were... having fun.”
“We were. At least, she was,” Jax says slowly as I drop down beside him. He shrugs. “Something just didn’t feel right. I can’t really explain it.”
Glancing over at Meredy, still dancing with her sister in the distance, I mutter, “I know the feeling.” I’m not sure how much he knows, or has guessed, about my breakup with Meredy. I have to imagine Valoria told him everything, though.
“Well,” Jax says a moment later, slurring his words slightly. “We could talk about it, I guess. Or...” He holds the flask under my nose. “Drink with me like we used to, Sparrow.”
I have a hard time saying no to Jax. Especially when those crystal-blue eyes are staring so deeply into mine, like he knows all my secrets.
In the end, I don’t say anything. I just grab the flask, take a long drink from whatever foul liquid is inside, and try not to wince as it burns its way down my throat, where it mingles with the wine and cake. My stomach does a flip, but I ignore it and lean against Jax.
“You ever wonder,” he murmurs as he takes a sip, “if we’re destined to never be happy? I mean, look at Simeon and Danial. You think if we found that, we’d recognize what it was? I don’t know if I’d be capable of feeling it.”
“Maybe you can’t. Maybe I can’t, either,” I say, accepting the flask again.
“At least the whiskey’s all right,” Jax concludes.
We fall silent, sharing the flask back and forth as the music becomes more subdued. Soon I can’t tell much difference between the fireworks and the shimmering stars appearing in the deepening night sky. Once or twice, I think I spot a shooting star, only to blink and lose track of where it fell.
I’m not sure how much time passes before Danial rushes toward us, his eyeliner smudged at the corners.
“Come on, you two,” he murmurs, putting a hand on each of ourshoulders. “We were worried about you. And you’re making everyone else wait on their supper.”
Startled, I glance around and realize the courtyard is empty save for those tending the bonfire and cleaning up spilled wine. Everyone else has already moved to their seats at the long tables set up in the gardens for a late supper. Still, it makes no sense that someone would send Danial to find us. This is supposed to be the best night of his life.
