Relief flickers through her eyes. “Thank you.” She pauses. “Sorry I stranded you on the mountain that day.”
“Eh. It was a character-building exercise. And I made friends with a ridgehowler. It’s fine.”
She snickers. “If you did that to me, I would have slit your throat in your sleep.”
“The old Wren might have done that,” I concede.
“Really.”
“I recognize my flaws,” I admit. “I don’t always think before I act. I let my emotions guide me. But I’ve been trying hard to show some restraint. So…” I shrug, feeling embarrassed. “Growth, I guess.”
“Growth is good,” she says, and for the first time since we met, she gives me a genuine smile.
Nearly a week passes with no update on what Evlynne has decided to do. We don’t interact much after our heart-to-heart on the Ledge, which I suspect is intentional on her part. She doesn’t seem like the kind of person who enjoys showing any vulnerability.
Tonight is Mako’s birthday. It also happens to be the night of a red moon, so I suspect there would have been a bonfire on the mountain either way. But we’re letting Mako believe the excitement in the air is all for him. He deserves it.
The last time I saw a red moon was with Uncle Jim. He wasn’t one for traditions, but every year we’d sit out on the front porch and watch that moon while he sipped on a whiskey and didn’t say a word. When I was eleven, I asked him if he thought a red moon was a symbol of good luck, and because Jim couldn’t grasp the concept of lying to children to make them happy, all he said was,I don’t believe in luck, little bird. Bad things happen. Good things happen. Luck has nothing to do with it.
Gray and I head up to the bonfire after dark. My rifle is slung over my shoulder, and I hope I don’t need to use it, especially against my ridgehowler. I haven’t seen Prince since our night together, but I like to imagine he’s still alive, prowling the high ridges and howling to his friends.
As we traverse the narrow trail, I keep stopping myself from looking up at the sky. The moon is a gleaming crimson orb, casting a reddish glow across the mountain. It looks huge tonight, as if it’s right above our heads. Like I could reach out and touch it if I wanted to.
Beside me, Gray is complaining about a missing part for the plane he’s fixing up, an Old Era relic that he can’t get in the air, no matter how hard he tries.
“Jasper really can’t track it down?” I say, grinning at his misery.
“No.” He groans in annoyance. “Because every factory in the Lost Continents is underwater, and that’s where it was produced.”
“I’m sorry, ace.”
We arrive at the party to find the fire already blazing and the music blaring. Mako, who’s clearly well into his bottle of grange, is overjoyed to see us, throwing his arms around me and nearly knocking me over from the force of his hug. The man is completely unaware of how large he is.
I join Tana and Luisa near the fire. They’re chatting with Evlynne and Karra, and in a rare victory, I don’t sense any hostility from either woman, even Gray’s ex.
Teriq and Fiona are here tonight, too, but I don’t see Adrienne or Kallister. Teriq greets me with a smile as they walk past us, but Fiona just nods. Stiff as always.
The most surprising guest is Poppy. Looking pretty in a loose linen dress and sandals, she stands nearby talking to Raven Persimmons while her mother keeps darting worried frowns her way. I’m shocked Fiona allowed the girl to leave their quarters and experience some real human interaction.
Since I don’t like big scenes, I wait until the next time Mako is alone, refilling his bottle from the grange barrel, before I approach him.
“Hey, I have a surprise for you.” I give him a conspiratorial wink,since I know his two favorite things in life are melodrama and surprises.
He immediately abandons the alcohol, setting his bottle on top of the barrel. “A birthday present?”
“Close your eyes,” I tell him.
He obeys. But then cracks one open.
“Close your eyes,” I repeat.
Huffing impatiently, he squeezes both eyelids shut. I reach into my canvas bag for the foil-wrapped package inside of it. It’s large, almost as big as a tablet.
“Keep your eyes closed and hold out your hand.”
“Are you going to put a snake in it? Because I’ll scream like a little girl, and I don’t want to scream like that on my birthday.”
“I promise it’s not a snake.”
