by Kristin Cast
With a flourish, Aiden made his best attempt at a seated bow. “It’s an honor, Fujimoto.”
The Pearl slowed as the Key Corp’s neon-red Rose Festival logo came into view, a massive steel sign hung from a system of bars stretched across the fair entrance. The sculpted red rose blossom, vibrant green stem, and fanning electric leaves were stunning even under the full light of the sun. Elodie was used to the neon signs and flashing lights. They were all used in holographic marketing. Nothing could be sold anymore without being packaged like the inside of virtual arcade. But holograms weren’t tangible. The Key was smart for keeping the original steel Rose Festival sign. An antique like that had presence. It carried weight and occupied space in a way no hologram could duplicate. It was breathtaking because it was real.
The inside of the Pearl flashed violet, signaling the end of the ride, before the doors automatically slid open. Elodie stared up at the rose as she slid out of the vehicle. Goosebumps sprouted along her arms. She was doing what she wanted to do when she wanted to do it, taking charge of her time. And it felt good.
Unlike the years before, there was no line to wait in to enter the fair. Holbrook’s funeral served as the day’s main attraction. Elodie preferred it this way. No crowd. No mass of Violet Shields staining her view of what was ahead. The three of them could walk around the entire riverside festival without lines taking up their whole day.
Elodie glanced over her shoulder as Aiden jogged up to the entrance after her and Astrid hung back to use the Pearl’s window to redo her ponytail.
Before the complications of Eos and the Scotts and Rhett, getting stuck at the fair with Aiden would have been a dream. Now, they were one awkward silence away from a heavy conversation.
Aiden cleared his throat and unbuttoned the top button of his shirt. “We really should talk about what happened.”
Elodie gripped her pleats. “I didn’t get to ask Blair what I needed to, but now I know that you can ask for me whenever you want.”
“And now I know that you’re matched.”
Elodie’s fingers again found the smooth pearls framing her neck. She swallowed tightly and swung her gaze to the street where Astrid lackadaisically shuffled up the entryway, tapping on her holopad. What was taking her so long? Couldn’t she see that Elodie needed saving?
Elodie tucked a stray wave of hair behind her ear. “It really shouldn’t matter, Aiden. You and I are just friends.” As she said it, she knew it wasn’t the complete truth. It was an oversimplification. A cutting jab to what she knew they had together—what they could have together if their circumstances weren’t such a mess.
Aiden’s hand fell to his side. “Still—”
Three loud claps shattered the heaviness shrouding Elodie and Aiden. “Holy shit,” Astrid said. “You two know what we should do?” Excitement splashed pink across her sharp cheekbones.
Aiden shrugged and tossed a hand toward the brightly colored rides just beyond the entrance. “Go on a ride?”
“Only after we eat that giant fried dough thing covered in powdered sugar.” Astrid mimed the heaping plate of sweet goodness. “Oh! And one of those pretzels the size of your face!” She bounced up and down a few times before taking off to the snack truck just inside the entrance.
Astrid’s excitement was understandable. The only time of year Westfall had any food that was fried, covered in sugar, or the size of someone’s entire face was at the Key’s annual celebration. Every other day consisted of a plant-based diet tailored to each citizen as a way to keep everyone performing at their best. It was also a smart agricultural and waste management move. With predetermined diets, the Key only produced the amount of food that would be eaten.
Elodie trailed Aiden up to the snack cart. She couldn’t think about eating. Not while her stomach worried itself into knots.
“Extra mustard,” Astrid told the serving bot when Elodie approached. “Hey, El, they have those roasted corncobs that come on a stick. You love those. Want one?”
Elodie’s heart fluttered and she couldn’t help but pass a bashful glance at Aiden. Astrid had no idea. “I’m good,” she said. Her cheeks heated as her eyes again found Aiden. He’d left his suitcoat in the Pearl and untucked his perfectly fitted button down. Now he undid a few more buttons, but with each movement the shirt still strained against his chest.
The knots in Elodie’s stomach tightened.
When they’d been in the warehouse, had he felt the same rush of need that she had?
The excited drumming of Astrid’s nails against the metal shelf of the food truck barreled through Elodie’s thoughts. “I’m getting you a cherry limeade,” Astrid said.
Good. Elodie needed to cool off.
“Hey, Scott, want anything?” Astrid tossed over her shoulder as she eyed the digital menu.
Aiden’s mossy green eyes caught Elodie’s and the corner of his mouth tipped in a sly grin. “Nothing that bot can give me.”
Elodie’s breath stilled in her chest as he continued to stare at her so intently she thought she might burst into flames. She tore her attention away and focused on the nearby rides. “Spooky tunnel ride!” Elodie snatched the sweating cup of limeade from Astrid, and gulped it as if she hadn’t had a drink for days.
Astrid chortled around a mouthful of pretzel. “Yeah, right. You hate being scared.” She swiped a napkin across the line of mustard running down her chin. “You especially hate things that pop out and scare you on purpose. That’s the whole reason you wouldn’t go with me to that kick-ass Halloween bash over in . . .” She took another bite and waved her hand in the air. “Wherever it was.”
Astrid was right. Elodie didn’t like anything that was, by definition, designed to be frightening. But the idea of Astrid leaving her alone with Aiden, looking the way he looked in that tight shirt and those tight pants, was much more terrifying.
And Elodie had not actually chosen the terrifying tunnel ride. It was just the first one she’d seen. If only she’d been facing a little more to the left, they’d be getting on the teacups.
Elodie stabbed at the melting ice cubes with her quickly dissolving paper straw. “You know Gwen would have freaked if I was up in my room screaming because of some VR Halloween party. Besides—” Air burbled through the straw as she sucked down the last drops of cherry limeade. “People change.”
Astrid popped the final bite of pretzel into her mouth. “I’ll never say no to a good adrenaline boost.” She grinned. “You in, Scott?”
Aiden nodded. “Scott is in.”
Astrid wiped her hands on a napkin and threw it into the compost bin. The acrid smell of chemical-laced smoke drifted around them as the paper was sterilized and incinerated. “Well, then, après vous, mis amigos.”
Elodie dropped her cup into the bin and darted toward the creepy entrance to the one ride she had hoped she’d never have to go on. She scanned her cuff and waited for the admission bar to raise before she rushed into the last cart in the linked row while Aiden claimed the one in front of her, and Astrid skipped to the very front of the line.
“Hey, Scott,” Astrid shouted. “How much you want to bet that Elodie screams within the first thirty seconds?”
Even though they were staying firmly on the ground, Elodie clasped the cart’s seat belt. “Ha ha. Very funny,” she said, tightening the belt across her lap. She was definitely going to scream within the first thirty seconds. She’d probably scream the second they entered the tunnel.
Aiden stretched his arm along the back of his cart. “I’d never bet against Elodie.”
Astrid stood so Elodie could see her over Aiden’s tall frame. “You’re only saying that because you know I’ll win.” She braced herself back in the seat as the cars began to inch forward. “Don’t worry, El. I’m in front. I’ll protect you.” Astrid offered an exaggerated wink before the open mouth of the black tunnel claimed her.
An
xiety frosted Elodie’s spine. She really did hate things that she knew were going to pop out and scare her.
The cold darkness swallowed Aiden before finally spilling across Elodie. Goosebumps rose on her arms. At least fear ensured she wouldn’t think about the past few days.
Faint red lights illuminated the freakishly painted walls and cast a glow across the carts. A shadow moved toward her and she squeezed her eyes shut, bracing herself for the first of many zombies or ghosts or other ghoulish creatures to come screaming out of the darkness.
A weight plopped down in the seat beside her, and she shrieked.
“Totally would’ve won!” Astrid cheered from up ahead.
Crisp pine-scented air swirled around Elodie. “It’s me,” Aiden whispered.
He was next to her. Right next to her. Their legs an inch apart.
She scrunched herself into the corner of the cart, straining against the lap belt. “What are you doing?” she whispered back.
“We need to talk.” Red illuminated his face, deepening his gaze. “I couldn’t wait.”
Elodie pressed her back into the side of the car, trying to increase the distance between them. “We can talk later.”
“Do you love him?” Aiden blurted.
A ghost hurled itself toward their cart, its white sheet flowing in huge waves around its hollow eyes.
Her pulse thrummed behind her ears. “We were matched and now we’re engaged.”
Aiden searched her face. “But do you love him?”
What did he want from her? She and Rhett had been matched not only by their parents, but by the corporation. And, when it came to this, there was no defying the Key. At least, there wasn’t for Elodie.
Elodie opened her mouth, but no words came out.
“You don’t.” He settled back against the cart. “Do you?”
Her eyes burned hot with unshed tears. “It doesn’t matter.”
An expression passed over his features that she couldn’t quite place. “It’s all that matters.”
Up ahead, Astrid whooped with excitement as a zombie hurled itself from the shadows, reaching for the carts with mangled fingers.
Elodie’s throat went dry as she hid her tears. “Aiden—”
He surged forward and reclaimed his name right from her lips, all of Elodie’s words, her thoughts, lost within the softness of his mouth.
Rhett was a memory wiped clean as her eyelids slid shut.
Aiden was gentle. His lips brushed hers, tentative and sweet. Long-buried need sparked within Elodie and she parted her lips in surrender. Another gentle caress of his mouth against hers, like she was fragile, sacred.
But Elodie was not glass.
Desire exploded through her as she gripped his collar and pulled him closer, deeper. Her hips twisted against the lap belt. Aiden groaned, low and eager, a trembling roar building within him as his arms encircled her and pulled her tight against his heaving chest. His hands tangled in her hair as her palms melted against the strong muscles of his back.
Elodie breathed him in, the forest after the rain. His tongue encircled hers, and heat bloomed within her, a thousand buds opening again and again.
Aiden was everywhere. Everything.
She dissolved into him. No beginning. No end. Just this moment. And them, diving into each other. In Aiden’s kiss lived all the answers. In Aiden’s kiss lived hope.
Elodie knew she didn’t love Rhett, but she never thought she’d love the spooky tunnel ride.
XXXV
The screeches and screams of the creatures haunting the dark tunnel were reduced to a steady background hum as desire surged, molten hot inside Aiden. It crashed against the dam he’d built within his chest to keep this part of himself at bay. The part that needed. The part that wanted.
But now he was close to Elodie. Too close to keep the waves from roiling and striking through his inner walls.
“Do you love him?”
It was a simple question, but the way Elodie’s eyes glinted in the dull red light and the absence of a swift yes told Aiden everything he needed to know.
The dam within him cracked. The rapids tore free. Every inch of him heated with wave after wave of desire. Aiden’s mouth claimed hers and he pulled her closer. Needing more of her. Needing all of her. Elodie’s lips parted in gentle welcoming.
She was everything.
Light crept in between his softly closed eyelids, but he refused to let loose the moment and give her back to the present. He’d found his place. He was home.
The sun’s warmth poured onto Aiden’s head.
“What the fuck are you doing?” Astrid’s snarl tore through his world like a crack of lightning.
Aiden slammed back against the side of the cart as he jolted and Elodie pushed him away. His eyes strained to adjust to the brightness outside of the tunnel. The world tipped around Aiden as he tried to get his bearings and meet the heaven that was Elodie with the hell of the present, where the darkness from the tunnel no longer hid their kiss.
Astrid choked down a breath. “What the fuck is wrong with you?” she howled. Her tone was thunder, shaking Aiden to his core.
Aiden struggled to stand up inside the cramped cart. “Astrid, there are things you don’t know.”
“Things I don’t know?” Her ponytail lifted and whipped the air with a sudden gust of wind. “Nothing you could say would make any of this okay. What you did—” Livid disgust sharpened her features. “You’ll pay for this.”
Elodie brushed against him as she struggled to free herself from the lap belt. “Astrid!” Finally free, Elodie leapt from the cart.
Astrid jerked backward and clicked on her Violet Shield. “Don’t you dare touch me! I don’t know what has happened to you. What he”—Astrid stabbed the air in Aiden’s direction—“has done to you, but this is—it’s unforgivable.”
Elodie buried her face in her hands. “I know.”
Aiden’s heart froze within his chest. “You can’t tell anyone, Astrid,” he said, climbing out of the ride.
Astrid blinked and shook her head as if Aiden were a child showing off a silly trick. “I have to. For your protection, for Elodie’s, for Westfall. The Cerberus virus happened once before. It could happen again.”
“A kiss won’t hurt anyone.” He could explain if she would only give him the chance. “I promise it won’t.”
Astrid took another step back. “Tell that to the billions of people the virus killed,” she said. “I’m sure they felt the same way.”
“Astrid—” Elodie began, but Astrid’s cutting glance made her choke back her words.
Tears welled in Astrid’s eyes. “How could you do this?” Sharply, she blinked them back before they had the chance to escape. “This isn’t you.”
“Please!” Elodie sobbed.
Aiden’s chest clenched with each ragged burst. He’d caused this. And there was nothing he could do to fix it.
Astrid’s hands trembled as she wiped at her cheek. “I have to go.” She turned and sprinted toward the festival entrance.
Elodie lurched forward after her best friend.
Aiden grabbed her hand. “Elodie, I . . .” He didn’t have any words. He didn’t have any way to make up for what had happened.
Elodie studied their joined hands before looking up at him. Tears shimmered against her dark eyes.
With his thumb, Aiden traced slow circles against the back of her hand. “I’m sorry,” he finally whispered. There was so much more he needed to say, but he had no idea where to start.
Elodie’s throat tightened with a sob and she pulled away from him and took off after Astrid.
“Elodie!” Aiden leaped out of the cart and started after her, but a row of janitorial bots paraded between them, cutting him off from catching up with her.
Aiden brushed his hands through his
hair and let out a curse. Elodie was always running away.
XXXVI
The best and worst moments of Elodie’s life happened end to end. She should have known, should have sensed that although everything felt right, everything was wrong. The universe had lifted her up in order to slam her back down.
Elodie wove through the crowds of people outside the fair, exiting Pearls and getting off the MAX, still in their fine dress from Holbrook’s funeral and all heading straight for the festivities. The scene of her crime.
She should have stayed at the funeral. Instead, she’d run away from one problem and crashed right into another.
Elodie’s lungs burned and her arms pumped by her sides in rapid bursts as she raced to catch up to Astrid. Wind brushed against Elodie’s cheeks and twirled through her hair, taking with it the deep forest scent of Aiden and his kiss.
Astrid paused at the intersection a block ahead. “Astrid!” Elodie continued to run, waving her arms over her head as she yelled. “Talk to me!”
Astrid didn’t turn back, didn’t wait. A Pearl stopped in front of her and she disappeared inside the opalescent orb.
By the time Elodie reached the corner, the Pearl and Astrid were gone.
XXXVII
The setting sun streamed in through Elodie’s window and painted her bedroom door cheery orange. It was mocking her. It shouldn’t be allowed to be all bright and happy while her life was falling apart.
She flopped onto her back and pulled the covers tight around her. “Go away,” she groaned at the refracted rainbow spots dancing on the ceiling before she pulled the blanket up over her head and rolled onto her side. Any minute she’d hear her mother charging up the stairs to take her away to who knows where to pay for what she’d done. Astrid was right. Kissing Aiden was unforgiveable.
But maybe Astrid hadn’t told. Maybe everything would be okay.
Yeah, right.
Elodie kicked off the covers and flew to her feet. She couldn’t sit still. There was no possible way. What was going to happen to her? To Aiden?