Page 55 of Angel of Water & Shadow

What did I want to do?

Crawl into bed and hide under the covers. Return every fantasy book I owned. Cry-laugh about my night to Javi. Uncover my powers. Follow a werewolf.

What did I want to do?

The dashboard’s clock read ten thirty on what felt like the longest day of my life. There was an obvious choice: go home and make curfew.

Aside from needing to change out of my damp shoes and still having bits of sand and salt on my legs, staying out meant surrendering more than my freedom: it meant surrendering my old identity. So why, when I opened my mouth, was take me home not what came out?

“Screw it.” I thrummed my palms on my thighs. “What did you have in mind?"

Chapter 18

“You’ve never been on a roller coaster?!” My shouts filled the truck, and the back of my hand smacked Ryder’s arm harder than I’d meant to, but shit. Out of Nephilim and werewolves and Source magic, this had to be the wildest thing I’d heard all day.

And yet the demon hunter sitting right next to me had looked at me point-blank and said he wanted to ride the Dipper.

I took a breath to contain my disbelief, but my voice still pitched up in surprise. “What do you usually do for fun?”

“I don’t know.” He dipped his chin, as if trying to hide how his lips curved into a grin. “Hunt.”

“That can’t be all you do. Don’t you have friends?” Not that I had them in abundance. “What do you do with them?”

Both his hands clutched the steering wheel as we cut through downtown, the shrill cries from the bar hoppers and after-dark renegades drifting through our open windows. I hadn’t taken my eyes off him, and a light flush crept up his neck. Ryder actually looked sheepish. And he still hadn’t answered my question.

It shouldn’t be a shocker that this moody drifter, who looked like he walked straight out of The Matrix, was kind of a loner. But really? No one? Who was his Javi? I knew Leif wasn’t. But he had to have someone to scream his lungs out at the top of the Double Shot with. Someone to go on long drives with. Someone to laugh with, and cry with, and hug when everything went wrong in the world.

His silence hit me hard. I almost reached for his hand again when he released an audible breath as the twisted amusement park architecture rose into the full moon’s sky.

It was open late because summer, and shrieks escaped in regular intervals from the Boardwalk’s rides. Circus riffs swelled in and out with every entrance gate we drove by. As we glided into the main visitor lot, my grin inflated my cheeks as his fingers tapped the leather, and he sat up a little higher. Was he nervous?

Ryder got out first when we parked, his gaze fixed on the rooftops and the smattering of attractions atop it, while he waited for me to join. After I got out, we walked to the crosswalk, our arms so close to touching I could feel his heat radiating off him, to the ticket counter nestled in the building beneath the teal tracks.

“Two roller coaster rides, please.” The neon lights reflected in his wide green eyes.

The lady behind the counter stared at him blankly, then returned to buffing her nails. He turned to me, flabbergasted.

“That…” I clapped my hand over my mouth, holding back the giggle that threatened to undo me. “Oh my God, that is too cute.” I bumped his hip with mine, shifting him to the side. “Two ride passes, please.”

The park employee barely glanced up. “Twenty dollars with the after-dark discount.”

I went for the bill tucked in the hidden pocket of my skirt, but Ryder cut in. “Let me pay.” As he slipped his credit card under the plastic barrier, I swore his hand trembled—maybe that was just a trick of the amusement park’s whirling lights.

“Here’s the plan.” I snatched up the goods and turned to him, placing the wristband on his wrist and gently sticking the ends together so they didn’t snag the hair on his arm. Despite his warmth, goosebumps appeared on his skin. “First rides, second food. Always in that order. Safe to say you’ve never had a corn dog?”

“I…I’m a vegetarian.” His response made me falter with my own paper bracelet, which I usually had no problem putting on even while I was walking.

Perhaps I hadn’t heard him correctly through the rally cries of the midway. Yet when I whirled on my heels to question him further, he stared at the cracks in the ground as if he was counting them. A vegetarian. Ha! I’d assumed he ate steak and eggs for breakfast and teratorn pudding for dessert. This night was full of surprises. He was full of surprises.

“Oh my God,” I just said again, looping my arm through his as I led him down the path, fully embracing my role as tour guide as I pointed out the various carnival games: “I swear the milk bottle towers are rigged.” And the Surf City Grill’s delights: “Their famous popcorn chicken might not appeal, but the deep-fried artichoke hearts are to die for.” And explained the importance of a roller coaster’s seats: “The front obviously has the best view, but the back is where you feel weightless.” I caught our reflection as we ambled past the mirrored windows of Fantasyworld Comics. The double dimples set next to my full-faced smile stopped me in my tracks. I looked so…happy.

Then the guilt hit me like a breaking wave.

It’s not like I couldn’t hang with anyone else, but I knew this would sting my best friend a bit. For a moment, I imagined his rich tawny hands pulling me to the nearest ride, his soft curls lifting with the wind, his thick black brows that always seemed to be raised in amusement.

I did a double-take, and it was someone else entirely who reached for my waist, slaying the illusion of Javi.

The coax of Ryder’s fingers, and an eruption of screams, pulled me back to the moment. Both rattled my bones, but it was the righteous roar that shook the doors of the comic bookstore. Our chins lifted to the looming red-and-white structure as an electric-blue cart and a dozen hands flew overhead, taking the screams with it.

---