Page 18 of Bows & Eros
"Not yet," I said, hoisting the door open and ushering him through it. "Though I can't imagine they would have lingered at the school if they were looking for more trouble to stir up. They'd already done the maximum amount of possible damage at that location, don't you think?"
"Maybe. We did break up a lot of the fun, though."
I nodded, following him out into the parking lot with my hands shoved deep in my coat pockets. The snow had let up some while we ate, more of an enchanted, floating fall of sparkling flakes now than a cloud dump of poor visibility and ice.
Across from the diner, the town square was lit up, the fountain gurgling and the trees all strung with pink and white fairy lights for Valentine's Day next week. There were people throughout, chatting on the fountain's rim, tossing snowballs on the yard, or canoodling on the benches that lined the perimeter. From here, we could hear the faint strings of a guitar as a busker strummed love songs for tips.
It was so idyllic that I wondered if maybe people had already started to forget everything that had happened here today.
Ethan had paused too, though I wasn't sure if it was me that had stopped him or the view of the square. He drew up next to me, the warmth of his body making me shiver, and we stood side by side for a moment, simply watching.
"I guess there's no harm in checking the square," he said after a moment, tossing me a little smile. "I even have some spare change for the kid with the guitar."
"All right," I agreed, as though I were humoring him rather than bursting with the warmth of a full fireworks show inside. "It is pretty, isn't it?"
He looked at me for a moment and answered, "Beautiful."
We walked close together, our footsteps matching in stride as we crossed over to the square, lazy drifts of snow clinging to our cheeks and eyelashes. I thought of how we had crossed from the park to the church earlier today, how the snow had been manic and heavy, and how we'd had to hold onto one another to get to our destination safely.
I wished there was an excuse to hold hands now.
The busker with the guitar finished one song and melted directly into another, this one slower, more indulgent, as though the universe itself was determined to make my heart flutter.
I knew I should tell him about the airplane. Maybe I just needed a good shake to jolt me out of the initial daze of the love spell, after all. But it was too embarrassing, and besides, if he started quizzing me aboutwhenI had started to feel this way toward him, I'd have to admit the truth—which was long before we'd sat down at the diner.
I sighed, my eyes drawn to the frosty gurgle of the fountain in the center of the square. With everything else that had happened today, maybe it wouldn't be unreasonable to toss a coin in and expect a wish to be granted. I'd just have to decide on a wish first.
My gaze drifted along the square, past the giggling snowball fight and the elderly couple crafting a snowman, over the pink and red glow of the fairy lights in the trees, and the snow-flecked sidewalks that wound through the ice-encrusted grass. They landed on a man leaning against a light post, his arms crossed and his expression unquestioningly amused.
He was staring right at us.
"Ethan," I said cautiously, reaching out to touch him with my gloved hand. "Look."
He had been adjusting that silly red and white hat, maneuvering it down over his ears when the ends only wanted to roll up and expose them. It would have been cute enough to merit watching on another night, when the stakes were less dire. He stopped mid-action, his fingers curled around the knitted edges of the cap, and followed my eyeline across the square to the light post where our observer had begun to grin, white teeth flashing like a fairy tale wolf's in the artificial light.
Apparently the acknowledgement of us both, staring over in disbelief, read to Mr. Curie ... toHermes... as an invitation. He pushed himself onto his own two feet, shook the snow from the tailored coat that he wore, and began to stride in our direction. He walked leisurely, like there was no hurry nor any reason to wonder at his own lack of urgency.
His curly black hair collected snowflakes like a crown, white flakes sparkling as they circled his head.
"Ethan!" he said jovially, once he was in earshot. "It's been a long time, old friend. Look at you! What a wonderful hat."
I watched with wide, wide eyes. Here was something purely magical—agod. And I wanted nothing more than to slap him right across his smug face.
"Who's this, then?" Hermes said, drawing up a little bit too close to me and smiling into my face. "Pretty!"
I took a decisive step back and extended my hand. "Noor Avri," I told him brusquely. "Where is Aaron Weaver?"
He snatched my hand up and drew it to his lips, his whole face dancing with amusement at my irritation. "You are exquisite," he informed me, after molesting my knuckles with an overly fluttery kiss. "Ethan, you've done well for yourself! And I always have worried you'd just wither away on your own with your sculptures."
"My son," prompted a deceptively calm Ethan Weaver. "Why isn't he with you?"
"Because he is elsewhere. Obviously." He dropped my hand, grinning at us with blindingly white teeth, almost glowing opposite the fairy lights around us. "Look at the two of you, stern as generals on such a beautiful night. You're wasting the gifts the gods have given you."
"What is wrong with you?" I snapped, drawing looks of surprise from both men. "How can you make light of abducting someone's child?! We have been worried out of our minds all day and navigating utter chaos on top of it."
"Mm, Chaos, yes," he said, as though the insanity itself were a person, and one he knew well. "The boy will get better at controlling his talents, of course, but there's no harm in getting a little messy with it in the beginning, is there? It's not as though he's accidentally turned a bunch of people into gold statues, is it? And that happened once. I was there. There's no fixing that!"
"Dozens of people got married today, Hermes," Ethan said. "Are they going to wake up tomorrow and realize they've made horrible mistakes?"
