Chapter 13 #2
While Gray relaxes as we near the clearing, I only grow more tense.
His shoulders loosen. Mine tighten. A blast of heat from the bonfire hits me the moment we emerge from the trail.
Someone is poking it with a long stick, and the flames rise higher, crackling and spitting and sending yellow-orange sparks upward toward the sky.
As if sensing my anxiety, Gray stops walking and fixes me with a firm look. “Stop cowering. You’re Wren Darlington. You don’t care what other people think about you.”
He’s right. I’m usually impervious to judgment and criticism. But…
I bite my lip. “What if I do care?”
He reaches for my hand, clasping it gently. “The only opinions that matter to you are the ones belonging to people you care about. Keen?”
A smile breaks free. I feel my nerves trickling away. “Keen.”
“Good. Now come on, let’s see what kind of party favors we’ve got tonight.”
The party favors, we soon discover, are grange and stims. I’m not a fan of either, especially stims. I don’t begrudge those who choose to use recreational drugs, but they’re just not for me.
Instead, I accept the small brown bottle that Gray hands me and take a quick sip, grimacing at the flavor that’s somehow both sweet and bitter.
The clearing is full of people, some clustered together in groups, others dancing in the light of the fire.
I spot Henley wrapped up with a brunette in a short dress, his hands taking a lot of liberties as they slide under the hem.
The rest of Gray’s usual crew stands nearby laughing about something.
We join the group, Gray tugging Karra toward him to plant a kiss on her lips.
She flings her arms around his neck, fervently kissing him back.
I smile at the others, receiving answering smiles from Luisa and Mako. Saint nods, watching me over the rim of his grange bottle. Evlynne and Neema offer their usual glares, then continue the conversation as if I’m not there.
“My favorite part is Luisa’s response. ‘Oh hi,’ ” Evlynne says, mimicking a high-pitched voice while Luisa’s face flushes.
Gray breaks his lip-lock with Karra, chuckling in our direction. “Are we talking about Lu’s first solo flight?”
“Yep,” confirms a grinning Mako.
“It was an accident,” protests Luisa. “I wasn’t paying attention because I was too focused on my instruments. Gray scared me that morning about the airspeed gauge glitching out.”
Gray fills in the blanks for me. “She flew directly into Tierra Fe airspace without realizing it. Didn’t even know she was being tailed by two enemy fighter jets until they were talking to her over the radio.”
Mako howls with laughter. “You gotta hear that recording, Wrenny. I think it’s still saved in the comm library.”
“One of the Tierran pilots orders her to turn around or they’ll shoot her down,” Gray continues. “And she goes, ‘Oh hi. I didn’t see you there.’ ”
“Is this Lu’s Tierra Fe adventure?” Henley joins us then, holding hands with the girl he was dancing with. “Fuck, that was epic.”
“You guys trade with them, right?” I ask. “I remember Kallister saying something about that.”
“We have an agreement in place,” Gray explains. “Shipments come in every few months.”
“So I get why we want their stuff,” I say. Uncle Jim told me the entire continent of Tierra Fe is rich with resources. “But what do we have that they’d want?”
Gray shrugs. “Medical supplies. Tech.”
Karra raises her bottle and waves it around. “And cases and cases of grange. They can’t make it down there.”
“In exchange, we get their glenshade,” Henley says, grinning happily.
I look over in surprise. “They give us glenshade?”
“Oh yeah,” he confirms. “And it’s the pure stuff, too. Not lab made.”
I’m not a big drinker, but I’ll always take glenshade if someone offers it. Like grange, it’s an offshoot of whiskey, but this iteration tastes incredible and goes down as smooth as butter.
Henley winks when he sees my face. He holds out the tin bottle in his hand. “See for yourself.”
I take a deep swig. The moment the amber liquid touches my tongue, I let out a soft noise of contentment. Holy hellfuck. This actually is glenshade.
“Good, right?” he prompts.
“So good,” I say, handing the bottle back.
Mako’s enormous shoulders suddenly tense, his expression darkening as he calls to someone across the fire. “Hey, Raven! Enjoying the party?”
The pink-haired woman’s muffled response floats toward us. “I didn’t eat your cake, Mako!”
“Do you think she ever gets tired of lying?” he asks the group.
Hiding a smile, I sip my grange, which after the glenshade tastes like warm, bitter awfulness. It burns my throat, and not in a good way.
Someone adds more logs to the fire, sending orange embers exploding in the air and carried away by the night breeze. I listen to the crackle of the fire and look up at the sky. The stars are so bright tonight.
As Henley’s companion wanders off, he drags a hand through his shoulder-length blond hair and flicks his curious gaze at me. “You got a man, Darlington?” he drawls.
The question catches me off guard. But I decide to be honest. “Sort of.”
“Where’s he at? The Point?”
I shrug, which brings a faint smile to his lips. I notice Gray listening intently to our exchange, and I don’t think he’s the only one. From the corner of my eye, I see Evlynne’s veins begin to ripple, indicating she’s using her powers. Neema’s arms start glowing, too.
“Now, now, ladies,” chides Henley. “Let’s not be rude.”
Neither woman is at all contrite. If anything, Neema gives me a smug look. Yeah. They were totally talking about me.
I shift my gaze and catch a flash of movement at the edge of the fire. Fiona is trying to lead Poppy away, but the teenager isn’t having it.
“It’s not even ten.” Poppy’s complaint drifts toward us as the two of them pass. “Why do I have to leave if you’re tired?”
“Enough,” I hear Fiona scold.
Once they’re out of earshot, Luisa shakes her head. “Fiona is so overprotective. I’d lose my mind if my mom treated me like that.”
“Welcome to my life,” I say dryly. “My uncle broke out in hives every time I left the ranch.”
She laughs. “That’s my worst nightmare.”
“Wasn’t fun,” I agree, and Henley chuckles.
My attention is once again diverted when a loud rustling noise echoes in the brush. I instinctively raise my rifle at the same time Saint lifts his own.
A trio of young men stumbles into the clearing, and I relax, lowering the weapon.
“Careful there,” Evlynne taunts. “It’s dark out. Can’t have you accidentally shooting our own people.”
I eye her in amusement. “I’ve never accidentally shot anything in my life, in the dark or otherwise. When I fire, I mean it.”
She gives a mocking laugh, her eyes gleaming in the firelight. “That so? How about a demonstration then?”
“What exactly am I demonstrating? You’ve seen me shoot at the range.”
“You’re right. Night shooting isn’t everyone’s strong suit,” she says with a tsking noise.
I tamp down my irritation. “If you’re trying to goad me into—”
“Who’s goading?” she interjects, her tone overly sweet. “I asked for a demonstration. You declined. No need to be embarrassed.”
Godfucking damn it.
Fatal flaw triggered.
The one thing I’ve never been able to walk away from is a challenge.
“All right,” I say in an equally saccharine voice. “I’d love to demonstrate, but how about we make it a good old-fashioned competition? How’s that sound, Evlynne?”
The muscles in her jaw tighten. She doesn’t like the cutting way I said her name.
Well, I don’t like the shitty way she speaks to me.
“Ooh, a little bit of night shooting,” chirps Karra, mischief dancing in her dark eyes. “How fun.”