Chapter 41: Between Two Wolves
The final lantern drifted upward like a glowing tear against the velvet sky. I stood there a moment, my fingers still dusted with the fine ash of the wish paper we’d just released. Lucas was beside me, arms folded, lips tight in something halfway between a smile and a scowl. Marcus, on the other side, kept glancing my way as if trying to read something hidden on my face.
I wasn’t even sure what I felt anymore.
We’d laughed and played like children—tossing rings onto glowing spikes, racing through moonlit obstacle courses, and even joining a riddle contest with a group of inner court guards who didn’t recognize us. I beat them all, of course. Lucas sulked about it for a full ten minutes until I bought him sweet bread. Then he sulked more because I shared it with Marcus.
Now, the air had grown still. The festival music slowed to a soft instrumental hum in the distance, like the final notes of a dream before waking. Couples began to pair off, drifting toward the lake to release their lanterns, whispering prayers to the stars.
Lucas hadn’t said much since we passed the last stall.
I turned to him. "Hey. You okay?"
"Hmm?" He didn’t look at me. His gaze was locked on Marcus, who had stepped away to watch the reflection of the lanterns on the water.
"Lucas?"
He finally looked at me, eyes flickering silver under the moonlight. "Are you enjoying yourself?"
I blinked. "I thought I was."
He gave a dry chuckle. "Thought?"