“Magical amulets.”
“Alternate dimensions,” Naomi adds.
“Moon-eyed cryptids,” I concede.
“We could do that episode on curses,” Twig says.
Something sparks inside me. It feels a little bit like excitement. Like maybe it could be as simple as beginning again.
As we approach the square, it becomes quickly apparent that we should have arrived earlier. All the parking spots outside the Opera House are taken.
Jude drops us off at the front.
We race through the rain, hopping over puddles, and step into the crowded lobby just as the ushers open the doors to the theater. I accidentally bump into someone.
“Oops. Sorry about that,” I say, turning around.
It’s Ivy with her family.
Her mom—who looks so much healthier than she did at the funeral—has her hand on the small of Ivy’s back. Her little sister holds onto Ivy’s elbow. Like if either break contact, they might lose her all over again. The two of us share a smile. Ivy’s is shy, just like always.
Twig and Naomi slip into the auditorium to find seats.
I wait for Jude in a small vestibule off the lobby, taking in its opulence while the space slowly clears. Two stories high with a sweepingstaircase and a grand chandelier that scatters warm light along the walls, one of which is lined with vintage posters of past productions. Across from me, a narrow corridor with worn carpet leads to a coat room. For just a second, I swear I see something—a swish of white like the hem of a gown.
I shift and lean forward when someone whispers in my ear.
“Good evening.”
I nearly jump out of my skin.
With a gasp, I press my palm against my chest and do a giant double take.
Rafe Vandenberg stands beside me.
I haven’t seen him in nearly three months. He left without apology. Without explanation. Without any word at all. I loathe to admit how much I’ve thought of him. Rafe, the betrayer. Rafe, the question mark. Now, here he is, looking as put-together as ever, smiling his wicked grin, his blue eyes sparkling in the light.
I lean away from him. “What are you doing here?”
“I decided to come home for spring break,” he says, sliding his hands into his pockets. “It’s what college kids do.”
I arch a skeptical brow. “I’m supposed to believe you’re back from Yale?”
“That’s the story.”
I cross my arms. “Where have you really been?”
“Around.”
The vague response elicits an eye roll. “So you came back and decided to catch a high school production ofInto the Woods?”
“It’s as good a way as any to spend an evening.” Rafe studies the framed playbill beside the ticket booth. “It’s about a curse, you know.”
I narrow my eyes at him. He pretended to care about my wellbeing, my life. When really, he just needed to keep my heart beating so he could hand me over to Simon and save his own neck. But then, he shot the arrow. He destroyed the amulet. Had he not…
“You look as beautiful as ever,” he says, interrupting my conflicted reverie.
“You used me.”
