Page 119 of Somnium

Turn around ;)

With a smooth pivot, she spotted him leaning against a white stucco wall, with a teasing smirk plastered across his lips. He pushed off, slipping easily through the throng, and wrapped his arms around her shoulders to pull her close. His familiar warmth chipped away at the ache in her ribs that had slowly begun to lessen over the past few days.

The first time he had hugged her, it felt like every muscle in her body had turned to stone at his touch, breeding a new fear that she may never again be able to let him hold her. At least not the way she wanted. But the more time they had spent together, the easier it had become to remind her brain and body that she was safe with him. That he was still her safety.

Elias pulled back and let his hands slide over her arms. “Hey.”

Cadi tilted her head back to smile lazily up at him. “Hey yourself.”

His eyes flicked to the swell of patrons gathering around them. “You ready?” he asked, a playful challenge in his tone.

She drew in a steadying breath, mentally steeling herself to be completely saturated with lights, sounds, and smells for the next few hours before she gave him a determined nod. Elias’s hand settled at the small of her back as he gently guided her through the archway. The piercing din only seemed to grow louder the deeper they went, and Cadi had to periodically steal glances at the look of joy in Elias’s eyes to remind herself why she had agreed to this in the first place.

Straw bales and cornstalks framed each aisle, reflecting the colorful glow from the strings of lights overhead. Bells and sirens erupted from games, the curated sounds of victory working their magic to draw in passersby with the promise of prizes. Cadi drew a deep breath through her nose, and her mouth immediately began to water at the smells of chocolate, melted caramel, and something deep-fried that thickened the air. Maybe it wasn’t all bad.

They turned down an aisle lined with colorful booths, and Elias almost instantly tugged her into one filled with fire-forged glassware run by a sylph and a firedrake with a sign hung across the entrance advertising genuine mythic-blown glass. Elias stepped with care through the displays, letting his fingers hover just above the fragile items with Cadi close behind. She barely dared to let herself breathe, and kept her bag clutched tight to her chest to avoid any accidental nudges. Why Elias had wanted to come into a booth with such breakable and expensive merchandise was beyond her.

“Oh,” Elias breathed as he came to a stop in front of an intricate set of lowball glasses, leaning close to study the marbled-gold designs.

An idea took root in Cadi’s mind at the look of awe that softened his face, the thought of it prompting a rush of giddy excitement. She double-checked to make sure he was still distracted, then she slipped back to the front to slide an embossed business card into her purse. The sylph eyed her with quiet curiosity, but nodded in understanding when Cadi held a finger up to her lips.

His birthday wasn’t for a few more months, but it never hurt to be prepared.

When she saw him straighten above the towers of glass, she quickly pretended to study a pile of glass bubbles, then feigned surprise when he reappeared at her side. He thanked the mythics and steered her back into the crowd, none the wiser.

When they emerged from the row of vendors, the chaos of the midway practically assaulted them. Despite the sensory overload, Cadi couldn’t tear her eyes away from the colorful absurdity. Each game was brighter, louder, and more ridiculous than the last with eager crowds swarming the wooden booths to make futile attempts at winning fish, beach balls, fuzzy dice or⁠—

Cadi gasped as she gripped Elias’s arm, yanking him to a stop. He whipped his head around, his spine stiff, eyes alert and prepared to take on the unseen threat. Cadi just pulled her lips between her teeth to hide her grin before she reached up to gently rest her palm against his chest. He looked down at her, his panic softening into confusion.

Without a word, she pointed over his shoulder to where a giant stuffed bear dangled from the flimsy rafters of a nearby booth. Elias’s shoulders slumped, and all the tension drained from him as he dragged a hand down his face. “I thought someone—are you trying to give me a heart attack?”

She just beamed up at him, completely undeterred by his annoyance. After a beat, a low chuckle rumbled from his chest, and he rolled his eyes in playful resignation.

“Fine, but if I dislocate my shoulder, you’re on healing duty.”

Cadi squealed, bouncing on her toes with excitement. “Deal, and I won’t even bill you.”

Elias handed a five-dollar bill to the bored-looking teenager perched on a stool inside the booth. Without looking up from his phone, the boy handed him three leather-bound balls, then promptly slumped back against the wall, lost to whatever game or app he was absorbed in. Cadi bit her lip, trying hard not to laugh as Elias shook his head and muttered something about “kids” under his breath.

He tossed a ball in the air, caught it, then pulled his arm back and hurled it at the tower of bottles stacked at the far end … missing every single one. His eyes darted to Cadi, then back to the bottles before narrowing to a glare.

Her excitement quickly morphed into guilt with every failed attempt Elias made to hit the bottles, his frustration growing each time he slapped another bill into the smug boy’s waiting hand. By the time he managed to topple three, he was thirty dollars in the hole and ready to ignite.

The attendant stood, smirking as he pulled out a plastic bin of key chains and lobbed a flimsy flower onto the plywood counter between them.

A wave of scarlet began to creep up Elias’s neck as he moved to step around the booth, and Cadi’s stomach dropped. Lunging forward to grab his arm, she snatched the flowery key chain and firmly steered him away from the game and the snickering teen.

“Oookay, maybe let’s go do something else,” she suggested, looking around for anything that would help him avoid murdering a minor.

He nodded, and she didn’t miss the way his hands flexed at his sides as he let her lead him toward the food carts, where she planted him in front of the one with the shortest line. Every item on the menu boasted some variation of fried dough drenched in honey, sugar, or both, which seemed like the perfect remedy for a bruised ego.

As the line shifted forward, Cadi dug through her purse for her keys, dragging a still-sulking Elias with her. Joy spread through her at the way the little plastic flower nestled among the clutter of her keyring. She knew it was cheesy, but it felt strangely symbolic of the way Elias fit perfectly into the mess of her life.

A cheerful man at the window passed Cadi a floppy piece of fried dough. A cloud of powdered sugar drifted into the air as she handed it to Elias before turning back to grab the two drinks on the metal ledge.

They wove through the clusters of tables, each one already packed with patrons. Cadi chewed her lip, keenly aware of Elias’s growing agitation. Something told her that sharing a table with other people right now was a bad choice.

A slow tingle began to spread along her scalp as she searched, until she noticed a break in the wooden railing that marked the pier’s entrance, the quiet darkness beyond offering the reprieve they definitely needed. She checked to make sure Elias was still following and quickly led them toward the glorious calm.