Page 8 of Somnium

“What about the Bistro?” Zoe offered.

“Ugh,” Celine groaned. “That place smells like soup.”

“Fine,” Zoe said, tossing both hands in the air, “then you think of something.”

“Easy, ladies. I’ll handle this,” Damon interjected as he dug into his pocket for his phone, like his ability to effectively use a search engine made him the savior they’d all hoped for. “Aha! There is a place down by the waterfront. Good reviews, low price point. Called The Crow’s Nest.”

Celine groaned, rolling her eyes at him. “Sounds like a dive …”

Damon looked up from his phone, a mischievous glint dancing in his eye as he wagged his eyebrows in her direction. “I know, it’s perfect.”

Celine shook her head, but Cadi didn’t miss the hint of a smile on her face at his attention.

“Great!” Zoe cheered. “Shall we go?”

Damon and Celine both nodded their agreement before all three of them turned to look at Cadi.

Damon shifted closer, his arm brushing against hers as he leaned in. “You in, Newbie?” he asked. His voice dipped low, and Cadi thought for one panicked moment that the weight of his stare might actually crush her.

Cadi could feel herself start to lean back, but quickly stopped before the shift in her posture could become too obvious. She gave him a small smile and began to chew the inside of her cheek as she weighed her options. Part of her was tempted to make up some excuse, quietly slip away, and go home to her sweatpants and library book now that she had honored her promise to Zoe, but she was surprised to find that she wasn’t ready for the night to end. She had come this far, and she was already out. It would be silly to retreat into her shell now.

She nodded. “I’m in.”

Damon’s smile widened, giving her a perfect view of his flawless, white teeth. “Excellent.”

They descended the steps, tracing a path back toward the tunnel that led to the station. The effects of Somnium still hummed through Cadi’s limbs, or maybe it was the quiet elation at the way Zoe’s unexpected invitation seemed to be leading her toward the promise of something she had long since thought was out of reach. Until that moment, she hadn’t realized just how much she had been craving this—the connection, the friendship, the sense that she might actually belong somewhere—stubbornly trying to convince herself that she was fine with the way things were.

And now that she was facing the very real chance that she had found it, she just had to convince herself not to run away.

3

CHAPTER THREE

CADI

Zoe, Damon, and Celine chatted excitedly as the group ambled down the sidewalk toward the growing line in front of the bar. Cadi barely registered their quips and laughter, her mind still pleasantly adrift in the haze of Somnium until her eyes snagged on the bright neon-style sign rising above the street to bathe the crowd below it in a dusky glow.

Resting a shoulder against the brick wall, she leaned back to study the design: a buzzed-looking crow outlined in bright purple, lounging against a broken mast with a luminous yellow spyglass clutched lazily in its feathers.

A pair of fingers snapped in front of her face. She pulled her attention back to the others with a start, only to find them all staring at her, waiting for a reply to a question that she definitely had not heard.

“Sorry. What?”

Zoe smirked, rolling her eyes. “I was saying you should sign up to be an attendant with us.”

“Oh,” Cadi replied, letting out a tight laugh. “I don’t think so. That’s way more of a commitment than I’m ready for.”

“See?” Celine added, gesturing to Cadi as if she had just helped her prove a point. “Quit pushing.”

Zoe shot her a look before turning back to Cadi.

“All I’m saying is that if you are wanting to get more involved, that would be the perfect way to do it. You’d get familiar with the temple, the Order, and meet a bunch of people.”

Cadi chewed on her lower lip. If she was being honest, the prospect of stepping further into the fold with Zoe and the rest of them was starting to sound more and more tempting, and joining the ranks of attendants could be just the thing she needed to help integrate her into that circle. Still, she didn’t feel as though she was quite ready to fully dive into the Order just yet.

She lifted an eyebrow and looked between the enthused expression on Zoe’s face and the guarded one on Celine’s. Something warned her that she was dangerously close to stepping into a mine field.

“I’ll think about it,” she said, unsure if she should be relieved or worried by the wide grin that spread across Zoe’s face at her noncommittal answer. The line shifted forward, moving them steadily to the door where they handed their IDs to a bored-looking troll. Cadi eyed the way the spindly legs of the stool beneath him bowed under the weight of his immense frame. There was no way that thing was making it through the night.