Page 68 of For the Ghastly and Beautiful

Chapter20

Ecaeris

DAY FORTY-SEVEN

Istretch across my bed, staring out the window as I try to work through the Shade attack from two days ago. It doesn’t feel right; it’s too sloppy. None of their trademark signs are present, though the older man swears he saw fire.

It’s not that I don’t believe him. I do. He saw flames when he was stabbed, but that doesn’t mean they were in his attacker’s hand.

When a Shade uses their element, they don’t slice you in the gut and bolt into the forest like terrified animals. They’re swords and fire, relentless in their pursuits to maim and destroy. This attack doesn’t line up with any of the others…

Except one.

And that wasn’t a Shade. It was a Mongrel who assaulted an intoxicated fisherman, completely blindsiding him as he walked home.

For now, I’m not adding it to our map.

“Get up,” Ada says cheerfully from my doorway, making me repress a flinch. She’s too quiet sometimes. “Come on.”

“It’s my day off. I don’t want to do anything.”

“Get your cute ass out of this room. We’re going outside.”

I wave my hand at the window. “It’s raining… There’s nothing to do.”

“You’re a water elemental.” She scoffs, then grins. “Fine. I’ll see you later.”

“Where are you going? You can’t go by yourself”

“I’m going to play in the rain. If I can’t go by myself…” She leaves her words hanging in the air between us.

“I’m tired,” I complain in a groan.

She wiggles her eyebrows adorably. “Liar.”

I don’t like how that one word makes my lips tug upward of their own accord, but it happens despite my mental protests.

“I’m—Ouch.” I rub at my chest. “What did you just hit me with?”

“A rock,” she snips, rolling another between her fingers.

“Ada,” I warn, dragging out her name.

Her smile is mesmerizing and insufferable. “Don’t worry. I have a whole pocket full of them and excellent aim.”

“Why must we play in the rain?” I gripe, knowing I can’t let her go alone. “That’s a child’s activity.”

This time, I see the pebble coming and dodge the headshot. She leans against the wall, her gaze following my movements as she watches me too closely. When I drop my shirt to the floor, she gives me an unimpressed look.

“I have been in this world for less than two months,” she informs me. “I’ve sat in the rain on Earth many times, but the colors and sounds and scents are all different here. This child’s activity is a new experience for me.”

“You’re such a hassle,” I mumble, though I don’t mean it.

“Liar,” she whispers, biting her lip to hide her smile.

“Fine.” I throw my hands in the air, still carrying on this charade because I’m not ready for the tension between us to evaporate. “Let’s go.”

She leans against the walls as she waits for me. “Where are we going?”