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“What?” Luke asked.
“Never mind, you wouldn’t get it.”
“Tobias would like you,” Trevor said. “He’s into pageantry.”
“Careful, or Penelope will kick your ass,” I said.
“You think that pampered compound-born, newly-immortal chick is better at fighting than me? No way.” Tate crossed her arms.
“She was trained as a consort,” Camina shrugged. “And fought with the rebels before she turned. Plus she’s…” her face darkened. “She’s suffered more than you might think, and recently.”
“Whatever.Here,” she said, holding out the back of her hand to Luke. “I saved this for you. You earned it.”
A small amount of elixir sparkled against her pale skin. Dark purple, like a birthmark. Luke’s cheeks flushed red and he rubbed the back of his neck. He looked like he wasn’t sure whether to kiss it or shake it.
“Oh, I, uh…” he stammered. “Can I get it later?”
“I’m not a vending machine,” Tate smirked, walking away.
I saw Emma hold back a grin, following behind her. As soon as they were gone, Trevor burst out laughing.
“She’s probably old enough to be your great-grandma.”
“Yeah but she’s hot,” Luke said, “and cool.”
“Make your move then. Just let me know so I’ll be far away.”
“Really?” Camina said. “I’d stay and watch, see how Luke takes a punch.”
“Want to find out—ow!” he said, as Camina punched his shoulder.
“That was just a tap, crybaby.”
“Anyway, what was I supposed to do,” Luke asked. “Lick it off her hand? I mean was she even serious or was she just teasing me?”
“You heard her,” I said, “she likes to play with her food.”
“It means you amuse her,” Camina said. “If she teases you, it’s because you’ve got her attention. That’s not nothing.”
Luke’s eyes widened, like the secrets of the universe had been revealed to him. He settled in with a group of people around a flickering campfire not far away. Someone was plucking at an old banjo. But it was a small gathering. I guessed the rest were sleeping or, more likely, guarding the perimeter.
Steve and Jacob were smoking cigars at a wooden table outside the mayor’s house. It was so dark I almost walked past them, before I saw the red glow of their embers.
“We’ve been thinking,” Jacob said, gesturing towards an empty seat. Steve offered me a cigar, which I turned down. But someone had left a pack of cigarettes near the porch so I lit one up, just so I’d have something to do with my hands. I took a drag and blew out a cloud of smoke that curled into the leafy branches above us, their dark limbs masking the starry sky.
“What is it?” I asked.
He pulled out the vape machine I’d borrowed earlier, sliding it across the table.
“Most of the elite will be at Nigel’s crowning, right? At least those loyal to him.”
“I guess so,” I said.
“And you’ll be getting more of the antidote inside the citadel. So imagine a machine like this, a vaporizer, but on a larger scale.”
“You want to make it airborne, like a virus?”
“Could that work?” Steve leaned forward. “If so we could gas them all, while they’re in the same place.”
