knew the gods could be cruel and heartless, but he had never seen it, never believed it.
Until now.
He couldn’t hold in the desire inside him anymore. Without loosening his grip, Devon moved his hand up Kianna’s back. He wanted to touch her skin, to cup her cheek ... His fingers grazed the nape of her neck, just above her dress line. Her body tensed, and she sucked in a sharp breath. His eyes flickered to her pink lips.
“It’s time!” someone yelled right beside them.
Kianna jumped back two feet and looked everywhere but at him.
Around them, the crowd became agitated. Many people shouted, “it’s time,” and rushed away.
Devon frowned. “Time for what?”
Kianna looked up at him, but turned her gaze down again. “To light the lamps and make wishes.”
The street filled with people holding the fabric lanterns.
He was still confused. “You don’t have one?”
Kianna shook her head. “I don’t have money to buy one.”
Devon pressed his lips tight. He had already spent too much on her and her family. The book, the entry fee for the dance competition, which Kianna didn’t know about, the money for the games … it didn’t make a dent in his savings, but how could he explain all these expenses if he was supposed to have nothing?
Yet, as he stared at Kianna and saw the longing in her pretty eyes, he knew he couldn’t resist.
By now, he was sure that when it came to her, he couldn’t resist anything.
“Wait here,” he said, then ran to the nearest stand selling the lanterns. He bought eight lanterns. Holding them in one hand, he ran back to Kianna. “Come on.” He grabbed her hand and pulled her toward the stand where her mother and Giles and his family were selling rice balls.
“There you are,” Selina said. “I thought you two had gotten lost.”
“Or disappeared,” Cat said while coughing, which made her words hard to understand.
Devon frowned.
He was glad everyone was at the stand and he didn’t have to hunt them down.
“Here.” He passed a lantern to each person.
The kids yelled in excitement, Cat bowed her head, and her parents thanked him.
Ophelia took one in her hands and stared at him with big eyes. “Devon, you shouldn’t have.”
The sincerity in her voice, the eagerness of the kids, and the shock on Kianna’s face as she took the second to last lantern from him. It all brought a smile to his lips. “I wanted to,” he answered Ophelia, but his gaze was glued to Kianna.
The angel.
His angel.
Kianna’s delicate brows turned down. “This is too much. You’ve been spending too much on us.”
So, she had noticed. He had known she would.
Devon shrugged. “I get food and shelter from your family. I don’t have any use for my money.” He looked to the grinning faces of the group as they lit their lamps. “I think this is a good use, though.” He gestured to the lamp in his hands. “What do I do now?”
Visibly holding a smile in, Kianna reached to his lantern and helped him light the wick inside it. The fabric filled with hot air, becoming a white balloon.
“Now, you make a wish and let it go.” She closed her eyes, making her wish. A moment later, she opened her eyes again and pushed the lantern up. It floated alongside dozens, hundreds of other lanterns, filling the sky with bright, white dots that rivaled the stars. “Your turn.”
He stared at his lantern. What would he wish for?
The thought came to him like lightning.
I wish for all of Kianna’s wishes to come true.
With a little push, he let go of his lamp, certain there was no better wish he could make. He stared up at the sky, watching amazed as his lamp flew away and got lost amid all the other wishes.
“What did you wish for?” Calvin asked, his voice carrying a happy lilt.
Devon looked at the little boy. He opened his mouth to tell him and—
“He can’t tell you that,” Selina snapped.
Devon was confused. “Why not?”
“If you tell me your wish, it won’t come true,” Kianna explained.
They made wishes on fabric lamps, let it float into the sky, and if someone told their wishes, it wouldn’t come true? What a strange thing. Alas, humans were strange creatures.
Because of the lanterns, the festival seemed to have paused for a moment. Every single person on the street or in the square watched the lamps floating away.
Humans were strange creatures indeed.
When the lamps became tiny little dots against the black canvas, easily confused with