The Faire (Harrow Faire #5) - Kathryn Ann Kingsley Page 0,72

a videogame. “Sorry. Anyway. I haven’t done anything worthy of this kind of responsibility. There’s no reason anybody has to listen to me. Except for the fact that I want to protect us…I want to protect this place. I want us to get a chance to live the way we’re meant to live. Not trapped here by this lake, never allowed to leave—but out in the world. And…” She paused as she gathered her words. “I want to protect the love and friendship we’ve found together.”

Rick and Donna glanced at each other.

Aaron patted her on the shoulder and smiled broadly at her. “You’ve got my vote, then, sugar. Not like you didn’t already have it. Trying to kill us all without the honor of telling us the truth…treating us like children. That, I can’t stand by. We aren’t his kids. So. Say you win. Say we all get to walk away from here. Where do we go?”

Cora shrugged. “South might be nice. I was thinking the Florida Keys. I’d like to go to a beach. I don’t know what you guys think, though. I’d definitely be open to suggestions.”

“Would we actually, like…get to go to the beach?” Bruce leaned forward on his elbows. “Like, leave Harrow Faire? Go swimming?”

“So it says, yeah. We’re supposed to be able to walk out of here for a time. Explore the world around us. The longer we go, the more we fade. Lazarus said several people have committed suicide that way in the past. That people who wanted a way out didn’t have to resort to…y’know…” She jabbed her thumb in the air toward Simon, who was walking back. “That guy.”

“What about me? That I’m tall and sexy? Nice of you to remind me, but I already know that.” Simon returned with two empty wine glasses and a bottle of wine. He plunked it down between them then set a glass in front of her. “Here.”

“You aren’t going to pour for me?” She turned her nose up in mock pretentiousness. “The nerve.”

“If you went into this relationship thinking I’m a gentleman, Ms. Glass, you should rethink your choices.” He grinned and pointedly poured himself a glass of wine and put the bottle back down in front of her.

She laughed and poured herself a glass. “Jerk.”

“Mmhm.” He smirked.

“The beach.” Bruce let out a long breath. “Man. I wanna go to the beach. Pick up some…wait, could we go out and, like—go to malls, or clubs, and shit?”

She smiled at him. He looked so hopeful. “Yeah.”

He smiled broadly. “Oh, fuck yes.”

“We’d finally have somewhere to spend all that goddamn money we’ve been hoarding,” Aaron interjected. “We could go…eat at restaurants? See a film?”

Cora nodded. “We’d be free. Sort of.”

“Tethered together and roaming the world is better than being tethered together and stuck here.” Bertha lifted her drink in a toast to them all. It looked like soda but probably had a great deal of alcohol in it. “Count me in.”

Donna and Rick whispered to each other for a moment before Rick spoke up. “Yeah. Us, too.”

Cora smiled at them. She didn’t know if they’d win the vote—she didn’t know if it mattered if they did—but it felt nice to have friends. It felt nice not to be alone.

They easily spent an hour there, long after they finished eating. She was enjoying the company. At some point, she wound up leaning against Simon, his arm draped over her, listening to Aaron and Bertha tell more stories. Those two really did have the best tall tales. Simon, for his part, even smiled and laughed along once and a while.

The bottle of wine might have been partially to blame for that—she would love to see Simon drunk—but she wouldn’t complain. Progress was progress, and he even seemed to slightly enjoy being there.

Not that anybody would be brave enough to point that out to him. Herself included.

I want this to be my life. I want this to be my Family. I want to win this thing.

“Simon!” someone shouted, breaking into the laughter like a brick through a pane of glass. “Where is she?”

Everyone turned. It was Jack. The Rigger was standing there some ten paces away, fists clenched, glaring viciously at the Puppeteer.

“Where is who?” Simon arched an eyebrow. “And stop your grandstanding, will you? That’s Aaron’s job.”

Cora stood, facing Jack. It was the first time she’d seen him since…well, since he helped throw her into the pit in the tower. Since he betrayed her and their friendship. It hurt.