The Half-Class by Kayvion Lewis

Chapter Sixteen

“You kissed him?”

Jace grinned at Gilow in a way that made me even more uncomfortable. Luke stood frozen on the steps behind Gilow, arms crossed as tight as braided rope. I did my best not to make eye contact with him.

“He kissed me.”

“Even better,” Jace said. “Did anything else happen?”

“No.” My eyes unwillingly darted up to Luke. Only for a split second, but long enough to see the fury bubbling behind his carefully calm features. It was getting alarming how familiar that was. “Just the one kiss. Nothing more.”

Jace nodded. “Still, decent progress for only a week’s time.”

“Go on,” Gilow said.

Like before, he had wanted to know everything that happened between me and Cass. I’d been recounting our past few days without interruption until I got to yesterday’s kiss.

Feeling practically naked under their gazes, I finished my story, revealing every little detail to them. I squirmed on the steps.

If things with Cass and I went even further than a kiss, would Gilow want me to describe that in detail too? My throat tightened at the thought. Having to recount it here might be even more uncomfortable than the actual act. A phantom warmth from Cass’s kiss blew over my lips. Perhaps the actual act wouldn’t be so uncomfortable at all.

I snapped that thought out of my mind.

“So, you didn’t actually find out anything useful?” Luke growled. He must have been really peeved to speak up while Gilow was here.

“It’s only been a week,” I said.

“Long enough to kiss someone, apparently.”

“You’re doing fine.” Gilow silenced us both. “He’ll confide in you more in time, so long as you don’t stifle your progress. Report back in a week, unless an emergency happens. In which case, leave a red cloth on the back door. We’ll meet the night after you do so.”

With that, we were dismissed. But I had a final question.

“When will the next regular meeting be?” I asked.

Gilow glided down the grand staircase with Jace at his heels. It was just the four of us tonight. It should have been just the three of us, but Luke had showed up of his own accord. Whether I liked it or not, he was involved.

Gilow kept his gaze on the banister. “Not until we have more information. I told you we’d have to tread carefully until we could feel out the new status quo.”

Jace glanced over her shoulder. “I have no doubt it won’t be long now, Love.” She winked at me, then strode off across the foyer with Gilow.

I wanted to say something else but couldn’t find the words. I twisted my fingers. Maybe I was overthinking, but it felt as if all of their new plans were really just waiting on me to bring them something good. How was I supposed to function under that kind of pressure?

“I saw you at the races,” Luke said. As always, he jumped to my side the instant we were alone.

I crossed my arms and started down the steps. Not two seconds away from my once over with Gilow, and now I was being interrogated by Luke.

“I didn’t think you were there,” I said. “Especially since I told you not to come.”

“You knew I wouldn’t stay away. That’s why you sent Katalin to distract me.”

“She was there too? I must have missed her.”

He grabbed my shoulder and spun me around. “Why are you being so difficult?”

“I’m not being anything.” Why was he being so difficult? “Can we not talk about anything relating to the prince? There’s no point if you’re not going to listen to me.”

I jerked my shoulder away from him, fully realizing that he’d grabbed me. If he did that again, we were going to have a problem. But for now, I just wanted to be done. For a moment, I heard nothing but his footsteps pounding behind me, which managed to hit the floor with an irritation of their own, before he finally took a deep breath.

“Let’s talk about something else then,” Luke said, walking up behind me.

My head was starting to ache. I rubbed my temples. “What then?”

“How about our engagement.”

I stopped. Of course, he’d pick the one thing I had no right to run from.

I forced myself to relax as I looked up into his steel eyes. “What about it, Luke?”

“I want to make it official.”

My heart raced. “It’s not already?” Did my interaction with Cass make him jealous? Was he going to try and kiss me again? A sick feeling sunk into my stomach. It would be wrong of me to deny him if he tried. I owed it to him. I had a feeling it would be nothing as pleasant as what I had with Cass. That thought sat in my mouth like ash.

Luke sunk his hand into his pocket and brought it back out less than a second later. At first, I couldn’t make out the little loop squeezed between his fingers. But as he brought it up to my eyes, it became painfully clear. A thin gold band, topped with a little ruby.

Oh, wonderful.

“Is that—"

“It was my grandmother’s. My mother said she was going to give it to her daughter if she ever had one.”

My lips quivered as Luke grabbed my hand and slipped the ring onto my finger. It was a bit loose for me—the metal felt foreign and unnatural on my skin. The entire band weighed on my finger.

I bit my lip, resisting the urge to remove the ring immediately.

“Luke,” I said calmly. “You know I can’t wear this, right?”

He dropped my hand. “Not around the prince. But I don’t see why you can’t wear it when you’re not with him.”

“Because—”

Because what Evie?

He was right. I didn’t have a reason not to wear it. It would be disrespectful if I didn’t. What was I complaining about? This was what I had signed up for. I should have been oozing glee, not protesting.

I smiled as widely as I could make myself. “You’re right. I love it, Luke. Thank you.”

I hesitated for an awkward moment, then perched up to my tiptoes and touched my lips to his cheek. He lightened by a thousand pounds, all of which fell right onto me.

“Come by the shop tomorrow?” He took my ringed hand in his, and we started out of the foyer together.

“During the day?” I hadn’t been deep into the city since the day the signs went up. I knew about the restrictions now, but I still didn’t want to venture back into that just yet.

“A few hours before sunset. My mother’s been dying to see you since I told her.”

He told Miss Iris about this?

Of course he did. How else would he have gotten the ring? “I don’t know. I’m supposed to see Cass tomorrow night.”

He squeezed my hand tighter. “I said evening, not night. I promise you’ll be back in time for that.”

Damn it. I didn’t have a choice.

“Sure, I’d love to.”

He interlaced his fingers into mine. “I know this is still a bit strange now, Evie, but we’ll get used to it. I think everything will be easier once Gilow’s dropped this. You’ll see.”

My new ring pressed into my skin. “Yes. It will be.”

Kat was gone when I awoke. Her favorite cream boots were missing as well. That wasn’t so strange, but truly odd was that Auntie was gone too.

I headed downstairs to find her bed empty and unmade. The nosey part of me wanted to check the kitchen. For some reason, I imagined I’d find her there with Albo, who could be anywhere, seeing that he was intent on visiting whenever he pleased.

But I didn’t search for either of them. I had my own place to be this afternoon. With no enthusiasm at all, I grabbed the first dress I saw out of Kat and I’s wardrobe. A capped-sleeved sky-blue thing that might have had lace trimming.

After throwing it on, I pushed my new ring onto my finger, tugged my boots over my feet, and set out for the city feeling completely dead. Why was I dreading this so much? I didn’t have any problem with Miss Iris. But it wasn’t about her—it was Luke I didn’t want to see. Being his fiancé had been so much easier in my head. I didn’t think it would bother me so much, and I still didn’t understand why—though his occasional outburst probably had something to do with it. All I knew was that it was getting harder and harder to see him, let alone talk to him. He had to know I didn’t feel as strongly for him as he did for me, but he was going along with this anyway.

Everything felt wrong. But I had to go along with it.

My painfully loud thoughts managed to distract me during my journey through town. The new signs still hung proudly in the shop windows. Instinctually, I kept to the edge of the streets and didn’t make eye contact with anyone if I could avoid it.

I got to Luke’s cobbling shop in half the time I thought it would take. The curtains were pulled over the front windows. I hoped Miss Iris hadn’t closed early just to see me I wasn’t planning on staying more than an hour at the most anyway.

I turned the door handle, and to my surprise, it was unlocked. Maybe they were still open. Before the door could close behind me, the curtains at my side pulled open, and light flooded the shop.

“Congratulations!”

I jumped at the culmination of at least a dozen voices.

No. Oh, please, no.

Miss Iris rushed up to me and wrapped her thin arms around my body. “Congratulations, Evie! I’m so happy! I knew you and Luke were going to get married since the day I met you.”

I awkwardly hugged her back.

So many people we knew were here: Saddy and her twins, Thomas and Maxine—who must have come all the way from Southside—Sammy, Christa. Even Albo, Kat, and Auntie Jen were in the crowd.

And, of course, my oh-so-loving fiancé.

Luke stood with his arms folded, just a couple paces away. He looked so pleased. No, assured. Why wouldn’t he be? He just solidified our engagement for everyone. There was no getting out of it now.

I contorted my face into what must have been the most forced smile ever mustered. Miss Iris released me, and Luke came to my side instead. He placed my hand in his arm, letting my ringed finger show for everyone.

God, I wanted to scream. How could he be so petty? He had to know how uncomfortable this would make me. Worse still, only one other person in that shop knew what was going on with the prince, and a good deal of the rest were likely to see me with him at some point. Revealing our engagement was going to make it countless times harder for me to nurture a relationship with Cass.

I locked eyes with Luke. I was wrong before—he looked...smug. He knew exactly what he was doing. Just like he knew I couldn’t fault him for it in front of all these people.

If we were alone, I would have throttled him.

“I never thought I’d see so many friendly faces in one room,” I forced out. “But I guess today is all about surprises.”

“I’m surprised he finally asked,” Thomas said from the edge of the group.

Maxine hit his shoulder, and a quiet chuckle fell over them both.

“Oh! Let me get the cake.” Miss Iris shuffled out of the room.

With that, the attention dissipated from Luke and me. Our guests split into their own conversations. I had some things to say to Luke.

“I wish you’d told me about this,” I said, digging my nails into Luke’s arm. “I would have worn something nicer.”

He winced and twisted out of my grasp. “You always look nice. And it wouldn’t be a surprise party if I told you about it.”

“Why exactly did it have to be a surprise party?” I matched my eyes to his. I didn’t glare outright, but my eyes were hard enough that he had to read what I was trying to tell him. I despise you for this. But the way his eyes pinched as he smiled lightly said something like, I don’t care.

I couldn’t be around Luke right now. Since leaving the shop was out of the question, I made my way over to Kat and Sammy, who were chatting near a shelf across the shop instead.

“Here comes the blushing bride.” Kat steepled her fingers under her chin.

“I’m impressed, Evelyn,” Sammy said. “Not a few days ago, you were asking me how to coax out a kiss, and now you’ve gotten yourself engaged.”

“That must have been one hell of a kiss.” Kat smirked, knowing full well what—and who—I’d been referring to the previous nights.

“Did you know about this?” I asked.

“No, we just happened to stumble in here.” Kat’s smirk faded. “Of course, we knew. Allow me to be the first to wish you the utmost joy in your upcoming marriage.”

Did she think this was funny?

Sammy glanced between the two of us. “I’m going to see what Christa and Albo are up to,” she said, then drifted away. Sammy was never one to embrace tension.

“Why didn’t you warn me?” I whispered.

“I did warn you. I told you not to use Luke at all. But you didn’t listen, so now you have to put up with things like surprise engagement parties.” She lifted my hand and ran her thumb over my new ring. “And jewelry, apparently. Is this a real ruby?”

I snatched my hand away from her.

“Don’t be so hostile, cousin dearest. You should have the decency to at least pretend to be grateful, for Luke’s sake.” Kat pushed herself up from the shelf and strolled past me, making her way towards Luke, Thomas, and Maxine across the room.

I wiped my hands on my skirt. There had to be a way to channel all this frustration into feigned positivity.

“Evie!”

I spun around. Brison and Richal stood with their jumbles of curls looking equally messy. I smiled my first genuine smile of the afternoon.

“For you,” Brison said.

His brother lifted a brown paper box, no bigger than his hand, to my face.

“I picked it myself,” he said.

“We picked it,” Richal corrected.

“But I’m the one who convinced Mama to let us ride out and get it, so it was more my idea.”

I surveyed the room until I found Saddy whispering in the corner of the room with Auntie Jen. “She let you go out into the city by yourselves?”

“No,” Richal said.

“Just open it.” Brison looked like he was going to burst into flames waiting for me. For a moment, I debated inviting Luke over. If it was an engagement gift, then it was technically ours. But the twins gave it to me, and only me, so there was no harm in opening it alone.

I dropped to my knees so the twins could see me open the gift and tore open the top. A few layers of paper waited inside, which must have been Saddy’s suggestion. I pulled them back, revealing a small piece of red stained glass tethered to a twine string. I lifted the little ornament from its box. Light beamed through the glass, shooting a pale crimson light onto a nearby shelf. Instantly, I knew where they’d ridden out to.

“You went to the impossible pond.”

Brison held his head high with a lift in his chest. “I led the way. Richal almost got us lost.”

“We both knew the way,” Richal corrected again.

“But I’m the one who picked this glass from the trees around the water,” Brison said. “Because it looks like a diamond. Don’t you think so?”

A rough corner of the glass sparkled as it turned lightly on its string. “It definitely does.” A very misshapen but still perfect diamond. Something they could only find at the artsy little pond just outside of town. “Thank you, boys.”

I placed the ornament back into its box and pulled them into my arms. Richal hugged me back, but Brison squirmed from under my embrace.

“What’s wrong, Brison, too manly to accept a hug?”

“No.” He shook his head as a red shade fell over his light brown face. “I just want a warning before I get touched by a girl, that’s all.”

“Next time, I’ll give you a heads up.”

I felt ten times less agitated. I arose from the floor with my new gift in hand. I hadn’t been out to the pond in forever. The glass shards lining the trees there were supposed to bring luck. I hoped my shard of red glass would bring me plenty. I needed all I could get.

Miss Iris scrambled back in from through the backroom. Saddy lunged out of her way as she strode up to the counter, balancing a white iced cake over her forearms. The second she put it down, Brison and Richal abandoned me and headed for the desert, but Saddy grabbed their shirt collars and pulled them back.

Miss Iris smiled proudly at me. “Evie’s favorite cake, chocolate.” She turned to her son. “And Luke’s favorite icing. It’s the perfect mix.”

“Oh, I bet it is,” Thomas called from across the room. Maxine hit him again.

I felt more than a few eyes land on me. Thomas must have had something to drink before he came here.

Miss Iris ignored Thomas. “Come cut the first slice together.”

She presented a small knife over the counter for one of us to claim. I glanced at Luke, then away just as fast as the two of us made our way back into the center of attention from our opposite sides of the shop. I hesitantly took the knife from Miss Iris, who still couldn’t stop beaming. I bit my lip as Luke stopped, pressed at my side. He wrapped his hand over mine, and we held the knife together. We were still for a second. I didn’t know if my hand was supposed to guide us or if he was going to take the lead. The hesitation lasted only a moment, and soon he was pressing my hand, and the knife in it, down into the soft cake. The room felt horribly silent. I couldn’t wait for him to let go of me.

He freed my hand, and I laid the icing-coated knife on the countertop.

“Thank you, Miss Iris,” I said. “You’re even sweeter than this cake.”

“Anything for my daughter.”

Daughter. No, not yet.

A pinch of icing clung to my finger. I turned to Richal, watching the cake from behind me, and swiped it on his nose. Brison laughed as his brother scrunched up his face and slapped it away.

“First piece is yours, darling,” Luke said.

I blinked. Was I darling now?

“Kiss!” Thomas shouted.

“Thommy, be quiet,” Maxine said.

“No, they should kiss,” Christa added.

“Yes!” A hum of consensus ran through our guests. My eyes darted over each and every one of them, taking note of Kat, who said nothing, and Albo, who perched in the corner, completely detached from the rest.

“Um...”

“Oh, you should!” Miss Iris clapped her hands together. “Just a little one. For me.”

I swallowed and turned to Luke.

He looked down at me as if he’d been waiting for me to meet his gaze this entire time, smiling softly.

I had no choice. The room wanted its kiss, and I could tell Luke did too.

With no way out, I stood stone still as Luke cupped both sides of my face. My heart thundered. Don’t lean back, Evie. I closed my eyes.

He pulled my face to his. All the things I should have felt yesterday pushed to the surface. A dry feeling in my mouth. A guilty tremble in my chest. And the urge to push those hands away.

A gasp escaped our pressed lips. The room was silent.

His kiss was so heavy. So passionate. So much deeper than it needed to be. In it, I could feel every other time he’d tried to kiss me over the past year, all coming to the surface now. It was overwhelming.

It was suffocating.

I laid my hands over his and pulled back. Shallow breaths slipped in and out of my mouth as I stared into silver eyes, still boring into mine. My breath was gone, but his was perfectly intact. His gaze dropped down to my parted lips. Did he want to do that again?

An arm curved around my waist. Luke stepped back, and I let the person pull me away even further from him.

“She’s an expert already.” Kat gave the room her golden smile. She squeezed my side. A chuckle ran through our party, and everyone returned to their own conversations as if nothing had happened.

“Plates…” Miss Iris mumbled. She darted back into the other room.

Kat released me and dropped her hand to her hips. “You, sir, look like you’ve had far too much experience with that whole kissing thing.” She narrowed her eyes at Luke.

“Well, look who’s talking.”

My heart sped. I expected Kat to be completely offended, but instead, her eyes glimmered with amusement.

“How dare you say such a thing. I’m a lady,” she said. “You’re going to have to start being nicer to me as your future cousin-in-law.”

I opened my mouth, but Luke interrupted. “Is cousin-in-law a real term, or did you just make it up?”

“It’s real because I made it up.” She flipped her hair back. “When you’re pretty and charming, you can do that sort of thing.”

I saw what she was doing. Even irritated, Kat couldn’t help but gravitate towards the attention. It made no difference at the moment whether she was doing it to save me or for her own amusement. Miss Iris returned with plates, and I slipped away from the group, letting Kat envelope Miss Iris and Luke with her charisma.

Near the shop windows, Auntie Jen and Albo exchanged hurried whispers. A vein on Auntie’s temple throbbed as she spoke. But midway through her sentence, Albo twisted his hands into his pockets and walked away. Whatever that was about, it seemed to have left Auntie in a sour mood, so I decided I might as well add to it. How bad did it look that I hadn’t told her about my engagement myself?

“Is everything alright?” I nodded to Albo.

“Should be now. For you.” Auntie’s honey eyes found my engagement ring. I folded my hands behind my back. “I guess this means you’ll be moving out soon.”

“Not that soon. I don’t think we’re going to get married before my birthday.” I had to tread carefully. “Unless I’m being forced out.”

“I already told you, Evie, you don’t have to go anywhere until you turn eighteen.” I let out a breath. That was nice to know. “But I didn’t think this was where you wanted to go.”

“It doesn’t bother you, does it?”

“You can do whatever you want to do. Who am I to stop you?” She glanced over my shoulder. “Kat seems to have some opinions, though.”

“You’re not mad then? Not even about me not telling you? Because I was going to tell you, and if I had known about this party, then I would have definitely done it sooner. I promise I would have—”

“Calm down. I ain’t mad at you. I care about you, but I don’t care about what you do. Why do you think I let you go run around with those hooligans at night?”

My gaze dipped to the scuff marks on the floor. Once we became ladies, it was ‘do as you please’ as far as Auntie was concerned. Why should this be any different?

“As for not telling me,” she said. “I’m a bit hurt, but I can’t fault you for keeping secrets. We all do that.” Auntie reached up and pushed a little curl away from my face. Her old fingers were soft against my skin. “I’ll miss you when you’re gone.”

“I’ll only be down the street.”

“Maybe. But it’s never the same as having your little one live with you.”

“Not that little anymore.”

“No, I suppose not.”

The rest of my surprise engagement party was a blur. Kat kept a tight hold on Luke and his mother’s attention while I drifted anywhere but there. Albo was the first to leave, then Saddy and the twins, after double-checking that she had their papers. I waited for the rest to go, but after another half hour of Thomas ranting about the old days—with Sammy, Christa, and Auntie Jen looking perfectly content to listen to him for hours longer—I realized that they were probably planning to stay until the barn opened. I, however, was supposed to meet Cass just before dusk.

I made my way back to the group I’d been avoiding.

Miss Iris snickered at the back counter. Kat, across from her, shook her head.

“I had no idea she was going to do that,” Kat insisted, ending some story I hadn’t heard.

“Look who’s back.” Luke’s smile fell the moment he saw me. He crossed his arms over his chest, and the laughter Kat had incited fell silent around him.

“I never left,” I said.

Luke took a deep breath. “Are you about to?”

Did he want me to stay longer? I’d already told him I couldn’t.

“Unfortunately, I must,” I said. “If I have your permission.”

Luke didn’t move. Looking up at him, his eyes were more grey than silver now. Was he going to say no? Asking was only a courtesy.

“Of course, you can go, Evie,” Miss Iris answered for him. “I’m sure you’ll be back more often anyways. And then permanently, sooner or later.” Her eyes shifted to Kat. “And I hope to see you here more often too, Katalin.”

“What do you mean? I was going to move in with Evie.” Miss Iris laughed. “And I’m not leaving just yet. You still have to show me that thing we talked about.”

“Oh, I certainly do.” She winked at Kat, probably alluding to that story I hadn’t heard. “Luke, be a gentleman and walk your fiancé home. It’s so dangerous for a girl to be out alone these days.”

“No, he doesn’t have to—”

“Good idea.” Luke grabbed my hand. “Come on, darling.”

Without saying a proper goodbye to anyone, Luke pulled me across the floor. We shuffled out of the shop and into the bustling afternoon traffic. Luke gripped my hand, and we headed down the sidewalk.

Before I knew it, we turned off the narrow street that held the cobbling shop and onto a slightly larger road. There were more faces here and more eyes that seemed to stare at us.

I tried to wiggle my hand out of Luke’s grasp. “You can’t take me all the way back.”

“I can’t?” He held me tighter than ever.

“Why are you angry?” I tried to keep my voice from flaring. We were walking awfully fast down June Street, and we’d be on the main street before we knew it. I didn’t want to get into an argument outside.

“I told you I had to leave before sunset,” I said.

“I’m not mad about that, although I should be.”

“Then what?” Couldn’t he just say whatever he wanted to say so I could go?

“I was waiting, Evie. I was waiting that entire time for you to come back and talk to me and my mother. But instead, you sent Kat over to do it for you.”

“I didn’t send Kat to do anything. She came over all on her own.”

“Sure, she did. Like she just showed up at the races by herself too?”

“That was a completely different scenario.” I averted my gaze as a light-class couple looked down their noses at us as we passed.

His hand was still gripping mine. We neared the turn onto Main Street. I pulled against Luke again, but he held me firm.

“I know you’re not ecstatic about this, Evie, but you could at least be polite. For my mother’s sake, at the very least.” He tugged me like a doll into the very busy West Main. For a second, I hated myself for not being as strong as him.

“Who said I’m not happy?” Angry or not, I tried to salvage the situation. “I am happy. About this and the future…and you.”

“If you are, you don’t show it.”

What did he want from me? I wasn’t exactly in a position to fawn over him all day, every day at the moment. And If I were, was that really what he wanted?

“I’m doing my best, Luke.”

“Are you? It feels like you’re not trying at all.”

A fire filled every single limb in my body. He did want that from me. Didn’t he?

He wanted me to kneel down and kiss his boots. To show how grateful I was that he proposed to me. With everything in me, I wanted to scream at him. To push him into one of these shop doors and throw this ring in his face. I wanted to slap him with the same hand he had gripped in his.

But we were out in public, and already receiving more side glances than I would have liked. And whether or not I hated it, I did need Luke. I needed this ring on my finger.

But I sure as hell didn’t need him holding my hand.

“Let go of my hand.” I tugged my hand in Luke’s again.

“No.”

“Luke, let go of my hand.”

“Why? So, you can take your ring off?”

“Yes, actually.” I hadn’t even thought about that, but now that he mentioned it, I did need to move it.

“You can do it when you get home.”

We weren’t too far now. I could make it back to the barn alone by myself.

We passed a small alley between two apartments, and I took the opportunity to stop and swoop into it. Luke jerked back as I came to a halt.

“You can stop here,” I said.

With all the force in my arm, I yanked my hand from his. I slipped my ruby ring off my ring finger and onto my center finger instead.

“Thank you for taking me this far, but I can make it by myself from here.”

“Evie, we’re not done.” He blocked my path back out into the street, but years of evading patrons at the barn had taught me how to get around an attempt like his. I spun around him and trotted back to the sidewalk.

Just go home. Please don’t follow me.

“Evelyn.” His boots slapped against the cobblestone behind me.

“Go home, Luke. I have things to do.”

“Things more important than us?”

“You know they are.”

He let out a tense, shaky breath. “Evelyn, turn around.”

“I have to go home. We can talk later.”

“Evelyn.”

I walked faster.

“Evelyn.”

No.

“Evelyn!”

A trio of light-class women carrying gift boxes jumped, and a man with a toddler in his arms whispered to his partner before they sped up. My heart skipped a beat as I instinctively turned around. Luke was right upon me, glaring down with more anger than I think I’d ever seen in another person’s eyes. Certainly not in his.

“You two!” a deep male voice boomed.

A hand pushed my shoulder. I stumbled back into the yellow wall of the apartment building we were passing. Luke backed into it too. My throat went dry.

The officer wasn’t very tall, no taller than me, but he felt like he was a thousand feet above me. His bright blonde hair stuck out crisply against his tan skin.

“What’s going on here?” His eyes darted between us. “You two disturbing these nice folks?”

“No, Sir.” Luke shook his head, the irritation in his voice completely gone. It was only monotone now.

“That’s not what it looked like. What the hell are you two doing out anyway? It’s not sundown.” He waved his hand to the street around us. “None of these places are letting in halfies before sundown. You out here pickpocketing? Making a scene while she robs them blind. Is that it?”

“No, Sir,” Luke said again. “Just having a discussion with my friend, that’s all.”

“He’s not a half-class,” I blurted out. “He doesn’t need to do that.”

“Really?” The officer’s thick eyebrows rose on his forehead. “So, what does that make you, a natural light?”

I clenched the fabric of my skirt.

“That’s it, show me your paperwork.” The loose shackles tied at his waist jingled as he took a small step back. The passing pedestrians circled around our interaction as they passed. Some pressed their lips together and looked away, and others nodded approvingly. They were equally agonizing to watch.

I slipped my hand into my boot and found my folded set of papers. I didn’t even remember sliding them into my boot, but it was so second nature now that I rarely ever did. I gently handed the man my papers. He snatched them away. “Yours too,” he said to Luke.

Luke rummaged in his pockets. Each second that passed, his hands grew more frantic. All the color drained from his face. No. We left so fast. He didn’t.

“I—I don’t have them.”

The officer furrowed his brow. “You don’t?”

He shook his head.

“Well, I guess I wouldn’t bring my papers if I were going pickpocket people either.”

“That’s not the case,” I insisted. “He just forgot them. Like I said, he’s not even a half. If you let us go back and get them. We’ll show you.”

“Let you two just walk away, so you can do this in the East end? I don’t think so.” He reached for the shackles behind him. “Turn around.”

My throat twisted as the officer jerked him around. “Wait,” I said, “he can stay here, and I’ll go get them. Please, it won’t take me ten minutes.”

“You do that, sweetheart.” The officer pressed my papers, which he barely even looked over, back into my hand. “You can bring them to the cells. They’ll let him out when they know who he is.”

Luke’s eyes widened. The officer pressed his chest into the wall. The cells? No, I couldn’t let that happen.

Even if I brought Luke’s papers there, who knew if they would even believe they were his. Hell, I could end up in prison, too, for trying to pass off fake papers. He couldn’t do this. We didn’t do anything wrong.

“Please, Sir,” I said louder than I intended. “He hasn’t committed a crime. You can’t just shackle him and take him away.”

“Walking without papers is a crime in itself.”

A crime that only affects half-classes. Light-classes never get asked for papers. Dark-classes are asked more, but not as much as people who can’t be so easily differentiated. Kat didn’t even know where hers were.

He grabbed Luke’s wrists and tightened the shackles around them. “It’s fine, Evie,” Luke whispered, but the quiver in his voice told me that it was anything but. “Go get my mother.”

“It’s not fine!” I shouted. In a moment of stupidity, I grabbed the officer’s shoulder. “This isn’t necessary. I swear on my life he’s—”

The officer rammed his elbow into my chest. I crashed into the ground.

“Evelyn!” Luke jerked back, but the officer grabbed the back of his neck and pinned him against the bricks.

“You stupid little thing,” the officer spewed down at me.

I clutched my chest. My ribs felt like they were collapsing in on themselves. I swallowed a sob.

“If I had another pair, you’d be coming in too.” He finished locking Luke’s wrists, and all I could do was watch from the ground. Luke was about to be taken away, and I could do nothing about it. Nothing at all.

“Stop, now!”

The officer, with Luke’s shackled wrists in his grasp, frowned. His eyes searched around for the voice that called over to us with such conviction.

That voice. I knew whose voice that was.

He stumbled to a stop and knelt at my side, wrapping his arms around me.

Cass.