I grinned at her. “It’s a surprise.”

Ember

“Movies.”

“No.”

“Bowling.”

“No.”

“Ice skating.”

He looked at me strangely. “In California?”

“I’m sure there are spots for it. We have a professional hockey league and everything.”

“I suppose you’re right. And no.”

“Concert.”

“Not even close.”

I let out a little huff. “I’m being kidnapped and spirited off to Saudi Arabia to be the forty-second wife of Grand Sheik Ramalama.”

He chuckled. “You caught me. I hope you brought your camel repellant.”

“Smart ass.” I wrinkled my nose at him. “You do realize I have a brother, right? I can keep this up alllll afternoon.”

He gave me a patient smile, as if he too, was familiar with sibling tactics and no amount of pestering or torture would make him spill.

“Do you have something against surprises?”

“Yes! I don’t like secrets. I’d rather have everything up front and out in the open.”

Which was, now that I thought about it, a bizarre thing to say. my whole life was a lie. Everything Talon did, everything they taught us, was to maintain that deception. I was tired of it. Not to say that I wanted the world to know about the existence of dragons; even I knew what would come of that, but it would be nice, sometimes, to be myself. To not have to lie to everyone about everything. I used to be able to do that with Dante, but, it seemed, not anymore.

Garret blinked, and a shadow crossed his face, as if my statement touched something for him, too. But then he pulled off the road, into a crowded parking lot, and I gasped at the sight of the Ferris wheel and huge wooden coaster, looming at the end of a boardwalk.

Garret swung into an open space and killed the engine, grinning at me. “I thought you might like this more than sitting in a theater for three hours,” he said, and there might have been a note of amused triumph in his voice, but I wasn’t paying much attention.

“Of course, we could still go to the movies, if you want. Turn around and head back—”

“Are you insane?” I wrenched open the door and hopped out, turning to glare at him impatiently. “I will personally rip all four tires off your car if you try to leave now, so come on.” He laughed, slid out of the Jeep, and followed me across the parking lot as the screams, music, and intoxicating smell of cotton candy drew me forward like a siren song.

Past the gates, I paused at the edge of the boardwalk just to take it all in. I’d never been to a carnival before, and didn’t want to miss anything. Crowds of people, some with bright stuffed animals tucked under one arm, milled back and forth with no sense of direction. Bells and whistles rang out, things spun, glittered, flashed, and whirled so quickly it was almost overwhelming.

This was going to be awesome.

Garret stepped up beside me, gently brushing my elbow. “Well?”

he asked, bending close to be heard over the crowd. “This is your occasion. Where to first?”

I gave him an evil grin. Oh, that was an easy one. “Come on,” I said, taking his hand. “I know exactly where we’re going. This way.”

“Remember,” I told him, gazing at the top of the coaster as the cars inched slowly up the track, “when we start going, you’re supposed to put both hands in the air and scream. It’s more fun if you scream, at least that’s what Lexi says.”

He gave me a dubious look from his side of the seat, and did not relinquish his Death Grip on the railing. “I’ll take your word for it.”

“Suit yourself.” I smiled as we reached the very top of the vertical plunge and teetered there on the edge. For a moment, I could see the whole park spread out before us, and was reminded almost painfully of flying. “Guess I’ll scream for us both.”

Then the coaster plunged downward, and I did. It was almost better than flying.

Almost.

We rode three more times. The last was at his insistence, and I finally got him to let go of the railing. (Though he still didn’t scream.) After that, we moved on to the swing ride, the Tilt-A-Whirl, and the bumper cars, with Garret effectively blocking everyone who tried to ram their car into mine. I caught a glimpse of his face once, when he side-swiped a car heading right for me—that same fierce excitement I’d seen while he was surfing. A warm glow of pleasure spread through me, even as I barreled full speed into the back of his car. He was having just as much fun as I was.

“Where to now?” he asked a bit later, when we’d ridden nearly all the fast rides and had finally taken a break to eat. The food tent was crowded and noisy, but at least it was shaded, and a cool ocean breeze blew in beyond the edge of the pier. “I think the only ride left is the Ferris wheel and the little kid’s coaster. Did you want to go on either of them?”

Before I could answer, my phone buzzed. Wincing, I dug it out, scowling at the name flashing across the screen. “Dante,” I muttered and, feeling surly and annoyed with him, clicked off the phone. “Not interested right now, big brother. Go away.”

Setting it on a napkin, I looked back at Garret, who seemed to be awaiting orders, or at least a decision. I grinned at him over hamburger wrappings and the demolished remains of a funnel cake. “Ferris wheel definitely. Kiddie coaster, I don’t know. You wouldn’t be embarrassed to be seen riding a giant pink caterpillar with four year olds, would you?”

He shrugged. “I’m game if you are.”

Giggling at the thought of Garret on a giant caterpillar surrounded by toddlers, I stood, pitched our trash into a bin, and turned back to the table, dusting sticky funnel cake powder from my hands.

Suddenly, I got a cold, tingly feeling on the back of my neck, and froze, my stomach turning uneasily. Was I being watched? Where?

By whom? Was Riley somewhere in the crowd, spying on me, having followed us all the way from Crescent Beach? That was a bit creepy, though. It didn’t seem like him. The rogue dragon might be arrogant, defiant, and rebellious, but he didn’t strike me as a stalker.

Who, then, was watching me?

Garret blinked as I came back, still waiting patiently to hear what I wanted to do. If he noticed that I was distracted, he didn’t comment on it.

“Hold that thought, then,” I said, gazing around for a restroom, spotting one behind a hot dog stand. “I’m going to wash my hands.