Beautiful Creatures (Caster Chronicles 1)

The Claiming Moon, the hour nears,

In these pages Darkness clears,

Powers Bind what fire sears…

Then the electric guitar slowed, and I heard a new verse, the end of the song. Finally, something had an ending. I tried to put the earth and fire and water and wind dreams out of my head as I listened.

Sixteenth Moon, Sixteenth Year,

Now has come the day you fear,

Claim or be Claimed,

Shed blood, shed tear,

Moon or Sun—destroy, revere.

The guitar died out, and now we were standing in silence.

“What do you think—”

She put her hand on my lips. She couldn’t bear to talk about it. She was as raw as I had ever seen her. A cold breeze was blowing past her, surrounding her, and exhaling out through the open door behind me. I didn’t know if her cheeks were red from the cold or from her tears, and I didn’t ask. We fell onto her bed and curled into one ball, until it would have been hard to sort out whose limbs were whose. We weren’t kissing, but it was like we were. We were closer than I’d ever realized two people could be.

I guess this was what it felt like to love someone, and feel like you had lost them. Even when you were still holding them in your arms.

Lena was shivering. I could feel every rib, every bone in her body, and her movements seemed involuntary. I untangled my arm from around her neck and twisted so I could grab the pieced quilt from the foot of her bed and pull it up over us. She burrowed into my chest and I pulled the quilt higher. Now it was over our heads, and we were in a dark little cave together, the two of us.

The cave became warm with our breath. I kissed her cold mouth and she kissed me back. The current between us intensified and she nuzzled her way into the hollow of my neck.

Do you think we can stay like this forever, Ethan?

We can do whatever you want. It’s your birthday.

I felt her stiffen in my arms.

Don’t remind me.

But I brought you a present.

She held up the cover, to let just a crack of light in. “You did? I told you not to.”

“Since when did I ever listen to anything you say? Besides, Link says if a girl says not to get her a birthday present that means get me a birthday present and make sure it’s jewelry.”

“That’s not true of all girls.”

“Okay. Forget it.”

She let the quilt drop, then snuggled back into my arms.

Is it?

What?

Jewelry.

I thought you didn’t want a present?

Just curious.