“DUDE, DID YOU SEE that Narco’s arms?” Nick asked Jace over the low hum of the levibikes. He pushed his goggles onto the top of his head and stared wide-eyed at Jace. “I think I shat myself a bit.”
Jace kicked his levibike into a higher gear. He shook with laughter in my arms, and I sighed with relief as his tense form melted. Pressing myself closer to him, I rested my cheek against his back. Then I thought better and scooted farther down on the leather seat, making some room between us. The steam engine warmed my calves, and I gripped the brass handles, balancing myself as Jace took a sharp curve.
We bobbed as the levibike hovered over the cobbled roadway. Haven Falls, our protected sanctuary, was built on top of earth magnet. Steam-powered machines floated along the city streets, propelled by an equal amount of opposite magnetic energy built into their frames. I studied the two-story buildings—their windows lit up like twinkling stars—trying to envision what might change as the Narcolym invaded, and also wondering if it would affect my change.
Lana gave an exasperated huff. “Sit farther up.” She slapped Nick’s shoulder before adjusting her seating on the back of his levibike. Nick always drove, leaving Lana stewing from behind. “Not that his arms weren’t something to gawk at, but I’m more concerned about why they were at Cogs.” She looked between the two hover-bikes. “Haven has protection spells keeping Narcos out, not just along the city border, but around buildings, shops…everywhere. Council members are the only ones who can lower them. Why would they take them down all over the city and not just the Council Building?” She slapped Nick again. “You know, where they’re supposed to be meeting?”
“Stop hitting me!” Nick shouted. “I get your point, sheesh.”
My stomach knotted. I didn’t want to think about having to avoid them everywhere. “You have to ask your dad,” I shouted over to her.
Lana nodded. Their father was a member of the Shythe Council. He could give us some answers—that is, if he actually would. The Council was secretive about the details of the Treaty Act, especially when it came to the younger generation. And Mr. Tuner didn’t like to involve his kids in Council business.
I frowned and chewed the inside of my lip. That had been the first time I’d ever come face-to-face with a Narcolym, and I didn’t know what to make of the encounter yet. My mother had done everything in her power, literally, to keep me away from them—moving us to Haven, changing our names. She wouldn’t even tell me what my last name used to be. She’d freak if she found out about tonight.
Nick interrupted my brooding. “I don’t care what the Council’s plans are. It’s our club. We were there first.” He led us around another bend in the street.
Jace’s head shot in Nick’s direction. “What? Are you five?” He returned his gaze to the roadway. “It doesn’t matter. We’ll have our ink soon—then just let them try something.”
Nick laughed. “Hell yeah, that’s what I’m talking about. Full-on turf war.”
Flinging herself back farther on the seat, Lana smacked Nick again. “No. I don’t want you two getting us kicked out of Cogs. I like it there.”
I smiled to myself, thinking what she liked most wasn’t the atmosphere and music, but Devon.
She nodded over to me. “Hey, what’s up?”
I dropped the smirk. “Nothing,” I said. Then my thoughts trailed to what I’d been thinking before. “Just…” I rubbed my palms over my breeches, wiping away the sweat. “Just don’t say anything to my mom. She’d wig.”
Lana understood completely about my mom’s overprotectiveness. She waggled her finger, pointing between Jace and Nick. “Not a word to Sylvia, got it? I don’t want my best friend grounded for the rest of her life because you two idiots can’t keep quiet.”
I noticed Jace eyeing me in the side mirror of the steering bar. I met and held his gaze. “Dez, it’s cool. She won’t find out,” he shouted over the engine’s drone.
As we hovered up to their townhouse, I smacked my forehead. “Crap.”
Jace craned his neck. “What? Did you forget something?”
“No—yes.” I shook my head. “I forgot to tell you that I wasn’t staying the night. My mom wants me home for some reason.”
Lana pursed her lips and swung a leg over the seat, bouncing off the bike. “Want me to stay at your house?”
“No. Whatever it is this time, I better face her wrath on my own.” I pulled my lips into a half-smile. “Thanks, though.”
Jace peddled his feet backward, inching us down the drive. “I don’t mind another ride.”
I waved to Lana. “I’ll catch you tomorrow, okay?”
She rubbed the back of her
neck, then batted the hanging gas lantern on her porch. “Yup. Tomorrow.”
Jace and I rode in silence, my thoughts louder than the vibrating of the engine. My mind reeled over the confrontation with the Narcos at the club. So when he spoke, I jerked.
“Hey,” he said. “Sorry about…well, you know.”
In the midst of being felt up by Reese and the potential fight, I’d forgotten about Jace marking my neck. “Oh, yeah? You actually feel bad about that?” I laughed.
I couldn’t see his expression, but he sounded embarrassed. Jace wasn’t bashful. Rude, quiet, and broody sometimes, but never bashful. I urged my smile away. “Don’t worry, I’ll get even. I’ll plant a mark on your neck so big, Nick will never let you live it down.” My face heated and I bit my lip, wishing I could take it back.