The Burning Shadow (Origin 2)

“No way!” I let him pull my hand from my hair.

“Hand to God, I’m telling you the truth, my sexy little Big Bird.”

“For the third time, I’m not dressed up as Big Bird!” I exclaimed, pointing at my yellow tights that I’d paired with a pair of jean overall shorts and a long-sleeve yellow shirt with my other hand. The yellow beanie and the pair of ski goggles I’d found at a thrift shop completed the costume. “I’m a minion.”

“You’re a sexy minion.”

“Whatever.” I grinned. His costume consisted of a black shirt that read in white lettering I DON’T NEED A COSTUME. PEOPLE WANT TO BE ME.

God, that was such a Luc shirt.

He was quiet for a moment, and the teasing eased from his tone as a distant look crept into his face. “The first Halloween, you dressed up as Princess Leia, and I went as Han Solo.”

I snorted. “For real?”

“Yep. Except you demanded to have a light saber.”

My gaze dropped to where he held my hand, his fingers threaded through mine. It seemed so effortless, the whole holding-of-hands thing, so why was I so hyperaware of it? I cleared my throat. “Leia should’ve been a trained Jedi. Fight me.”

“That’s not a fight I will win.” His thumb moved over my palm. “The second year, you went as a princess, but somehow, you got your hands on a pair of nunchucks, and you became a ninja princess. I still have no idea where you found a pair of nunchucks.”

I really wished I could remember how I’d gotten my hands on them, because that sounded really bizarre. “And you?”

“I went as a ghost. Sheet and all.”

“Creative.”

He snorted. “One year we went as outlaws. I was Jesse James, and you were Belle Star.”

“Belle Star?”

“She was a famous outlaw believed to have hung out with Jesse James,” he explained, and now that I knew we’d been dressed as outlaws, I thought that sounded adorable. “Neither of us really knew who they were. It was Clyde’s idea. You … were sick one year and couldn’t go.” His voice grew quiet. “You’d been so excited to go. Halloween and Christmas were your favorite holidays, but you were just too sick.” There was a pause. “That was before we knew what was wrong with you. Paris thought it was the flu.”

I tensed as I watched him close his eyes. It hadn’t been the flu.

“You cried and cried because he wouldn’t let you go. It … got to me.” He rubbed at the center of his chest with the heel of his hand. “Anyway, I went out for you, determined to bring back more candy than you’d ever seen.”

My heart stuttered in my chest as I lifted my gaze to his. Immediately, the image formed of a little boy with messy bronze hair and mischievous purple eyes, going out to get Halloween candy like a soldier going through his drills. Was that another rare memory or just my imagination? I decided it didn’t matter, because I liked the image enough to file it away.

“And did you?” I asked, thinking I already knew the answer.

His gaze met mine. “Of course I did. You had a thing for Mounds bars. I got you enough to last half a year.”

“Really?” I smiled. “I love Mounds, and I know no one else who likes them. Zoe nearly vomits in her mouth when I eat them in front of her.”

“Because they’re disgusting?”

I rolled my eyes. “They’re not disgusting. They’re delicious heaven made of coconut and chocolate.”

“Your taste in candy is about as bad as your taste in movies.” He was close again, his mouth inches from mine.

My heart rate kicked up. “And what about before? Was I a fan of James Bond?”

“Yes and no. You thought James Bond should’ve been Janet Bond.”

I laughed, but it quickly faded. “Sounds like Nadia was ahead of her time.”

“You were ahead of your time,” he corrected softly.

The next breath I took hitched in my throat, and I didn’t know what to say. It was weird. I was like a volleyball, bouncing back and forth from accepting that I was Nadia, that she was me, and then feeling like she was a completely different person.

All I did know was that I didn’t feel like her right now.

“Nice costume,” Kent remarked as he dropped into one of the chairs next to the couch. He was definitely in costume, wearing striped black-and-white tights and some kind of ruffled shorts that were secured just above the knees with an elastic band. His white shirt had puffy sleeves and large buttons up the center. There were large teardrops painted under his eyes.

“She’s Big Bird,” Luc offered.

I was going to punch Luc. “I’m a minion.”

“And you’re adorable, honeybuns.” Kent kicked his feet onto the small glass table.

“What are you dressed as?”

“You don’t know?” He sent me a boyish grin that hinted at dimples. “I’ll give you a hint.”