Page 61 of Endless Anger (Monsters Within #1)

LUCY

We don’t.

Get drunk, that is.

After we arrive at the quarry, I immediately introduce him to Eli and Willa, who recognize him from an EP he released a couple of years ago. He gets excited instantly, snapping back into his regular self like nothing was ever amiss in the first place.

We get beers from one of the people passing them out at the keg, although I make it clear to Foxe that he should not be going overboard.

I don’t want to baby him, but I also don’t want to drag home his goofy, drunk ass later.

Asher would come do it for me, no questions asked, but I don’t want to see the look on his face when he learns I went to this party or that I made Foxe join.

Not that he explicitly asked me not to come. When I brought it up, Asher just said he wouldn’t be able to go and he’d be more comfortable if I didn’t because he doesn’t trust Beckett.

Well, neither do I. But I know Beckett knows things, and I want the answers. If I wait around for Asher to find them out, I’ll be pushing fifty before anything comes to light .

The air does feel extra cool out here tonight though. I can’t tell if it’s all due to the weather or if the terrain is throwing in a biting chill.

I’m sure it isn’t the ghosts, since they don’t exist.

A breeze sweeps through the crowd, and I cross my arms against it.

Officially anyway.

I find Yuri near a row of kegs, nursing a beer. She’s got a scarf wrapped around her neck, her black hair tucked into the thick white fabric, and she lights up when she spots me. A girl I recognize from Professor Dupont’s class sits next to her, gripping the neck of a vodka bottle.

“Lucy!” Jumping up, Yuri wraps her arms around me, some of her beer sloshing onto my shoulder.

“Aurora’s not here. Had some last-minute fashion emergency and had to go to the mall in Concord.

Although she thought you’d be hanging out with your new boyfriend .

We didn’t think you’d make it.” She wiggles her thin, dark brows, poking my side.

“He had other things to do,” I reply, my eyes widening. “And he’s not my boyfriend.”

Truthfully, we haven’t really talked about what we are , and I don’t want to be the needy one who brings it up, even though I desperately crave the label.

Having things neatly blocked off makes my brain feel more relaxed, and whatever I have going on with Asher makes my heart happy but is also fucking with me mentally.

I suppose it’s that fear too. That he isn’t really helping his sister do anything tonight and has just taken off without me.

I’m trying to trust him, but old habits die hard, I guess.

“Ooh, scandalous.” Yuri grins, moving to sit back beside her companion. “Friends with bennies then? One-night stand?” She turns to the other girl. “Got any advice for her, Sara-Sofia?”

The girl runs her fingers through thick, luscious brown locks. “Please, like I need Curators reporting back to my very Catholic, Colombian parents that I’m sleeping around instead of focusing on my schoolwork. No thank you.”

“You could do both,” I suggest .

She gives me a wry smile. “Nah, too much work for me. I figure I’ll get my astronomy degree and let them marry me off one day. Easier for all of us.”

Cocking my head to the side, I try to place her in my mind but can’t. “You really don’t care about who they pair you with?”

“They love me, so I know they’d choose a good guy. Honestly, as long as he’s not a Curator, I think I’d be set.” Sara-Sofia shrugs. “Those guys are weird . Always speaking in Latin and talking about performing rituals to honor their ancestors. Like, this is New Hampshire . Get a grip.”

“ Death to Curators !” Yuri chants, thrusting her Solo cup in the air. I guess she’s already tipsy. Exhaling, she drops her arm and nods, leaning into Sara-Sofia. “They’re the worst . Can you believe they let that Tag kid drink himself to death? And he was so cute too.”

“No need to worry, ladies.” Foxe props his elbow on my head. “Plenty of cuteness to go around.”

Sara-Sofia snorts, going back to her phone in her lap and the vodka in her hand.

Yuri sizes Foxe up, pursing her lips. Then she looks at me. “I don’t see it.”

“See what?”

She points a finger between us. “This pair. You guys don’t have matching vibes. He’s sunshine, and you’re maybe a new moon.”

“I’m so glad you made it out of your funk,” I mutter, shoving Foxe away.

“Our moms are cousins,” Foxe offers even though no one asked. He slings his hands into his jeans pockets, rocking back on his heels. “So we’re just friends.”

“And barely that.” Grabbing him by the sleeve of his jacket, I drag him away, waving at the two girls over my shoulder. Once we’re out of earshot, I push at his chest, sending him stumbling a bit.

He catches himself before tripping over a pile of loose rocks, offense coloring his face. “What the hell was that for?”

“Did you come to this party just to make things awkward with my friends? ”

“Well, it would’ve been more awkward for you if she went on to assume we were dating. Unless…”

He pauses, narrowing his hazel eyes as he leans in, as if inspecting a new vehicle.

“Oh! You want them to think that, don’t you? I mean, I’m sure my street cred won’t weigh as heavily around here as Asher’s, but I get it. We can pretend if you want?—”

Lifting my leg, I move to knee him in the balls; at the last second, he blocks the blow with his shin, howling with laughter as he ducks away from my reach.

“Holy shit,” he says, flipping his dark hair from his forehead. “Wait till I tell Asher that you just tried to assault me. He’ll be so fucking excited to know he’s really rubbing off on you.”

Gritting my teeth, I glance back at Willa and Eli, standing around a small bonfire where we left them. “What happened back there, by the way? My friends weren’t good enough for you to keep company?”

“Friends, huh?” He whistles low, looking at them over his shoulder.

I don’t know why, but him questioning that makes heat score across my face, shame billowing inside me. Is it wrong of me to consider them friends?

“They’re all right, I guess. The chick is a little obsessive though, and that Eli dude barely said three words to me the whole time. Besides, I came here to hang out with you , Lulu. Aren’t you supposed to be scheming or something? Let me help!”

“It’s not scheming. I’m just trying to collect some information from some potentially shady characters.”

He straightens his spine, cracking his knuckles one by one. “All the more reason for me to come along. You’ll need muscle.”

“Have you ever won a fight against Asher?”

“Well, that’s not really a fair judgment. I’m not supposed to hit him back.” Reaching up, he strokes his chin, as if just realizing that the rules they made up when they were kids don’t particularly benefit him. “But that’s beside the point anyway. I can still hold my own without touching him?— ”

“ Lucy! ” Willa bounces over to where we’re standing, a bottle of beer in her hand. “Some people have suggested taking the party elsewhere. Will you go with us?”

My eyebrows draw in, wondering why they’re wanting to move things. One of the multiple bonfires erupts into a sudden fireball, rolling across the rock path, igniting on loose twigs and leaves. It hasn’t rained in a few days, so everything is extremely dry, creating a definite hazard.

The ecology major in me wants to stay and monitor the situation, even as a few kids start tossing bottles of alcohol into the raging fire rather than trying to stomp it out.

Idiots. You’d think the incident at Lethe’s would have taught them how quickly a fire can spread and become potentially deadly, but no. Lessons from the living aren’t good enough for Avernia students.

Maybe this place is cursed.

Groaning, I turn and see Beckett scurrying along the edge of the quarry, huddled between two tall figures with their hoods pulled low on their heads. They move in the direction of the mountains, and a trail of others follow.

I relent to Willa, and she hooks her arm in mine, pulling me along so we can catch up with Eli at the back of the follow party. At least Asher can’t say I have no sense of self-preservation now.

Foxe hovers close behind me, his hands shoved in his pockets. “New Hampshire is fucking freezing at night.”

Eli looks over his shoulder, then reaches into his own coat, pulling out mini bottles of tequila. Willa squeals, launching herself at one, and Eli passes the other two to us, lifting his in a cheers gesture. We all clink, drinking quickly as we quietly continue trailing behind the Curators.

After I’ve downed my shot, Eli hands me another, and I take it for liquid courage. The back of Beckett’s head is plainly visible from where I’m standing, so I tell Foxe and the other two that I’ll be right back.

Foxe stumbles a step, but Willa steadies him, beaming up at his tall frame. “Someone can’t hold their liquor. What would your fans think, rock star? ”

He doesn’t say anything, but as I push myself ahead and start weaving through the crowd, I can feel his gaze on me. Watching, taking his role as guard dog very seriously.

My shoulder brushes Beckett’s as I reach him, and the small party starts to disperse in a clearing near one of the blocked-off cave openings.

Tenarus, I think this one is called. Or Tartarus, maybe.

They’re so sparsely visited that it’s hard to remember, especially when the Primordial Forest is so vast anyway.

Music blares from a large portable speaker set up at one end of the clearing, and things seem to pick back up here, albeit in a much calmer manner than with the main party.

If all Curator functions were as low-key as this, maybe they wouldn’t be so bad.

Unless Beckett was in attendance. His presence sours everything, which is proved when he turns to me with a suspicious glint in his eyes, baring his teeth so they’re highlighted in the moonlight.

“What the fuck are you doing here?” he demands, grabbing my elbow and yanking me off to the side. “I don’t believe you were invited.”