Page 20 of Her Wicked Knights (Their Hallowed Queen #3)

Marley

"Marley Lavigne!"

I've just heard my name and haven't even had a chance to place the voice before arms close around my neck and someone's weight is on my back.

The tart scent of cranberry juice and vodka clues me in two seconds before I turn and Lacey Perkins plants a kiss on my cheek. "I haven't seen you in forever!"

I like Lacey, but we've never been terribly close, so I'm a little surprised by her sudden affection.

I assume it has everything to do with the vodka, which seems to be primarily what she's drinking.

The cup in her hand is clear, so I see the tinge of red that I suppose is cranberry juice.

"Lacey." I laugh, accepting the hug she's giving me, partly because I think I'm all that's holding her up right now.

"I haven't seen you in so long. How have you been? "

"Terrible." She laughs. "I'm at that boarding school now. It's very elite, very creepy, very much not Serenity Hollow."

"Boarding school?" I guess that explains why I haven't seen her in a while.

"Mm. My aunt's like, got a boyfriend who teaches there, and he got it in her head that it's where everybody who's anybody is going." She rolls her eyes. "Anyway, how have you been? Are you still single or did you and Colton finally get over yourselves and fuck?"

"What?" I can't help but laugh. It's so left field; Colton is the last person who would ever be interested in me.

We're friends, but I don't even know why.

It's not like we have a lot in common, unlike with Tripp.

I'd say it's out of habit, but that's doing him a massive disservice.

Colton and I just... fit. It's never been awkward with him, and the silence is as comfortable as our debates over everything we don't agree on.

He's never shown any interest in anyone, honestly.

.. which is why him dating my best friend came as such a surprise.

And speaking of my best friend, where is Audrey?

I scan the crowded kitchen, looking for any sign of my friend. She tends to be hard to miss with that bright red hair, and yet I don't see her.

"Oh, come on." Lacey laughs. "Fuck off with your denial! You'd have to be blind to not see that he's into you... in that broody way of his."

"I think you drank too much." I tell her, taking the cup from her hand and sniffing it to see if my suspicions about it being mostly liquor are correct.

"Oh yeah," she rolls her green eyes, "go ahead and deflect. Nice."

That gets a laugh from me. "I am dating someone." I tell her conspiratorially.

"Not Colton?"

"Nope."

She gasps, her eyes lighting up with excitement. "Tripp?"

"What?" I help myself to her drink, tipping it against my lips and taking a large swig... and promptly coughing when the alcohol burns the back of my throat.

"Fuck." I choke, wiping the tears from my eyes at the sudden sting. "That's like pure alcohol."

"I have to get it in when I can," she shrugs. "Go back to the whole 'I'm dating someone' thing. Who is it?"

"Jake North."

I watch disappointment flash across her face, but I don't get a chance to ask about it because the crowd outside the kitchen doors erupt into cheers, drawing our attention to where Jake is standing with a fist raised in triumph.

The entire front of his plaid shirt is soaked with the water that still drips from a shiny red apple clutched between his teeth.

lacey tips her head toward him, indicating for me to accompany her out onto the beach, where some weird sort of game has been set up in the sand.

Audrey rushes to Jake and leans in, her mouth open as she sinks her teeth into the other side of the apple.

They stay there like that for a moment, awkwardly conjoined by the apple between them, until Jake breaks free and the transfer is completed.

Audrey runs past the three other teams in varying stages of completion and spits the apple into an empty bucket right in front of me.

An air horn sounds as the apple rolls in with a thud, and Audrey screams in excitement as the crowd of onlookers cheer. Jake throws an arm around her. "Finally putting that mouth to good use, Graves! About time!"

"Funny!" Audrey snaps, rolling her eyes as she pushes out from under his chest. "Who wants next?"

"What do you say, babe?" Jake asks me. "Wanna give it a go?"

I'm opening my mouth to tell him I'll pass on whatever weird sort of apple bobbing relay this is, but I don't get a word off my tongue before Audrey's laugh cuts me off.

"As if!" She rolls her eyes to me. "Oh, come on, I love you, Mars, but you never want to do anything fun. Don't tell me you want to do this?"

I didn't, of course. But something about the way she said that makes me feel like I want to prove a point. And I really want to beat her ass at this game.

"I'm in." I say, looking up at McKenzie Winchester, who's standing with a pen poised over an open notebook, recording the outcomes.

"It's a bracketed tournament. Jake and Audrey won, so they take on the next challenger..." Her voice is apologetic as I realize what she's saying. I don't have a partner.

"I'm in, too."

I glance up to see Rev just before me, grinning. He's dressed like a nun tonight, complete with a habit on his head that only serves to draw attention to his face. To be fair, it's a gorgeous face.

"You want to be my partner?" I clarify, glancing at McKenzie to see if that's allowed. She only shrugs, so Rev chucks off the habit and steps out of the black robe, draping it over an abandoned chair.

"Fine." Audrey shrugs, but her voice seems suddenly high pitched. "Prepare to be obliterated. I'm good with my mouth."

"If you use your teeth the way you do bobbing for apples, it explains why I've never heard anyone else say that."

Indignant surprise flashes across Audrey's face, but Rev only smirks at me when she turns her attention to the tub of water before her.

"Let's destroy them, okay?"

"Please." I agree, watching as Rev lines up at Jake's side, bent over the tub of water.

There's only one apple floating on the surface of the water, which means we need to be precise and fast.

"Ready?" McKenzie asks, though it's more of a rhetorical question, a warning. She begins counting down from three, and I brace myself to move quick, my heart hammering in my chest like this is a life or death situation and not just a game at a Halloween party. "Go!"

I watch the back of Rev's dark head as he dips down toward the bucket and moves, zeroing in on the apple.

He makes quick work of snaring it, and I hear screams erupt around us as he straightens up with the apple clenched between his bright white teeth.

Water clings to his sooty lashes and drips from the tips of his hair, and adrenaline floods me as I prepare to take the apple from him.

I have to cock my head to the side, but somehow, we work together on the first try. It's effortless and instinctual as we maneuver ourselves just right to be able to pass it off.

Sinking my teeth into the apple, I glance at Rev, our faces ridiculously close, to let him know I've got it, that he can let go.

All of the screaming and cheering in the background has faded out as I focus on the task, making sure that I'm not the one who fucks this up for us. I'm not paying attention to where Audrey and Jake are, but I haven't heard the foghorn so it's not over yet.

My stomach flutters as we make eye contact, and then I feel the slightest release of pressure and Rev takes a quick step back, raising his hands to show me I can go. So, I do.

I fucking run, with the apple in my mouth like a pig that narrowly escaped the luau. Everyone around me blurs as I push myself toward the finish line where I stood a few moments before. I've just spit the apple into the empty bin when the airhorn sounds. No sooner than it does, Rev is upon me.

"Fuck yes!" He cheers, lifting me off my feet. I don't even get a chance to say anything before I'm screeching when he spins me in a circle before dropping me back on my feet, where I stare at him, breathless, trying to contain my excitement, and a little dizzy. "You crushed her, Mars!"

I shouldn't feel as excited as I do. We won a relay race, not the lottery, but the victory is amazing all the same. And it was fun. I want to go again, honestly.

"We make a good team." I tell him proudly.

Rev's eyes darken. It's an almost imperceptible shift, like maybe the moon just passed behind a cloud.

"We could be great."

Audrey's shrill voice catches my attention before I can come up with anything to say back, and I look over in time to see her chuck an apple right at jake's chest. It hits him with a thud before making impact between his legs. He groans, doubling over, as Audrey storms off.

"Oh my god! Jake!" I rush to his side as he hits the sand in the fetal position.