Page 155 of Scattered Glitter

Koen and I used to go to parkour classes as teens. Then, things changed, and I stopped going. Years later, when I couldn’t shake the itch for it, I found out they’d stopped offering the classes. So, I started teaching them myself. It started with a couple of kids at first, but now there’s a whole little crew.

And it’s the one thing that keeps me tethered to reality, something even my mother has no clue about. I keep it separate. Pure.

Private.

And yet here I am, inviting her to it.

“Give me your number?” she says, that shy smile again slipping onto her face. “Just in case I get lost finding the place.”

Damn, that smile.

“Of course,” I say, fumbling for my phone, trying not to look as ridiculously pleased as I feel. We exchange numbers, and as I type her name into my contacts, there’s a flutter in my chest. Something feels right about this, even if I don’t entirely understand it yet.

After she saves my number, I watch her slip her phone back into her bag, the thrill of it all still buzzing in my veins.

“See you Wednesday,” she whispers and heads off toward the treadmills, presumably to finish her workout.

Like an idiot, I watch her for a moment longer, but then I force myself to look away, grabbing my water bottle and taking a long drink.

What am I doing?

The question repeats over and over just as it did during our entire encounter. I’ve never lingered around anyone like this or cared if someone noticed me or not.

But Rosie is genuine in a way that makes me want to keep peeling back her layers, figuring out what makes her laugh or why she doesn’t play by the same rules as everyone else in this city.

Maybe that’s what I’m chasing. Something that isn’t for sale dressed up in expectations or tainted with ulterior motives.

Maybe, for once, it’s something,someonejust for me.

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

Alaric

The room is draped in a shadow, the only light coming from the soft glow of the lamp on my nightstand and the occasional glint off the cards as they flicker between my fingers. I riffle the deck, letting the edges slip and align fluidly, then move into a cascade shuffle, letting the cards flow like water from one hand to the other. I finish with a one-handed cut and a bridge flourish, the shuffle a practiced whisper in the dark.

My hands move on autopilot, the cards snapping and folding in ways that used to mesmerize people once upon a time. Now, my only audience is Jinx, who lies curled up on the bed, her eyes half-lidded with boredom.

“All right,” I say, fanning out the deck. “Pick a card.” Jinx blinks lazily at me, her eyes reflecting the dim light as if considering my request. She flicks her tail, the tip brushing against the card on the far right. “That one, huh?” I hold it out to her. “Don’t tell me what it is.”

I slip the card back into the deck, shuffling quickly. After a moment, I pull a card from the middle of the deck and hold it up with a flourish. “Is this your card?”

She barely flicks an ear, giving the card the most unimpressed look I’ve ever seen before closing her eyes altogether. “Oh, come on, at least pretend to be amazed.” I huff out a quiet laugh, slipping the card back. “Tough crowd,” I add, setting the deck aside.

The sharp ping of my phone shatters the stillness, and I glance at the screen. It’s a message from Brat. At least, that’s what I saved her contact as. Now I know she calls herselfGlitter, and that name is a damn joke meant to get under my skin, just like everything else about her.

It’s been two days since she was here, and I haven’t heard from her since, yet she’s still in my head. Her laugh. I only caught the sound while she was outside with Sylus. It’s almost too soft to hear, yet somehow, it echoes in my mind, messing with my thoughts.

It’s maddening.

I see it for what it is.Karma. A haunting echo, twisted up by Glitter and whatever ghost she’s managed to awaken.

My girlfriend’s face flickers in my mind, a reminder of what I lost or how wrong this is. I shouldn’t be thinking about someone else.

Yet here I am, opening our message thread while my heart rate picks up.

Do you know stuff about parkour perhaps?

I tap my fingers against the edge of the phone, feeling the ghost of a smile pull at my lips.

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