Page 17 of Dark Night Golden Dawn
“Later, McKay,” Harlow murmured as they walked away.
She wasn’t sure what to make of the conversation, but she understood one thing: whatever they’d seen and heard, Finn didn’t want Petra, or anyone else, to know about it. This was curious.
There was a bench a few steps away from Finn’s tree and she sank into it, hoping to wait out the rest of the party here in peace. She wasn’t to be so lucky. One of the Trickster’s Chosen approached her. Their facial structure reminded her a bit of Merhart Lear, and like Merhart they wore their long hair in locs, pulled into an elegant bun at the back of their head.
Harlow couldn’t help but think Enzo would be impressed with their outfit, as they were wearing a midnight blue satin flight suit, with a pattern of golden swallows and clouds embroidered onto it. The collar was flipped up and the suit was unbuttoned halfway down their muscled chest.
When they smiled at Harlow, offering her a glass of iced tea, she felt an empathic connection snap between them. “You’re a chameleon,” she breathed, amazed to be meeting such a rare shifter by coincidence. Most of the Order of Masks had one animal form they could shift into at will, but chameleons could change intoanythingliving, even other people, and they were notoriously empathic.
They grinned, dimples pressing into the cool-toned, dark skin of their face. “I’m Riley Quinn,” they answered. “And it’s good to finally meet you.”
“Finally?” she asked, accepting the iced tea gratefully, noticing that Riley sipped a glass of their own.
“I’m a friend of Kate Spencer’s. She says hi by the way.”
Harlow nodded, blushing slightly. It was nice that Kate still talked about her. That explained the iced tea. Most people outside her family didn’t know she didn’t drink much anymore, but Kate knew, as they’d kept in touch sporadically over the years. “Do you want to sit?”
Riley grinned again. “Thanks, you’re the only person I know here, except Alaric and Finn, and they’re both busy.”
Harlow laughed. “And you don’t really even know me.”
Riley bumped her shoulder with theirs. “I do though. Katie talks about you a lot.”
“Katie?” She’d never heard anyone refer to Katerina Spencer that way before. She was too enigmatic, too epic for diminutives, in Harlow’s opinion.
Riley laughed again. It was a nice sound. “I think I bring out her softer side. She deserved a nickname.”
“That’s something I’d like to see,” Harlow said. Kate was notoriously wild and brash, Harlow’s complete opposite. Their short affair had led her to believe they’d probably be better off as friends than lovers, but that hadn’t dulled Kate’s allure. “Well, if she’s been talking about me lately, I’m nervous to know what you must think of me.”
Riley’s perfectly groomed eyebrows raised incredulously. “What do you mean? Katie thinks the world of you. I’ve never heard her say a bad word about you.”
Something about that made tears well up in Harlow’s eyes. She knew it wouldn’t be the same if Riley knew Mark, and knowing that Kate spoke well of her touched her deeply. Maybe Enzo was right, she wasn’t the asshole-magnet she thought she was.
“Well,” she said, her voice rough with emotion. “I don’t have a bad word to say about her either.”
“I get it,” Riley said. “Your relationship was complicated. The way it ended was complicated.”
“True,” Harlow said, resisting the urge to say more. Chameleons were tricky; their empathy made it all too comfortable to say things you’d never say to anyone else. They’d just met and they were already talking about exes. She couldn’t help but be suspicious.
“Why have I never met you before?” she asked. “I’m sure I’d have heard of someone as obviously stylish as you.”
Riley’s laugh was drier now. “You’re smart to be cautious, Harlow. I already liked you from what I’d heard about you. Now I like you more.”
She noticed they didn’t answer her question, but she didn’t press it. Something about Riley Quinn was too intriguing to pass up. She didn’t want to ruin the organic feel of their conversation. “Well I haven’t heard anything about you and I like you too. Are you, by any chance, interested in meeting a renowned fashion historian and famous designer?”
“Pleasetell me you’re talking about Enzo Weraka, becauseyes, yes I am. Finn said he’d introduce me, but I know Enzo’s really your friend, and I admire his work so much. Did you read his article in Couture Review last autumn about aethereal iconography in pre-Illuminated fabrics and pottery? It was fascinating.”
It was Harlow’s turn to grin, though she noted that Riley mentioned Finn. She tucked that away for later, focusing on the realization that the magnificent shifter before her was obviously interested in her best friend for all the right reasons. She loved it when people saw the same genius she did in Enzo. “I think I see him at the bar. Come with me.”
When she introduced them, she hardly heard the pleasantries they exchanged. The sparks flying between them were so obvious. She waited for a polite amount of time before asking, “Where’s Thea?”
Enzo looked around. “Dancing, I thought. But I don’t see her.”
Harlow took a small step out of Riley and Enzo’s cloud of flirtation to shoot her sister a text.Where are you? I’m ready to head home.
One flashed back immediately.Ran into a friend from uni. Probably going to have a long talk at a coffee shop. Catch up tomorrow?
Sure thing, she responded, then interrupted Riley and Enzo. “I’m going to take off.”
