Page 91 of Cherish

When she finally finishes, she zips back toward Hudson—who’s been watching her with wide eyes and a giant grin on his face—and dives into his waiting hands. But since everyone in the square has been gawking at her, all that attention transfers immediately to Hudson.

It only takes a moment for them to recognize him. And then all hell breaks loose.

50

I’m with the

Vamparazzi

People race toward Hudson from all directions—including the couple whose picnic blanket is now providing Statue Hudson with a modicum of modesty.

“Do we need to get in there and save him?” Eden asks as the crowd descends on Hudson. “Or is this a good thing?”

“They built a giant statue in the middle of their square to honor him,” Heather answers. “I think he’ll be okay.”

“Eventually,” Eden agrees. “After he kisses a bunch of babies and shakes a bunch of hands.”

“Abunchof hands,” Flint echoes, watching the crowd grow and grow and grow.

“So what are we supposed to do in the meantime?” Jaxon comments with a yawn. “Tell me we aren’t going to stand around waiting for him to extricate himself from that mess.”

He sounds just caustic enough to get my back up. “‘That mess,’ as you call it, is a group of very nice people,” I say as I recognize Tinyati and Nyaz and so many of the other people we knew when we were here. “They care about him and just want to say hello.”

Jaxon rolls his eyes. “I’m not saying they can’t say hello, Grace. I’m just saying I don’t want to be here forallof it.”

Fair. “I suppose we can check in to the inn now,” I muse. Though it will take almost all the money Arnst gave us. Then again, we left so abruptly last time that everything we abandoned might be exactly the same. Not for me, obviously, but for Hudson. Things like his bank account, for instance.

I make a mental note to tell him to check it before starting across the street toward the inn. Nyaz is out in the square, gathered around Hudson with all the others, but he’s got an assistant working behind the desk. The name tag attached to her sweater reads Amnonda, and her eyes widen when I approach her.

“You’re the group with Hudson Vega, aren’t you?” she asks.

“We are, yes,” I answer warily. “How do you know that?”

“You mean besides the fact that you’re one of the few paranormal visitors we’ve had through here outside of Starfall in quite a while?” Amnonda says with a shrug.

“Oh wow, I didn’t realize tourist business had declined,” I say, although I suppose it makes sense without the Shadow Queen needing to chase foreigners to Adarie in the hopes that one would bring a time dragon to the former mayor.

“It’s okay. Vegaville is a huge draw among wraiths all over Noromar who want to see where the Hero of Adarie saved the Shadow Realm.” She offers us a huge grin. “Besides, Anill told us to expect you. Nyaz has already set rooms aside for you, and he wanted me to tell Hudson that they’re on the house for tonight.”

“Hero of Adarie,” I repeat and find myself smiling. I like it. “But Nyaz doesn’t have to do that. We’ve got money.” I reach into my pocket and pull out the bills Arnst gave us before we left the farm. “Besides, we really need to speak with Nyaz. Do you know when he’ll be coming back?”

“If you stay another night, you can talk to Nyaz about that,” she says, waving my money away. “But for tonight, his orders are clear. Hudson and his friends stay for free.” I start to protest again, but she holds a hand up to stop me. “It’s the least we can do.”

I nod, letting the matter go.

“And to answer your other question, Nyaz said he’s coming back later tonight to work the late shift,” she says. “I’ll leave him a note that you need to speak with him. For now, please enjoy your rooms.”

“That’s very nice of him,” Flint tells her from behind me.

“Well, we can’t have Hudson staying anywhere else, nor his friends.” Her smile gets wider. “I still can’t believe Hudson is here. He’s really here!”

“He really is!” Jaxon says with fake enthusiasm, and I stamp my foot on his.

Amnonda doesn’t seem to notice—or she’s too excited to care. “I was away at school when Hudson was here before,” she tells us as she pulls the keys for our rooms off the pegboard behind her. “But I’ve heard all the stories.”

I want to ask her what stories she’s talking about. What do Hudson’s days here look like if I’ve been erased from the timeline? Was he still a teacher? How many time dragons did he actually have to kill? How did he eliminate Souil, as he doesn’t have the same kind of powers that I have?

There are so many other questions bouncing around inside me that I want answers to. So many questions about what’s real and what’s not real about his time here—aboutourtime here.

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