Chapter 18

18

E ven though I was scared to death, nothing terrible happened. The lines weren't all that challenging to memorize with Rory's help and he quietly read me Sheila's email, since my text-to-voice app would be too obvious and take too long. He even showed me where to sign off. I'd be getting a hefty bonus for this work, so I couldn't complain, though Rory didn't go into all the details. But his impressed whistle said it all. Oh, and I'd continue playing Ryo as well. No pressure.

Ali and Poppy had both grinned ear-to-ear when I'd stepped on set in my new getup.

"Look at you, pop tart. Not so tarted up now."

"Ha, funny." I flipped him off.

"I hope this means you'll be Hyde's replacement." Poppy looked me up and down. "You wear it better."

"Agreed," Ali added. "I'm assuming you mean his humanity, though he also wears Eimeret's costume better."

"I'm just filling in." I did a silly bow to acknowledge their compliments.

Kade still didn't look my way, pretending to fuss with Fio's saddle. What was that about?

I decided to grab the bull by the horns, or wolf by the tail—whatever—and stalked his way. Jabril cut me off, grabbed my elbow, and steered me in the opposite direction.

"Forgot to mention one thing, Summers. I need you and Savage to stay away from each other when not on set, got it? I like publicity as much as the next guy, but until we know what's going on with Hatcher, we want to keep things strictly professional. You understand?"

My stomach sank. Oh. Yeah, I understood.

"We've wasted most of a day," Jabril called to the crew. "Let's get rolling!"

Three days later, Rory and I bumped along in the back of an ATV on a service road up the mountain. Anything to avoid the chair lift. We'd insisted on riding with some of the crew, even though it meant we had to leave for the set a lot earlier than everyone else.

Worth it. Never getting on a ski lift again.

"I'm so tired." I rubbed my eyes, probably fucking up my makeup. Just couldn't care. Playing two roles meant long hours each day. When others took breaks, I usually had to keep working.

Rory grunted, double fisting to-go cups of coffee, and managing not to spill a drop even over the uneven terrain.

I shouldn't complain because while I only had to learn my lines each evening, he was helping me and doing his own. We couldn't keep this up long term, and Hyde had once again called in sick. Asshole.

This morning I wore Ryo's costume, with my robe again providing some needed warmth. This afternoon, I'd become Eimeret. Kade and Poppy were sitting this one out, while Alistair would join me for our scene. Rory was filming some sort of promotional spot, so we wouldn't be together until later today.

I'd barely seen Kade. He'd given up coming to breakfast or dinners with us, and every time I saw him, he looked a little more tense. Money troubles? Or Hyde? I wasn't the only one to notice his mood, though he never raised his voice at anyone and remained unfailingly polite. He and Jabril were often seen with their heads together and I couldn't tell whether they were arguing or agreeing.

As silly as it sounded, I missed him. Since we'd been forbidden to hang out, an ache had taken up residence in my chest. I didn't mention it to anyone, because it sounded so ridiculous. It was like I was going through withdrawal. Each night I dreamed of him, and each morning I woke up hard as stone. I'd become obsessed with his comment about riding him the way I rode a horse. That daydream crept in at the most inconvenient moments.

When we arrived on set, Rory took off with a set assistant, and I waited for Alistair to arrive. Jabril was already prowling around, discussing the specific camera angles he wanted for this scene. I tuned him out and moved under the canopy and took a seat.

I'd almost dozed off when Ali joined me.

"Morning, snicker doodle." He plopped down beside me in a director's chair. "Hear we're riding today."

That perked me up. I'd been doing so much as Eimeret the last three days that I hadn't had any scenes with Bruce, and I missed him. I liked Eimeret's mount just fine, but he hadn't galloped away with my heart the way Bruce had. And other than me, Ali was the most proficient rider of the group. You'd think horses would have issues with a bloodsucker on their back, but none of the horses seemed even slightly fazed. Go figure.

"Morning, Ali." We sat in companionable silence for a bit. I hadn't forgotten I needed to quiz him about the coin.

When some of the other crew cleared out, I found my opening. "Remember that coin I had when I was learning archery?"

"The magic one?"

"Do you really think it's magic? Or are you fucking with me?"

"Why do you ask?" He raised an eyebrow, which looked downright evil in his costume.

So I explained all the bizarre occurrences to him in a hushed and hurried telling.

"You and Rory almost fell off the ski lift." His voice had gone low and angry, and his fangs descended. "Rory could have died ."

"But he didn't. And that's your takeaway from the story?" I huffed. "What about the coin? What do you think?"

"I think it's obvious you have a magic coin."

"I can't tell whether you're being serious."

"Why wouldn't I be serious?" Now he sounded aggrieved.

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe because you put vodka in my water bottle. Or the time you switched out Kade's snack for a dog bone. Or when you—"

He waved me away. "Point taken. But, muffin, a prank is only a prank when everyone laughs. You don't sound like you're laughing about the coin."

"How can it be magic?" I wiggled my fingers.

He shrugged. "When you've been around as long as I have, you see a lot of unexplained phenomena. Plus, it just feels . . . not of this world. I'm not sure how else to explain it."

"Like good magic or bad magic?"

"Does it have to be one or the other? Seems more like a bellwether."

Our names were called over a bullhorn. We were needed on set.

I reached into my bathrobe pocket and pulled the coin out. "Except it won't leave me alone. I purposely left it on my dresser this morning as a test."

"Then maybe it's trying to guide you. Have you considered listening?"

I pinched the bridge of my nose. "It doesn't talk. How am I supposed to listen?"

He patted my shoulder and stood. "That's for you to figure out."

Well, freaking great.

Riding Bruce again was a joy. He'd been so excited to see me and once I sat astride, all my problems melted away. We'd just finished some warm-up drills and gone over the blocking of the scene when a production assistant rushed up to me.

"Mr. Summers, Mr. Jabril has some script changes. He said to take 15." She handed me a fistful of paper and scurried away.

Oh, fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck.

Bruce shifted uneasily beneath me, probably sensing my imminent meltdown. I gave him a pat and tried to calm down. Panic wouldn't help. I glanced around, but Rory was nowhere in sight. No way I could fake my way through this without him. I forced myself to look at the pages, and as usual, the text meant nothing to me. Might as well have been hieroglyphics. Hell, those I might have understood.

Ali pulled his mount up beside me. "Let me see those."

"Oh, I was just studying—"

"I know what you were doing. I've watched you and Rory do your speak-repeat routine enough over the last few days. Give me the pages."

I gaped. Then did as he asked. He flipped through the material, nodding as he read.

"Only a few genuine changes." He read one of the new lines.

When I didn't say anything, he repeated the line. This time I echoed him. He worked through the dialogue with me until I was pretty sure I could pull it off.

"That should do it." He winked and began to move his horse toward where we'd be shooting.

"How did you know?" Did everyone know? Were they making fun of me behind my back?

He pulled on the reins, waited until Bruce came up next to him again. "Precious, I've been around since the earliest days of cinema. Do you think all the silent film era actors could read? Many couldn't. Didn't need to. And don't even get me started on the stage actors of yore."

"That was a different time."

"Granted, but so what? You're good. You work hard and don't make waves. And that face. Ugh, I'd make so much money with that face."

I snorted. "Shut up. You're gorgeous and you know it."

"True. But if you need help learning your lines, I'm in. Rory and I can trade off evenings. Or we can all do it together. Maybe do a group reading. We could include Poppy. She wouldn't judge, though it's up to you." He nudged his horse forward with his knees.

I stared after him.

I'd been ashamed of my inability to read for as long as I could remember. I'd been bullied mercilessly through school, called a dumb blond and lots of other less flattering names. Yet Alistair hadn't even blinked when he'd found out. Nor had he made fun of me, even though he snarked about everything. Warmth settled in my chest. Since I'd already shed my robe, I pulled the coin from my boot. I flipped it high in the air. It landed in my palm.

Dragon.

Yeah, that's what I thought. Maybe I was learning to listen.