When Cate stood, everyone seemed to lean back. She walked to Eamon, clasped his face with both hands and pulled his forehead to hers. “You are a goddamn star, my boy.”
A riotous bolt of excitement rattled through the set. Henrik was quick to ask Cate to shoot it again, but she shook her head. “We got it exactly the way I wanted. I won’t let it get stale.”
I stood up because everyone was standing, and a crew member beside me joked, “Time to take out shares in Eamon O’Brien. He’s going to shoot through the roof.” I knew what he meant; Eamon had been amazing. One shot and he’d nailed it, even though he’d been scared and doubting himself for weeks. I found myself torn between pride and burning jealousy.
• • •
Everyone slapped hands and hugged. Ryder danced his way to help Mr. Donato present the celebratory ice cream bar.
I grabbed Shoshanna as she tried to storm by. “You were great. Both of you. Amazing.”
“Thanks.” She cast a look back at where everyone had piled around Eamon, a halo of gushing fans. “All the boys have to do is show up, am I right?” Her face crashed with a wince. “I’m tired. He was great. Way better than I thought he’d be after run-through.” Shoshanna shivered, crossed her arms tighter. “I’ve got to go warm up before I get pneumonia.”
She kept her head down as she hustled to the costume trailer, and I didn’t blame her. She’d worked her ass off tonight. She deserved some accolades too.
I stood there for a long, long time, waiting for my turn to talk with Eamon, wanting to tell him how I’d felt the scene. I really had. And I’d sort of had an epiphany about myself as well, although I wasn’t sure what it meant yet.
In the end, I couldn’t wait. I snagged my dad’s old copy of the Elementia trilogy out of my trailer and curled up on the bench by the water. There was just enough light for reading. All around, the celebration of the crew was a hardy mix of whooping and delight. It was too bad that terrible reporter hadn’t stuck around. This was the real story—the movie coming together against all odds.
I opened the book to the chapter my brother had marked—the same one that had thrown me for a whirl while I was trying to record that song. This time I kept reading past Sevyn’s fever, past the revelation of her brother’s torture.
All the way to Nolan.
A veil of calm settled upon her, quieting the lightning in her heart. It was a comfort she did not deserve, and she bucked at it until her strength gave out. She needed the fire, needed it to scorch her guilt; it was all her fault that such a fate had befallen her brother. She should have saved him.
When Sevyn opened her eyes once more, the night streaked the sky with darkness. She was afloat in the cool waters of the river. Something gripped her shoulders and knees, and she reached for whatever she was stuck on, imagining a submerged tree or moss-covered rock.
Instead her fingers found skin.
Sevyn looked at the face of a boy who cradled her against the tide. His countenance was utterly wild, and yet he held her as though it were the purpose he knew best. Sevyn reached for him, telling herself that she was dreaming. Her virgin touch was charged with excitement, not lightning, as she felt the contours of his collarbone, the indent of his sternum, and the mounds of his ribs. When she reached for his face, touching his jaw and lips, she wept. This was a dream, no doubt. Her curse did not let her touch. This was the cruelest dream.
“You’re hiding,” Eamon said, slipping next to me on the bench, still all fantasy-outfitted and pointy-eared. His features were drawn out with makeup shadows and the spray stuff that had tanned every inch of him, highlighting a wide, wild smile.
“I’m reading,” I said, holding up the book.
He slid closer, looked at the cover like he’d couldn’t believe it, then me, then the cover again. Then he kissed my cheek. “I did it, Iris,” he whispered. “I can’t believe it. I was terrified.”
“You were amazing!” Some inner voice whispered to be cool, but I went full fangirl instead. “It was unbelievable, and I was so…I don’t know, maybe captivated is the right word, but I couldn’t even remember what country I was in, and I had to read the original scene. Shoshanna was great too,” I added.
“Iris, I know the two of us hanging out together looked bad, but she was only helping me with my role. I swear it.”
“I know, and you should thank her. She was pretty exhausted after the wrap.”
He nodded, his blue eyes were close, bright from the flood lamps illuminating the crew party at the picnic tables. “I’m sorry I was acting strangely this morning. I thought I was going to lose it when the cameras rolled. I was sure of it.”
I should have kissed him—his lips were right there—but my doubts rose fast, reminding me of how I’d hyperventilated in that recording booth. “How did you get yourself to do it?”
“I had to shut off the negative voices. It wasn’t easy, but I couldn’t let my doubts win.”
“Oh.”
“That’s why I had to come find you. To keep that bravery going and tell you I like you.” The tiniest frown formed on my face, and he read it fast. “And my feelings have nothing to do with M. E. bloody Thorne. Don’t even start.”
I squeezed the old copy of the Elementia trilogy. “Eamon, I figured out something while we were filming. You were right.”
He sat forward. “About what? Your rascally cuteness? Your musical prowess?”
I pushed myself forward, aching to be honest with him. “You were right when you asked me if I act like the abduction happened to Ryder and not both of us.
