When Copper Suns Fall by Kasonndra Leigh Read Free Book Online Page B

her
alone, and come dance with me, Chela the Fair.” He held out his
hand to me. I appreciated and resented his attempts to cheer me
up.
    “Jalen. Repeat after me. Chela has to go
home. Why? Because she got carded,” I said. And she needs to
confront her father, I thought.
    “Look at Lex. She hasn’t been this happy
since she lost Reecie. Come on. Dance with me one time before we go
get her. Then we can all knock brains and try to figure out your
situation.” He made begging hands. It was hard to be mad at Jalen
with his big grin. I’d probably feel different after getting home
and catching holy Hades from Father and Bess, though.
    Jalen made a valid point about Lexa. She had
lost her sister, Cherice, to a blood disease two years ago and hid
in the house for months afterwards. Tonight was a milestone for
her.
    The band started playing. A song with
electric guitar riffs and deep drums pulsed around me. The room
filled with hollers and hoots and steam. Bobbing dancers shoved
each other in response to the tune. After getting bumped too many
times to count, I was about ready to scream.
    “Okay, Jalen. That’s it. I’m going to the
little girl’s. So, go get Lex, and be ready when I get back.” He
nodded, saluted me, and stomped into attention.
    Turning, I eased through girls and boys
jerking to the music’s tribal beat. A boy with slanted eyes bumped
into me. Swirly black lines were tattooed down the right side of
his face. “Wanna join us, sexy girl?”
    “Um, don’t think so,” I said. He shrugged and
returned to dancing with the girl pressed against him. Obviously
the few Conservancy leaders scattered around the area weren’t
paying them any mind, or he would be carded by now. Their policy
this week was dancing, yes; kissing, way off limits; as in, don’t
even try to imagine it.
    On my way to the bathroom, I spotted the boy
I had seen running down the Metalwalk’s old wooden ramps earlier.
Another boy wearing a long black trench coat that made his bowl-cut
hair look metallic, walked beside him. They wore clothing like a
lot of others in the Shack: black vest, pants, and shirts paired
with silver accessories. Something about the way they glided across
the floor held my attention. These boys weren’t normal citizens,
and if they were, then they’d come in from another Borough.
    After a moment, the boys separated and
drifted off in opposite directions. I stood and stared. No, I
probably gawked at the dark-haired boy. He was tall, lanky
athletic, confident with his walk. He kept glancing back, as if he
knew someone was following him.
    My stomach flipped in a giddy-girl way. I
trailed him, feeling only a bit like a stalker. Okay, maybe he was
cute in a rugged sort of way, but my curiosity played into it
somewhat, too. After walking a few more yards, I stopped trailing
him. For a while, it seemed as if everybody else in the room had
disappeared. There was no one but us.
    Then he turned around, stared straight at me,
and placed an index finger on his lips. Startled as the club
refocused into view, I lowered my head and acted as if I were
looking for something on the floor. But I’d already taken in an
eyeful of well, notable things about him. His skin, tanned to a
perfect, golden hue, definitely had the Castle Hayne look: dark,
lean, toned physique. Bodies ordered to be kept in excellent
physical condition. Correction, he did wonders for the look. His
longish hair was pulled back in a ponytail now, and it gleamed
under the lights. Two side strands flipped into his eyes. One braid
laced with what looked like a silver ribbon hung against the right
side of his face.
    Was he the boy I’d seen in the trees?
    If so, thank the Lights for coincidence; if
not, I still wanted to know more. He tickled a sleeping part of my
brain—a familiar element that went past girl drooling over cute guy
interest.
    That was when the memory hit me.
    Or maybe I should say the memory rocked me,
as I stood on the dance floor. The room