Sunday afternoon at an amusement park. Erin was correct to expect that there would be a bunch of families, groups of friends, and pairs of lovers loitering around—making noise, filling up the lines, littering. Erin disliked crowded places—malls, concerts, even amusement parks; if there were more than twenty sweaty people at a place, she wouldn’t be allow herself to be there. The fact that she was there with Alaric was another exception, of course. She had work to do.
Alaric walked beside her with a stick of cotton candy in hand and a crown made of paper that they sold out front—something that she bought him to tease him, which he accepted wholeheartedly. Much unlike her, he seemed to be having a good time so far in the lazy, hot afternoon.
They had already ridden a few rides and stopped
