But even if the festival wasonlylight, I doubted anything would shine like she did.
CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
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TRINITY
This place was really cool.
The giant festival ran up and down the beach and the area near it. Half carnival, half art installation, half craft fair. Yes, that was three halves, and I didn’t care.
I had a giant cone of pink and blue cotton candy, and Bastian carried a giant stuffed octopus he’d insisted on winning for me. The stall was the kind where you had to knock over stacked bottles, and even though the games are always rigged against you, Bastian didn’t give up until he won.
Now we headed to the artistic half of the festival on the beach itself. Theo was right, it was all about light. Giant trusses and cranes helped suspend some of the installations.
We passed beneath a set of giant interlocking rings, spangled with lights. Tinkling, crystal music played, every note making the lights dance in response.
“What is that?” Aiden asked.
I looked in the direction he was and laughed. Severalgiantshapes on the beach. They were curved, iridescent, and lit up from within with a glow that slowly shifted through every single color.
“I think I would call that giant, iridescent toothpaste,” I said.
Brooks laughed so suddenly he slapped a hand over his mouth. Logan choked on his drink. “You are a thousand percent right. That’s exactly what it looks like.”
From here, we could see people walking through the one that was shaped like an arch. “Let’s go.”
I sprinted away from them towards the glowing target, dodging couples, families, a group of photographers. From behind me, I heard them calling, but I didn’t stop. I did slow down almost immediately because, like I’d told them, I wasn’t a runner.
Still, I had a head start.
Tossing away what little was left of my cotton candy, I stared up at the giant plastic shapes. They really look like a god had squeezed out a celestial tube of toothpaste on the beach. I walked beneath the giant arch as the color shifted to bright pink. It was beautiful.
I was pulled back into a hard body, the rich scent of leather and clove wrapping me up. Bastian. “Don’t run if you don’t want me to chase you.”
“Who says I don’t want that? And I barely ran. I like sneaking better, remember?”
“I have plans for your sneaking. And probably a little running.”
“Oh? Where? When?”
Bastian slowly turned with me as we watched the colors change. “Still need to work out a couple of details. But I’ll tell you. It won’t be a surprise.”
“Okay.”
The rest of my Alphas walked into the toothpaste arch. Painted in vibrant, almost neon colors, they were beautiful too. Theo was now the one wrangling all the stuffed octopus limbs.
“I’m going to put a tracker in you,” Aiden muttered as he came closer.
“Stalker. Besides, you have my location.”
Musicblaredfrom the direction of the water. I hadn’t realized there were floating walkways out to a few installations on the water. Square towers made of lights played a beautiful light show to the music. The water reflected it all so you were surrounded by a riot of light.
Too many people crowded the water walkways for us to join them. “What about that one?” I asked.
A little farther down the beach, away from the main festival, I saw one more water-based installation. It didn’t look like many people were down there.
“Sure.”