Test Your Nerve
Evelyn's POV
Lila didn't say where we were going.
She didn't have to.
The path narrowed as we moved deeper into the carnival's spine, we'd passed rides that had gone dark and stalls draped in canvas like sleeping beasts.
The noise softened until all I could hear was the crunch of gravel beneath our feet and the steady rhythm of my own breath.
"Still with me?" she asked lightly, glancing back.
"Yes," I said without hesitation.
Her smile flashed, quick and pleased. "Good."
The funhouse rose ahead of us, its entrance glowing faintly, the letters flickering as if unsure whether to stay lit.
Mirrors lined the exterior, warped reflections stretching and bending my shape until I barely recognized myself.
Lila stopped a few feet away and turned to face me.
"This is where people usually stop," she said calmly. "They laugh it off. Pretend it's all too much."
"And if they don't?" I asked.
Her gaze sharpened. "Then they find out what they've been craving."
My pulse roared in my ears.
She stepped backward, just inside the entrance, her eyes never leaving mine. "Catch me," she said softly.
Then she turned and disappeared into the shadows.
For a heartbeat, I stood frozen.
Then my body moved before my thoughts could catch up.
I pushed inside.
The door creaked shut behind me, plunging the world into fractured reflections and low light. Mirrors stretched endlessly, distorting the space, making it impossible to tell where she'd gone.
"Lila?" I called.
Her laughter echoed back, soft and amused. "You'll have to try harder than that, Evie."
I moved deeper, my footsteps slow, cautious. Every reflection showed a different version of me.
Wide-eyed. Flushed. Hungry.
My breath fogged the glass as I passed, the air thick with anticipation.
Then a hand brushed my arm.
I gasped, spinning. Nothing there.
"You're doing beautifully," her voice whispered, close enough to make my skin prickle.
I turned corners blindly, heart racing, until suddenly-
She was there.
Too close.
I stopped short, breath coming fast, my body reacting before my mind could. Her presence filled the space, warm and undeniable, her eyes dark with satisfaction.
"Found you," she murmured.
"I think," I said breathlessly, "you wanted me to."
Her smile was slow. Intimate. "Of course I did."
She leaned in, not touching, just close enough that I could feel the heat of her body, the promise of what came next hanging heavy between us.
"This was never about running," she whispered. "It was about seeing if you'd chase."
I swallowed hard, my hands trembling at my sides. "And?"
Her gaze dipped to my lips, then rose again. "You did."
The mirrors closed in around us, reflections multiplying the moment until it felt infinite.
The chase was over.
And standing there in the dim glow, my pulse still racing, I knew something had shifted.
Something I couldn't undo.
And I didn't want to.
