Chapter 1

The air at the Luna Park Midnight Carnival hung heavy and sweet, a cloying mixture of fried dough, burnt sugar, and the sharp, metallic tang of ozone that always preceded a summer storm. I stood at the edge of the midway, my heels sinking slightly into the packed dirt, and watched the carousel spin. It was a blur of gold leaf and painted horses, their glass eyes catching the strobe lights of the Ferris wheel like frozen stars. The noise was a physical weight, a roaring cacophony of shrieks from the drop towers, the tinny, repetitive jingle of the calliope, and the low thrum of bass vibrating through the soles of my feet. It was chaotic. It was perfect. It smelled like childhood, like the nights my father used to take me here when I was small enough to ride on his shoulders, my legs dangling, my head resting against the rough wool of his coat. I adjusted the strap of my clutch, my heart hammering a frantic rhythm against my ribs that had nothing to do with the adrenaline of the rides. I had been waiting for twenty minutes. He was late, but only by ten minutes, and I