“If you keep moving, I’m going to stick you with a pin,” Mila mumbled, her mouth full of hairpins.
It was late afternoon; we were getting ready for Mr Aleksandrov’s party, a party that would make it into the history books of our world. For as long as anyone could remember, only a god has become the higher power, but tonight a wizard would become the ruler of our kind. Most people were skeptical of wizards. They claimed wizards could be bought and that they sided with those who paid more, but those who knew Mr Aleksandrov knew he wasn’t like that. To the council, Ivan Aleksandrov has proven his eligibility and loyalty by being headmaster of our school and revealing that Lucian was a vampire. Adding the cherry to the top, the fact that Mr Aleksandrov went out of his way to help me, a goddess, gave him top marks in their books.
I caught a glimpse of Mila in the mirror. Her beautiful blonde hair was pinned up in an elegant bun that sat perfectly on the top of her head, adorned with a glistening floral-diamond hairpin. Her make-up was done to perfection, making her look spicier. I’d never seen Mila look so… not innocent. I was proud.
“There.”
Mila placed the remaining pins on the bathroom sink and sat back, admiring her work. My hair was pinned back in a shower of ringlets. I tilted my head downward to admire my very own shining hairpin.
“Now for the dresses!” Mila squealed in excitement as she tore from the room.
I was excited to wear something so elegant and gorgeous, but it wasn’t enough to trump my nerves. No amount of pretty dresses, hairpins or shoes were going to change the nausea-provoking fact I was going to see Eli tonight. Or at least I thought I was.
The dress felt as amazing sliding down my body as it did when I ran my fingers along its fabric the previous night. It fitted perfectly, clinging to all the right places while maintaining its modesty. In all truthfulness, I felt like a million dollars. I assessed myself in the mirror and gold was all I could see, my body was drenched in it. The gown was so beautiful I could hardly take my eyes off it. In this dress I was no longer the stressed adolescent running away from things that only existed in nightmares. I was a gorgeous goddess, overflowing with grace and confidence. I was going to rock this party.
Mila and I followed closely behind other elegantly dressed visitors as we headed toward the dining hall. As the moon made its appearance, the air became sweet and calming. The cool breeze pressed my satin dress against my legs and made my hair dance freely against the fabric of my coat. I pulled my coat tighter around me, hoping the dining hall was warmer than outside.
“The other students would have finished dinner an hour ago,” Mila said.
“So we’re going to be the only under-twenties?”
She nodded. “I think so.”
The thought relaxed me. The last thing I needed were students gawking and gossiping.
With a matching gold clutch in my hand, Mila and I walked through the huge dining room double doors.
The party was breathtaking. The ceiling had been charmed to mimic a starry night, the usual rows of wooden tables and chairs were gone, replaced with countless elegant sofas and coffee tables. The sheer beauty of the room took my breath away and the color scheme was perfect—navy and white. I offered a few greetings to a few guardian angels and teachers that I knew. Mila went to greet her uncle and I headed toward the coat room—a spare room that was connected to the main hall. I hung my coat on a hook and smoothed out my gold gown. I turned around and my heart leapt into my throat as our eyes met. He was just as handsome as I remembered, if not more. Eli stood before me dressed to the nines in a stylish, yet simple black suit with a white shirt. My lips separated, I was going to say something, but I couldn’t. Embarrassingly enough, only a breath of air came out. His full lips were set in a straight line, his green eyes watching me, rooting me to the spot and making it hard for me to breathe. Looking at him, I could tell that he was experiencing the same ‘stuck’ feeling I was.
“How are you?” I asked. I cringed, slightly. That wasn’t what I wanted to say.
“Good. Thank you.”
The sound of his voice twisted my stomach into a knot of guilt, sadness, and longing. He adjusted his tie and stuffed his hands into the pockets of his black dress pants, clearing his throat. “How are you?”
I nodded slowly. “Good.”
Could this possibly get any worse?
“That’s good.”
With an awkward, but still so very breathtaking smile, he turned on his heel and stalked out of the room. I stared after him. Well, at least it was better than the reunion I imagined—at least he spoke to me.
When I caught my breath and waited for the cold sweat to disappear from my forehead, I exited the coat room and headed toward the back of the hall to the bar. If I was going to get through this, I needed a drink. Or three.
I pulled a glass of wine off a tray sitting on top of the bar and I took a small sip as I glanced around the room. Most of the men wore black tuxedos with the occasional oldie wearing a tail coat. More impressive than the gallantly dressed men were the gowns. Reds, blues, and every shade in between weaved their way through the overwhelming sea of black.
“Ruby?” a deep voice called.
I turned my attention toward the voice, meeting Mr Aleksandrov’s smiling face and kind eyes. He gestured for me to come over. Nervously, I placed my glass down on the bar and made my way over.
“This is Miss Ruby Moore,” he said, introducing me to an elderly couple. “Ruby, this is Paula and Frank James. They’re big fans of yours.”
Paula put her hand on my arm and leant closer to me. I fought the urge to wrinkle my nose at her too-strong perfume.
“I heard that you’re to thank for all of this.” Her voice was quiet, too quiet. I found myself delving deeper into her scent, trying not to miss a word.
“Me?”
“Yes,” Frank interrupted. “You were the one who discovered our ruler was a vampire. Who was the other?” Frank clicked his fingers in thought. “De Luca? Yes, Eli De Luca. You two saved our kind from eventual destruction. Where is that young lad, anyway?”
His beady, grey eyes searched the room. Silently, I prayed he couldn’t see well enough to spot him.
“Ah, there he is.”
Damn it, just my luck.
“Mr De Luca?” the old man called out.
I kept my sights on the floor as Eli joined our conversation, standing dangerously close. The old woman’s dreadful perfume was replaced by Eli’s scent and my head spun. What a scent it was.
“You two…” Frank sighed. “We’re lucky—so lucky—to have you on our side.”
I peered sideways at Eli. He was smiling politely at Frank, but the smile didn’t reach his eyes.
“Are you two still bonded?” Paula asked.
“No, ma’am.” Eli responded. “The bond was reversed a long time ago.”
“Oh that’s too bad, you make a great team.”
Eli and I chuckled half-heartedly. I glanced toward the door, wondering if I could get outside for a few minutes for some much needed air.
“Hi Paula, Hi Frank,” a high voice greeted.
I brought my attention back to the conversation and Mila was smiling at me. “Ruby, can I borrow you for a moment?”
“Sure. It was nice meeting you,” I said to Paula and Frank.
“Likewise, darling, save me a dance later?” Frank asked.
I laughed. There was no way I was getting on the dance floor, but I nodded in agreement anyway.
“Thank you, that was painful,” I groaned as Mila and I sat down on a long white sofa.
As a waiter passed by, Mila jumped up and pulled two champagne flutes off a passing tray and I eyed her judgingly. She’s a student; alcohol is off limits regardless of age.
“Relax.” She pressed the glass to my chest and I wrapped my fingers around the chilled flute. “I’m old enough and uncle is too busy to notice anyway.”
Unintentionally, I found Eli’s face. He was talking to Xavier. Xavier appeared uncomfortable that Eli had given him the time of day. I smiled. Eli was so much bigger than Xavier, in all senses. Eli was taller, wider and more muscular… I sipped my wine, hoping it’d quench the growing desire in my stomach. Looking at Xavier reminded me of the conversation we had in the car on the way here.
“So, how is Gabriel?” I asked, curious as to whether they were still in love or not.
Mila sighed. “He doesn’t talk to me anymore.”
I frowned. “What? Why?”
Her light pink lips touched her glass as she took a sip of wine.
“Because I’m friends with you…”
“Oh.” Gabriel blamed me for Hunter’s ‘death.’ Of course he did. I took a big gulp of wine. “Sorry.”
“Don’t be, it wasn’t your fault. Hunter was going to follow you regardless of whether anyone tried to stop him or not. Gabriel is just being childish.”
I shrugged and took another sip of the delicious wine. “Do you have any other suitors?”
My vision blurred for a few seconds. Damn it, I knew I should have eaten something before I came tonight, but Mila forbade it, she said the last thing a woman in an exquisite gown wants is to look bloated. So naturally, the champagne was going straight to my head, creating a false sense of confidence within me.
Mila shook her head and glanced subconsciously at Xavier. “No other suitors.”
I nudged her shoulder. “Liar!”
A loud laugh erupted from Mila, drawing the attention of a few couples close by. The way they turned their noses up at us showed their distaste at having ‘students’ at the party.
“I tell you what, let’s get out of here and I’ll tell you everything about my love life.”
“Don’t you want to see your uncle being awarded or crowned… whatever it is they do?”
“We’ll be back in time, I promise. Meet me out in front in like ten minutes, okay?”
“All right.”
Mila bounced off, disappearing into the crowd. I rose to my feet, my head spinning slightly. After a few deep breaths, I was ready to go. I took a few steps away from the sofa and classical music filled the air.
I groaned. “Oh no.”
I picked up my pace, marching quickly toward the door. I needed to get out of here as soon as possible, there was no way I was getting onto that dance floor with Frank. I walked as fast as my legs could take me—in the opposite direction of the dance floor. My face cringed as a soft hand grabbed my arm. I turned, meeting Frank’s gray eyes.
He smiled. “You said you’d save me a dance.”
“Of course,” I replied, clearing my throat. “How could I forget?”
I didn’t want to dance. I couldn’t and there was no doubt a man of Frank’s age would surely know how to dance. I hung my gold clutch from my wrist and linked my arm around Frank’s. The moment we stepped onto the floor my cheeks flushed. We were the only dancers. Smiling faces and cheers encircled us as Frank placed my hand on his shoulder and put his own hand high on my back.
“Dancing is easy. Follow me.” He started off slowly, one slow step forward, two slow steps back. After a minute or so, it became apparent they were the only steps to the dance and I was able to relax.
Whatever song was playing went for too long. When it was over, my entire body sighed in relief. I thanked Frank for the dance and went outside to find Mila. Like she said, she was waiting out the front of the building…with a bottle of wine.
“Where are the two guardians that are supposed to be watching the door?” I asked her.
“I don’t know, Xavier was talking to Eli and the other one was dragging a few students back to their dorm.”
I placed my hands on my hips. I didn’t want to cause any trouble, I was only a visitor.
“We aren’t allowed to go gallivanting about the school, Mila.”
She rolled her eyes at me. “Don’t be such a party pooper and come on.”
Mila turned her back to me and headed toward the sports field. I glanced around awkwardly. This felt wrong—it was wrong, but I owed it to her to spend some time with her, didn’t I? I followed. I decided I’d let her have her fun and do whatever she wanted to do and then come back. No harm done.
The sports field was dark, sending shivers down my spine. The last time I was here, it was the morning before I left for Mount Kuuce. A thick fog had rolled in, making the entire length of the field unseeable.
“Come, sit,” Mila called, plopping herself down on the grass.
I bent over and ran my hands across the damp grass. “I’m not sitting on wet grass and you’re going to ruin your dress.”
She exhaled, rose to her feet and leaned against a tree. With a loud pop, the wine bottle opened and she took a big gulp.
“You promised me an explanation about your love life,” I said, taking the wine bottle from her.
She laughed. “Okay, Gabriel and I are finished. We have been for almost a year now.”
“Why?”
“I told you, as soon as we were told Hunter was dead, he blamed you and I refused to. You know, for a nice guy, he sure has a mighty temper.”
I stepped closer to her, my shoes sinking into the grass. “And that’s it?” I took a few mouthfuls of wine, pleased as it went down smoothly.
“Yep.”
“What about Xavier?”
“What about him?”
“C’mon, I saw you glance at him when I asked you if there was anybody else.”
She smiled. “Xavier has been good to me and we flirt a lot, but he’s a guardian angel and I’m done with guardian angels. It’s too difficult being sneaky and dishonest, I can’t do it. Besides, they carry a lot of baggage. They’re always so serious and on edge.”