by Cece Rose
“When did you meet him?” I ask curiously, as we turn a corner and head down another impossibly long corridor. Just how big is this place?
“About a year or so ago, but we barely spoke. Honestly, the only reason I managed to score us both an invite was because of Paula.” She shrugs.
“Why did you want to come then? If you don't even know him very well? We could have gotten just as drunk in our usual spot?” I question.
“Honestly? I heard someone I wasn't keen to run into would be there. Halloween is our favourite night. I didn't want the night ruined by some asshole's presence,” she admits. “Plus, the opportunity to come here tonight was an offer I just couldn’t refuse.”
I'm interested to know whom she's avoiding, but if she wanted to tell me who, she'd have said it when she explained. When she doesn't want to reveal something, she can lock herself down completely. There's no use trying to get her to spill her secrets if she doesn't want to share.
“Well, we’d probably have more fun tonight if we actually, you know, joined the party,” I suggest, hope lacing my tone, though I know the likelihood of success is low. She turns, giving me a ‘I know what you’re trying to do’ look, before carrying on. She pauses, gazing at a painting featuring a large group, and I carry on past her, remaining optimistic that the quicker we walk around, the sooner we can get back to the party.
Once I reach the far end of the hallway, I’m about to call out to her to hurry up, when I hear two male voices. Too low to make out what they’re saying, but I can tell they’re getting closer. I share a panicked look with Lizzy, and she points at me then the door closest to me, before pointing herself and the door nearest her. I nod, silently agreeing to her plan. Getting kicked out of the party for snooping doesn’t sound like good time.
Quickly, I dart into the room Lizzy indicated to for me to hide in, peeking out as I shut the door behind me. I notice two men turning down the hallway just as Lizzy’s door closes with a quiet click. I follow suit, holding my breath and praying they didn’t notice me.
I stay silent, listening for any sound with my ear pressed to the door. After what feels like forever, two sets of footsteps cross by the door. I wait without moving for a few more moments before letting out a deep sigh of relief.
Curious as to where I’ve ended up, I turn around to take a look around. Mid turn, I freeze. My eyes widen, and my jaw drops as I stare at the man standing across from me. The man dressed as death. Oh shit.
Four
Kiss of Death
“What are you doing upstairs?” I hiss at Darren, remembering his name as I step towards him. Cloaked under his hood, his head tilts to the side, but he doesn’t speak, ignoring my question.
“Are you supposed to be in here?” I demand, and he shrugs, turning away from me and picking up a picture from the floor. He gently places it down on the bedside table with purpose. It’s as if he’s trying to place it in an exact spot.
Too curious for my own good, I creep over to take a look. A beautiful light-haired couple take up the picture frame, arms wrapped around each other in front of some fancy restaurant. “I wonder if that’s Aven,” I mumble to myself more than to Darren, considering he’s not talking. Maybe my awkwardness from before scared him away from talking to me anymore?
Shrugging off the thought, I glance around the room. I take in the sophisticated, darkly-coloured furnishings, the thick winter blankets stretched across the bottom of the oversized bed, and the small, softer touches to the mostly masculine room.
The room itself is huge, easily four times the size of my own bedroom. I spot another door on the other side of the room and figure it must lead to an ensuite or walk-in wardrobe, perhaps even both. With a place this size, it wouldn’t surprise me if there was a bunch of extra space through the door.
“So, why are you snooping around up here?” I ask again curiously. The door begins to open, and without warning, I’m pressed with my back up against the wall, facing Darren. He brushes my hair from my face in a surprisingly tender move, and then leans down, kissing me.
My heart pounds rapidly in my chest, and I’m frozen for a split-second as a million thoughts rush through my head. He’s kissing me. This sexy shifter dressed as death is really kissing me.
He pauses, pulling back as if realising how ridged I am against him. Suddenly unwilling for the kiss to end, I slide a hand behind his neck and pull his head back down, encouraging him to continue. Despite not being able to see his face due to his costume’s charm, I can feel a grin against my lips as he begins to kiss me once more. His hands grip my waist in a firm hold, before roaming up the sides of my body. My eyes shut as his hands brush lightly over the top of my dress. His touch is scorching hot against my skin when he lightly brushes his fingers underneath the top of the fabric.
Someone coughs, serving as a harsh reminder that the door was opening when he started this. My eyes open as we spring apart, and I peer around him to see our audience. My face flushes with embarrassment. Thanks to my pale cheeks, a light blush is always noticeable on me, so I have no doubt that I look like someone has slapped my cheeks right now. Lizzy stands there, a hand on her hip, and an eyebrow raised in a silent question as she glances between the two of us.
I turn to Darren, chewing my lip as my nerves make an appearance. “I should go. That was...that was interesting,” I mumble, before offering an unbelievably awkward half-wave and scrambling out the door, only pausing to grab Lizzy’s hand and tug her with me as I go.
We rush down the hallway. Well, I rush, and drag Lizzy along with me, not giving her a second to question me or delay my escape from there. We make our way back down the stairs in silence.
“What was—” Lizzy begins, but I wave her off.
“Let’s find somewhere quieter to talk before you start questioning my sanity.” I roll my eyes when she gestures for me to lead the way.
We bypass the main ballroom, knowing it will be the centre of activity, and instead head down the hallway in the other direction. After dodging a bunch of large, colourful peacocks strutting around freely, we find a room where the music has dulled to a lower level inside. If anything, it sounds slower and deeper, too, giving the beat a much more relaxing vibe than the party’s music pulsing through the rest of the mansion.
Flickering candles provide low lighting, and an open bar sits to one side of the room while sofas and tables spread out throughout the room. Only a few people are in here, and they’re either speaking in hushed tones, or just sitting back and smoking. We find a sofa in the far corner and take a seat.
A split second after my ass hits the sofa, Lizzy begins her interrogation. “What the hell was that? Oh. My. Goddess! Are you crazy? Have you lost your mind, or have you just been replaced by an alien?”
“It was just a kiss,” I respond slowly, a little taken aback by her reaction. She isn’t exactly a chaste princess on our nights out.
“Just a kiss? You were pressed up against the wall, in a bedroom, with a complete stranger, and you were making out!” she exclaims.
“It wasn’t a big deal,” I mutter, looking away. But even as I say it, I know it’s a lie. The kiss was toe-curling, passionate, and his touch felt like fire against my skin.
If kissing him felt that good, what would sleeping with him feel like?
“You’re thinking about banging him, aren’t you?!” she accuses. My head whips back around to face her, my eyes widening and mouth opening to begin to deny her allegation. She presses a finger to my lips. “Nu-uh. You don’t get to lie about it, Kay. You know you can’t lie to me.” She gives me an assessing look. “That good, huh?” Her tone flickers back to its usual playfulness, and I relax a little.
“Crazy good. Butterflies, tingles, makes me feel like a stupid teenager good,” I admit begrudgingly.
Her lips curve up into a wide smile. “Tell me exactly what happened. I want to know everything.”
Five
Lying Pirate
“Look who is over there,” L
izzy points out as we slip back into the main ballroom.
I hide a smile behind my drink. Just across from us are Darren and Paul, talking and drinking. Well, the human currently dressed as a pirate looks more interested in the dancers above than talking. Their skimpy outfits are currently green, matching the now green smoke fogging up the room.
Darren’s charm for his costume must be inactive at the moment, and with his hood down, his good looks are on full display. Which is particularly annoying, considering the giggling brunette I spot at his side.
“Seriously? Already?” I mutter, stopping a groan of annoyance from escaping by taking a large gulp of my spooky-themed cocktail.
“Men,” Lizzy agrees, just noticing the brunette too.
“Let’s find a different room,” I suggest. I know it’s stupid. I barely know him. But less than an hour ago we’d shared one of the most intense kisses of my life, and now he’s entertaining some random brunette in a skin-tight skeleton costume, paying me no mind.
“No way, we’re going to dance.” She gives me a serious look, before snatching my near-empty drink from me and shoving it onto a passing server’s tray.
“Do we have to?” I complain, not able to stop the whine in my voice. I just want to leave. Stupid, idiot man. This is why I don’t date or kiss hot strangers in other people’s bedrooms. It only ends badly.
“Yes. We do,” she insists, grabbing my hands and pulling me into the throes of dancing bodies. Lizzy starts moving to the music without hesitation, and I force myself to imitate her movements, hoping I don’t look too ridiculous. I can tell which are the fae dancing around us by the graceful way they move; there’s a delicate precision in every sway of their hips. Some of the less human shaped and sized figures around us are dancing too, their movements different, but no less or more coordinated than everyone else. I wonder what creatures hide behind masks only steps away from me.
A red-haired woman dressed as a garden pixie catches my attention. I freeze, watching as she sinks her fangs into her dance partner’s neck. I’ve never witnessed a vampire feed in person, considering it’s banned in most mixed species night clubs.
“You look equally fascinated and horrified,” Darren’s voice whispers in my ear, leaning so close his lips brush against me. I jolt, startled by how he’d managed to sneak up on me.
“I’ve never seen it before, that’s all,” I respond, turning away from the feeding vampire to look at Darren. His russet-brown eyes stare down at me, searching my expression for something, though I’m not sure what. “Where did your friend go?”
“Paul is just over there,” he says, his forehead furrowed in confusion as he gestures over to his friend who has dragged Lizzy into dancing with him. She shoots me a vaguely apologetic look, before resuming her dancing.
“I was referring to the half-naked skeleton,” I clarify, trying to keep my tone light and unbothered. I’m not too sure I’m successful, though.
“No idea. I, for one, am glad she’s gone. She wouldn’t stop talking, and it was very distracting.” He curves an arm around my waist and tugs me closer to him. I realise how awkwardly still I am, and begin to move, dancing a little while remaining pressed close against the sinfully attractive shifter.
“Oh.”
“Were you jealous?” he whispers, leaning in to be sure I catch it.
“Of course not,” I’m quick to deny. Maybe a little too quickly considering his smirk.
“Don’t worry, jealousy looks hot on you, Kayla. You also have nothing to worry about, the half-naked skeleton, as you called her, is my cousin Maya.” He chuckles at the look of surprise on my face, and stupid butterflies tumble around in my stomach at his words. We dance in silence for a while, our bodies doing the speaking, moving together to the heavy beat of the music.
“We’re getting shots, you want some?” Lizzy asks, breaking the haze surrounding us.
“Yes, I’ll come with you,” I mumble, suddenly not wanting to be left alone with Darren. Who knows what my dumbass self would do or say next?
Darren and Paul walk with us over to one of the pop-up bars, Lizzy tries to grab the attention of the woman standing behind the bar, but she isn’t having any luck even making it up to the bar with how packed it is. Darren steps in, somehow finding a spot at the bar and instantly grabbing the woman’s attention.
“He always does that,” Paul remarks, noticing my eyes on Darren.
“That would come in handy,” I respond.
“Where did you two disappear off too, anyway?” he asks, sounding only vaguely curious. More like he’s trying to make conversation than any actual interest in the answer.
“Just exploring, why?”
“My dumbass friend over there was practically pining while staring at the door the whole time,” he replies, smirking as Darren turns to glare at him.
Something about the way he says it sends a jolt of alarm through my brain. The whole time?
“The whole time I was off exploring, huh?” I hedge, trying to pry some kind of confirmation from the human as Darren and Lizzy walk back with the shots.
“Spent every second since you walked out of the room looking around for you like a lost puppy,” he laughs, somehow finding his own words hilarious
I swallow the lump in my throat as Lizzy hands me a sparkling purple shot. I clink my little shot glass against the others’ drinks and take my shot in time with them. But I cast a wary glance at Paul.
The pirate is lying to me. I’m not sure why, but I know it can’t be anything good…
Six
Unknowing Thief
We’re dancing to some spooky trance song, when suddenly a short alarm blares out over the sound of the music. The smoke suddenly clears, and the music cuts out. There are a few voiced complaints from party-goers, but most people are looking around dazed and confused at the sudden shift in atmosphere. I can only watch in silence as the aerial dancers from above descend from the ceiling and exit almost stoically.
“What do you think is going on?” I whisper in a hushed tone to the others. The four of us had spent the majority of the evening together. Dancing, drinking, and talking… Darren is confident, hot as hell, and funny too. And Paul is… interesting. Probably the strangest human I’ve ever met, but considering he’d been raised by shifters most of his life, no wonder he’s a little quirky. I’m ninety-nine percent sure him and Lizzy hold no real interest in each other, and both are playing along just so me and Darren can talk. I’m so freaking grateful for it too.
“No idea, but stay close,” Darren murmurs back quietly. Lizzy nods in agreement, and Paul takes a step closer to the rest of us.
A blond man, who looks to be around mid-twenties storms into the room. His movements are dramatic, and I’m not sure if he’s really lost control of his emotions, or if he’s trying deliberately to cause a scene. He strides to the centre of the room, waits until all eyes can focus on him, and then places his fingers to his neck. His fingers glow brightly for a moment, before the glow seems to pass to his throat.
When he speaks, his voice echoes around the room loudly, as if boosted by a microphone. “Something very valuable has been taken from my home tonight. No one is to leave without being questioned, and if my staff are suspicious of you in the slightest, you will be searched. If you are found in possession of the item, I will not hesitate to make an example of you,” he announces, and I don’t miss the threatening tone in his voice. I look him a little more intently, and realise it’s the man from the photo upstairs, Aven. It’s his party. Suddenly the making a scene thing doesn’t seem right, not at his own party. He really just is that furious.
“He didn’t just threaten a whole party of people, right?” I whisper quietly. Darren nods his head in answer, not looking at all surprised by this, and Lizzy leans in closer to me.
“He’s related to the light fae royals. He can threaten anyone he likes. He’s immune from our laws, remember?” she explains in a hushed tone. There are whispers all over the room from eve
ryone else too, no doubt having similar conversations and concerns. I swallow the lump in my throat.
“And you didn’t you think to mention that?” I ask, barely containing my annoyance.
“Nope.” She shrugs, but there’s a look on her face I can’t quite read. Worry? Concern? Guilt?
She had been upstairs… Maybe she’d gotten a little klepto again like she had been when we were younger? I shake the thought away. She wouldn’t do it. Not anymore.
My eyes meet Darren’s and I realise he’d had an opportunity too. Had that been why he’d been in the room upstairs? To steal something? Had that been why Paul had tried to lie for him, to say he’d been down here the whole time? The questions keep coming at me in my head, leaving me unsure what to believe.
“Don’t even try to portal or phase out from the house, the wards have been put back into place, and you’ll find it quite impossible to do so,” the furious, blond fae announces. He looks around the room slowly, nobody seeming to want to meet his eyes. “Relax, everyone. If you are not guilty, then you have nothing to fear. Answer a few questions, allow yourselves to be searched, if necessary, and you’ll be on your way,” his voice seems to switch to a more charming lull as he speaks. Realising the gentle fae compulsion he’s lacing into his words, I pull up my mental shields. Any supernatural that realised what he was doing probably did the same, but poor Paul is standing there with a wide, moronic grin on his face. Lizzy smacks him hard on the shoulder, and he blinks at her, looking a little dazed for a moment before he refocuses and frowns.
“We should get moving, quickly. In a second everyone is going to be pushing to get out,” Darren says, grabbing my hand with his, practically dwarfing mine in the hold. I grab one of Lizzy’s with my free hand, and give her a pointed look between her and Paul. She rolls her eyes before grabbing onto Paul’s hand too.
