Bloodlines

by Trisha Lynn

Chapter Forty-Seven

  As they pulled up to the street adjacent to Rage they could see quite a line forming. Flashing lights, high pitched voices and people of all shapes and sizes were plastered against the tan brick side of the building awaiting entrance. A sense of panic changed Adeila's heart rate to double its usual tempo. She looked up to see the tenseness around Loki's eyes as they met hers in the rear view mirror. She was obviously not the only one feeling the effects of the oncoming social experience.

  All day she had really just wanted to tell Marissa that she was not feeling up for this, not feeling well, something to get her out of it, but she couldn't. Couldn't bring herself to do it, because although she knew that Marissa would likely still go and that she'd have a good time, what kind of best friend would she be, to cancel when Marissa had been planning this thing for months?

  As they parked behind the club she saw it as she had two options. One: Deal with this; save face, support her friend, maybe enjoy herself a little bit. Two: Get out; fake sickness, fake a heart attack, fake something, drop Marissa off at the line and be gone. But she knew that if she were to leave Marissa now, she'd have to back off her friendship. Begin the process of backing away from her friend. Her only true, real friend. She just wasn't ready for that yet. Even if things with Marissa weren't completely what they'd been two months ago, that something had certainly changed a bit, Adeila still wasn't quite ready.

  Marissa's squeal of delight halted her thoughts, as a tour bus came into view. Wasting Youth was written in intricate, bubbly graffiti on the side.

  She doubled her brain power to think of a way out. Even after they'd met up with Sorryn, Saibol, Becky, Amber, Denise and about ten other teens from their school, Adeila continued to rack her brain. She didn't even give her brain a second to wonder how all of these teens got themselves fake ID’s, as she was quite sure only a handful of them had already turned eighteen.

  She snapped out of it only when she heard Erik's name. Her attention shifted to Dennis Caughey as he said that Erik, Chris, Brad, Danny and some other football players would be coming right after the game. Her eyes sought Loki's and she saw the mask of rigid warrior pass along his face and body. Gone was the facade of teenage cool persona to be replaced by her edgy, high alert, Fae warrior body guard. Not that she minded; he carried that dangerous aura far better than the carefree, hormonal teenager, anyway. She felt pretty bad for dragging him along to this. She knew this was totally not his cup of tea. The Fae really were not cut out for these human dance clubs.

  She felt the complete negative and uncomfortable energy of the whole thing and she'd only been to Faerie for a weekend, she could only imagine how the others would feel once they got inside. Not that Loki would ever say anything. Never make it obvious to the masses that he was on edge. The stiff set of his jaw and the rigid line of his lithe, muscled body gave him away to her.

  They moved up in line, only about fifteen people away from the door. Adeila grew increasingly anxious and uncomfortable. But this was what she'd wanted, right? She'd wanted to feel normal. Like any regular teenager. That was her whole reason for coming back to the human plane; so that she'd have some time to be a normal girl and not some Faerie princess heir to the throne of one of the most ancient and powerful Fae kingdoms. Well, that and to get her diploma. To have accomplished something on the human realm, something significant. Something to make her time on the human realm worth it. A physical certificate of her time spent here, was all she wanted. Something to prove that she accomplished something she set out to do. After that she was game for returning to the Fae realm. Completely. She realized now that she could not live without the Fae realm now that she'd been there. She wanted to go back. Badly. But first she must accomplish this small thing. This normal teenage stuff. Then her diploma. It couldn't be that difficult, she'd handle it. If she could just get through the night then she'd be good.

  As she looked around the crowd, they began to enter the building, her resolve crumbled a bit, even with Sorryn's reassuring smile. She felt weak in the knees. A bond with a fabled Unicorn, giant trees inside castles, and heir to a throne in another realm wasn't looking so daunting now that the social anxiety crept in again. She'd always been a little leery of crowds, never really did like the mall during holidays or dances at school, but this was a whole new level of overwhelming. Her Fae blood triggered an onslaught of discomfort coursing through her veins as they were jostled inside.

  Marissa and Becky were squealing over something, giving Loki enough time to dip his head towards her.

  “You quite sure about this, Princess?”

  Even though her gut was telling her to get out. To get out now. And even though Loki had distinctively told her to always listen to her instincts, she purposefully and stubbornly pushed those thoughts away. She stamped down the thoughts of leaving. She willed her stomach to settle, and the nerves to calm.

  It was just one night. Just one night to forget all her fears, her responsibilities on both realms, the good byes that were sure to come, and the fact that she missed the Fae realm, the Unicorn and the parents she barely knew, far more then she'd ever admit. Even to herself.

  Just one night to let loose, to dance, spend time with her friends, both old and new and to be a normal freshly turned eighteen year old.

  With her resolve set firmly in place, she turned to Loki and smirked at him.

  “Why is the mighty Fae warrior scared of a little dancing, laughing and underage soliciting of alcohol and drugs that will no doubt take place?”

  Loki surprised her completely by letting out a loud chuckle, causing both Sorryn and Saibol, and a few other people to stop and look at them. The siblings grinned at each other and gave each other a weird knowing family look. Sometimes their unusual mind speak to each other could be discerning, as if they really could read each other’s minds.

  Loki put his hand to the small of her back to usher her along with the line inside the hall to get their hands stamped. “Not at all, Princess, not at all. Just ensuring you are still up for it.”

  She could only muster an eye roll, as his warm hand on her back was sending delightful hot tingles up her spine. She gave him her best flirty smile over her shoulder, and quickly stepped over to Marissa, and butted into the conversation she was having with Becky and Amber about the band. She'd needed to break away from him. He sent way too many strange and foreign sensations along her body with his gentle touch, his closeness, his remarkable eyes, and his deep, infrequent laugh.

  Several moments later she couldn't handle it. Couldn't help herself, she had to let her eyes wander towards him. It was magnetic. He was only a few feet away, looking ever the alert and ready warrior, but his face wasn't rigid. In fact he had a loose, almost mischievous smile playing along his lips that reached his eyes as they met hers. Their gorgeous golden green melding and swirling in the multicolored honey and silver colored rings.

  She made herself look away before she got lost in those eyes. Instead she focused around her. The flashing lights, the smell of sweat, the energy of everyone inside. As they moved and were able to wander about wherever they could find the space, bumping people here and there, she tried to focus within herself. Allow the soothing pull of her own magic to keep her sane as they made their way to a large table.

  Determined to be completely normal a half hour later she allowed Marissa, Becky, and Amber to pull her to the dance floor, but not before she dragged Saibol along with her. By the grin on the Fae's lovely lips and the way she shook her long chestnut hair down her slim, muscled back, it was no hardship for the Fae warrioress.

  Saibol had had a look of intoxicated pleasure upon her face the entire time they'd been here. It was obvious she'd never experienced such a thing, and clearly social anxiety was not affecting her one bit. That or she had a way better handle on herself, then Adeila did.

  When the laughing and awkwardness was over, each girl began swaying together to the hypnotizing thrum of music. Heady with the pull of energy and chaos.

/>   Adeila was happy to see Saibol letting loose and dancing. Wasting Youth would be playing soon, but the techno style music playing now was far better for dancing, and allowing the teens to pass out whatever pills they could get their hands on. Luckily, no one in their small group was interested in letting loose quite that much. 

  She swayed more when a song with a very unusual beat came on, its tempo sucking her in. Her heart matched the beat, and she ran a hand down her sides. The sexual pull of the energy zinged along her spine.

  Suddenly a vision flashed before her eyes.

  A large black wired cage. A guy that looked very similar to Loki, except his eyes were a fascinating array of storm cloud grays. Ravens. A steel gray wolf. A scruffy, dangerous looking blonde haired guy with a leather jacket. More ravens. And then before fading into nothingness and conscience returning to her, a face. A breathtakingly gorgeous male face. His striking green eyes of moss, sage, and all other earthy forest greens, catching her breath, his wide generous mouth sending unexpected desire piercing through her.