There was a minute pause, then King Collins blinked and shook his head slowly. “No.” He cleared his throat — seriously, the man was having issues tonight — and he gestured to Elder Merrick and Elder Jacobs, introducing Sin to them. Sin shook their hands around me. Elder Merrick actually shook his damn hand. Then Sin asked me, “Are you ready?”
I smiled up at him. “Absolutely.” I blinked, thinking of something. “Wait, have you seen my license? I couldn’t find it in our room.”
Elder Merrick actually started choking, going into a coughing fit at that moment, and Sin and I both glanced at him. His navy eyes were squinty on his face, his fist in front of his mouth. He glanced at Elder Jacobs, worrying me since Shifters didn’t normally get sick, but he swiftly grabbed a drink from the bar a few feet behind him and took a huge swill. He waved a hand at the room’s occupants, who had quieted, and spoke clearly, “I’m fine.” He tapped his throat. “Just a tickle.”
Everyone stared at him a moment then forced conversation picked up again to alleviate the awkwardness. Sin did give me helpful information, twirling me to face him with his hands on my hips, saying, “Actually, I have it in my wallet. I have no clue how it got there, but I found it about a week ago with the condoms.”
Abruptly, water spewed from Elder Merrick’s mouth just as he took a drink, droplets of water flying high in the air above our group, and he started choking again. King Collins quickly flicked his hand and the water disappeared before it could land on anyone. I eyed Elder Merrick, no longer really worried for the boldly striking man but more worried for those around him because he was just…off. Conceivably, going through two wars had been too much for his mind.
I patted Sin’s chest absently, keeping my eyes on the possible loony and murmuring absently, “It probably dropped in there since my purse was on top of the nightstand.” I gave Sin’s chest a firmer pat, pushing him toward the door. I was definitely ready to leave. “Let’s go, shall we?”
“I love a woman with the right plan,” he murmured just as distractedly, his eyes over my head and on the Elder and those of our group before turning in his step to walk by my side. He placed his arm around my shoulders, leaning down to whisper quietly, “What the hell did I miss?”
I shrugged my shoulders under his hold as we left the room, muttering, “Fuck if I know.” I peered up at his green eyes. “But we should probably make sure our door’s locked tonight. He was just weird.” And hot as mother-fucking hell.
Chapter Eighteen
Lined up in the foyer with Sin, Aria, London, and an unknown female Mage at nine o’clock in the morning, the Kings and Queens, Elders, and spirit Elementals stared at us with various expressions. The other Prodigies and I were still drunk from the night before, and this wasn’t exactly how I wanted to spend my morning after the extreme evening we’d had. Brann hadn’t attended, both of us still socially avoiding each other like the plague.
Lifting a dust-covered fist, I burped quietly behind my hand and swayed just a bit…or maybe more than a bit, because I somehow thumped back against a wall under all of their silent expressions. Sin quietly stuck a hand back, grabbing my bicep, and gently pulled me straight to stand next to him before lowering his hand. I heard a masculine, soft chuckle from somewhere in the depths of the onlookers, but it was quickly cut off so I had no clue who had done it.
“Would someone care to explain exactly what went on last night?” King Zeller drawled calmly from where he was leaning a shoulder against a wall.
No, I am pretty sure no one wants to explain last night’s oh-so-fucking-fun events to this stodgy-as-hell crowd, who all look like they took a major pill of stick-up-their-asses.
Everyone’s heads snapped in my direction, and I blinked, peering back at them blurrily. “What?” I waved one of my hands as I continued with my slurred speech. “Did I say that out loud or something?”
Sin’s lips twitched furiously, but he whispered, “Caro, try to keep your thoughts a little less vocal.” A pause. “And possibly more respectful seeing as they’re just slipping out of your mouth.”
I pointed a white, dusted finger to his own dusted nose. “Right.” I nodded gravely, saluting him. “Will do.”
Queen Cooper cleared her throat. “How about the beginning? Let’s start there since we know how it ended.” Golden eyes fixed on London. “Now, if you would.”
London shuffled about on his feet for a moment, his shoes loud on the tile in the silent room. “Aria and I went to the club, since we knew Sin and Caro would be there. When we got there…” He cleared his throat. “There were two crowds at different ends of the club.”
Queen Cooper blinked slowly. “Why were the masses parted?”
A hush descended on the group; London was not a tattletale.
I sighed in defeat and raised my hand. I didn’t want London to faint from nerves.
King Collins’s jaw twitched. “Speak, Caro.”
Dutifully, I lowered my hand. “Thank you, my King.” I glanced at Sin, leaned against him, and whispered, “See, I can be respectful.” He nodded without answering, his shoulders shaking a bit and his eyes on the Rulers, so I pushed back to stand straight and stared at King Collins. “You see, I was at one end of the club,” I pointed to the left, “while Sin was at the other end.” I pointed to the right and nodded. I lowered my hands, done.
King Collins’s jaw twitched again in the silence. “And?”
I blinked. “Oh, all right.” I shrugged my shoulders a few times. I enjoyed watching the dust fly to the floor, so I did it a few times more before I looked back up to him, remembering he was waiting for an explanation. His cheeks were starting to flush in what appeared to be anger. “Calm down.” I patted the air. “I’m getting there.” Then I stopped, mouth open, trying to remember exactly what it was he had asked. After a moment of my mind remaining blank, I whispered to Sin covertly, “What did he ask again?”
Sin’s shoulders shook again, but he quickly cleared his throat and started explaining plainly to King Collins, “Caro was holding a wet t-shirt contest for the gentleman of the establishment, while I was holding a poker tournament at the other end.”
I snapped my fingers, shaking them at Sin. “Did you know those sprayers they use for drinks really just,” I smacked my hands together then threw them out quickly, “really fucking shoot. I wasn’t sure at first what I was going to use other than pitchers, but the kind bartender,” I pointed at Sin, “you know, the one giving me the free drinks,” I shrugged, “well, he helped me with the issue.”
Sin glanced down at me, saying quietly, “Caro, love, less is more right now.”
I bit my lip and nodded, peering back to King Collins, who had turned his back on us, his head bent as he rubbed his forehead. My gaze caught on Elder Merrick where he stood off to the side in a shadow. His navy blue eyes were set hard on my face while he leaned against the wall with a shoulder. His arms were crossed over his massive, muscular chest. He was still sexy as hell…and scary as hell. I quickly jerked my attention from him. He was not a safe place to gaze.
King Zeller pushed off from the wall, his features stoically blank as he flicked a finger at Sin. “So, you held an illegal gambling match inside the club.” A finger flicked at me, but he paused, his head cocked as he stared. “I understand what the players of the poker match went into the game for, but why would your…contestants…enter a degrading wet t-shirt contest?”
My lips twitched furiously, and I waggled a finger at him. “Because they wanted the prize.” Bizarrely, the entirety of the group in front of us went completely motionless and mute staring at me. Time slowly ticked by, dragging out into minutes. My eyebrows furrowed, and I leaned Aria’s way, whispering, “What kind of vibes are you getting off them?” Because that couldn’t be good.
“Odd ones,” she mumbled, standing completely still, carefully watching the crowd. “Really odd ones.”
“Huh,” I murmured, straightening to stare out at the crowd.
Leric was sitti
ng relaxed, or more like sprawled, on the marble steps off to the right, behind where King Zeller and Queen Ruckler stood frozen. Roselle and Reese were sitting behind him. The three of them were here for the show, but were obviously sitting back to let those who should be conducting this do their job.
Leric tilted his head casually, flicking a finger at me, and rumbled informally into the silence, “Sprite, I believe everyone is wondering what the prize was.”
“Ah.” My eyebrows lifted and I shrugged at the crowd. “It was to be the sprayer and judge of the wet t-shirt contest for the ladies afterward.” I lifted a finger. “And both winners got their tab paid by the losing contestants.”
Leric chuckled quietly even as I watched everyone miraculously unfreeze. “Genius motivation.”
I tapped my finger at my temple then at him. “That’s what I thought.” I waved my hands wide. “And good times were had by all involved.”
Queen Ruckler rubbed a hand over her face, then she cracked her neck. She waved a hand at us, breaking the others’ silence. “Just tell us how the hell you all ended up at King Hall.”
The five of us went mute, staring anywhere but at the group in front of us.
Hell, I went ahead and rested against Sin, closing my eyes, deciding a catnap would be kind of nice right now.
“Caro!” King Collins practically bellowed, and my eyes snapped open in irritation. “Don’t even think about falling asleep!”
Sighing in impatience, I straightened and reached into my purse to pull out cigarettes and a lighter. I mumbled, “Why the hell not? You guys aren’t talking. We’re not talking.” I lit my cigarette, took a drag, and blinked hazily at him as I exhaled. “And I would much rather be upstairs in bed sleeping if no one’s gonna say anything.” King Collins appeared ready to blow up, he was so pissed, and Sin started snorting. I pointed vaguely with my cigarette at my King’s face, telling Sin quietly, “The color reminds me of an upside-down sunset over an ocean, the way the pink creeps up from his neck and turns to red at the top, with his blue hair as the water.”
Sin’s whole body shook, dust flying from him, and I know I heard a few throats clearing in the crowd. Sin pushed me behind him a bit when King Collins began stomping toward me, apparently having heard, too. Queen Cooper jumped in front of King Collins, slamming a hand against his chest to stop him. She glared at me a moment, but she turned her attention to him, stating calmly, “I’ll take care of this.” Her lips curved a bit, appearing amused for a second. “Count to ten and try to calm down.”
Realizing I needed somewhere to ash, I glanced about then tilted a moment, ashing in the potted plant close by. Aria watched the motion, her own lips twitching as she shook her head at me for a moment, before she peered back to Queen Cooper, who had turned her full attention on London. Resting my shoulder against Sin’s arm, I took a drag slowly, watching Queen Cooper over the burning end. I saw her eyes flash for a moment, and her lips moved with no sound emitting, just as a wave of Mage magic pulsed from her. Little by little I blew the smoke out, realizing what she was doing. My eyes narrowed on her as she asked London, “Tell us what happened after you left the club.”
London had stiffened on Sin’s other side, and he made a few choking noises before he started rambling quickly, “We got kicked out of the club once the owner realized what Sin and Caro were doing, but everyone, including the people at the club, wanted to keep partying, so Aria suggested King Hall’s gymnasium since it’s large and school isn’t back in session. I took care of the security system…” He continued explaining how we had broken into the prestigious school.
But I was pissed.
I wasn’t a big fan of taking someone’s free will away, another reason I didn’t enjoy using my gifts. But it appeared my powers were currently in order, so I closed my eyes again so no one would see them flash, and lined up as we were, I covertly put my free arm behind Sin’s back as I took another drag, placing the tip of my finger on London’s dangling hand. I opened a bit of my Core, opened myself up to the heavens as I focused on the warm hand I was touching.
Floating in the abyss of the galaxies, beauty surrounding me, I pulled on his life force, grabbing onto the shimmering golden rope tethering him to this world, and pressed it to my lips, whispering my request, “Be at peace.”
Swiftly, I shut my Core down, opening my eyes. I lowered my cigarette from my mouth and my finger from London’s hand as he jerked then went mute in mid-speech, sucking in air as his entire body relaxed. Exhaling gradually, I hooded my gaze, watching through the grey smoke as golden eyebrows instantly snapped together, and Queen Cooper ordered him, “Continue, please.”
London stayed muted, rolling his head on his shoulders with a little sigh of contentment.
The stodgy group stared blatantly at him, clearly understanding what had been occurring, and their eyes darted to Queen Cooper, who was starting to appear confused but trying to hide it. When she started to take steps toward him after a moment, her hand glowing, I instantly shoved off Sin, stumbling to stand in front of London. I pressed my back to his front, kind of falling with the action, but I did it gracefully. I pointed my cigarette at her where she had stopped in surprise. I let my eyes glow under their hooded lids, showing a bit of anger, as I murmured casually, “Contrary to previous actions, I’m not big on someone taking away another’s free will.” I ashed my cigarette directly on the floor before taking another drag. Jerking my head back to where she had been originally standing, I exhaled slowly, blowing the smoke in her face. “Why don’t you go and stand over there, and I’ll explain what happened.” It wasn’t really a request.
Silence drifted throughout the room as Queen Cooper cocked ever so slightly, her eyes running over my face gradually. She eventually asked in an unruffled voice, “Caro, are you threatening me?”
Unbidden, my lips tilted at the edges as I took another drag, fully understanding the games of the powerful. Ashing my cigarette, I blew the smoke again in her face, stating honestly, “Queen Cooper, I respect and admire you, so I’ll let you in on a little secret.” I cocked my head, same as her, stating bluntly, “If I was threatening you,” a shrug of my shoulder, “you wouldn’t be asking me that question right now.” I again tilted my head at her previous spot. “And my point is this: if you’d like the truth, I’ll give it without spells inflicted on the unwilling.”
Her head slowly cocked to the other side, golden hair slightly swaying with the motion. Her golden eyes still scanned my face, unfazed. “You stopped the spell.” I took another drag, staying mute since it wasn’t really a question, and her eyebrows lifted. “You protected him.”
I chuckled softly. “Don’t act so surprised. Just because I’m a criminal bitch, it doesn’t mean I don’t have a damn heart.” I took another drag before dropping my cigarette on the tiled floor, stepping on it and rubbing it out, putting black streaks all over the tile. “Now, shall we get on with the story of last night?”
Her lips curved slightly, her own feral bitch showing. “Yes, please do.” And…she didn’t move back to her spot, staying exactly where she was only a few feet in front of me.
I yawned in her face, more than tired of the political power plays and absolutely ready for my bed. “So, the short and skinny is, after we broke into the school, which London already explained the dynamics of, we and about a hundred others were in the gym. We brought in desks from the teachers’ lounge so the card games continued, and we hijacked the overhead speakers and put on music so everyone could dance. Honestly, I have no clue where the kegs came from, but some of the partiers brought drinks with them, so we partied for another three hours.”
I cracked my neck and pulled another cigarette out, lighting it before continuing. “That’s when the Com police showed up. Someone had apparently driven by during the night and saw a few people jumping over the fence.” I shrugged with a drag of my cigarette. “Sin and I aren’t big on jails, so we snuck off to regroup, and we found a few individuals who had also managed to sneak away.
One of them was a Mage, and she threw a quick spell on us that we asked her to do, and we took control of the situation.”
Her lips thinned. “And by control, you mean what exactly?”
I blew the smoke upward. “Oh, you know, nothing abnormal, but something to get everyone out of trouble.” I flicked my finger between Sin and I. “We impersonated two agents of the MIA, taking jurisdiction from the Com police since the grounds were owned by Mysticals.”
For a few ticks you could have heard a pin drop in the room, before King Zeller arched a brow, asking steadily, “And they believed you two?”
“Mm-hmm,” I murmured, taking a drag. “But they wouldn’t leave until we kicked everyone out, and that was where we got in a bit of a pinch. A few of the actual MIA agents showed up because the Com police had to dispatch the information to them before going on school grounds. The real MIAs knew we were phonies. They did cover for us, first sending off the Com police, but then they were going to arrest us…so we retaliated.” Another shrug of my shoulder. “Instinctive criminal reaction, or whatever you want to call it. We just aren’t big fans of,” I ashed my cigarette, giving the word its proper respect, “jail.”
King Zeller made a noise in his throat and waved a hand. “Please…continue.”
“Well, there were six of them. Easy pickings, really.” I took a drag, blowing the smoke upward, grinning at the beauty we had constructed. “They didn’t know who we were yet, our appearance changed thanks to that spell, which London eventually took off us. But anyway, Aria was waiting outside for us like we had asked her to do, and I honestly have no clue were London ran off to since he had been missing after the first hour we broke into the place.” I shrugged a shoulder. “It was just Sin and me, and we used the oldest trick in the book.”
I inhaled and blew out the smoke. “I pretty much pretended to faint from too much drink, conveniently near the men — there were only two females in the group — and when they all became manly and concerned, trying to help me, Sin nailed each of them in the head with bits of rocks from the far wall. They were out cold, so we started to run, but low-and-fucking-behold, we heard more damn agents heading in our direction. So we really improvised.”
Chosen Thief Page 24
