by Cara Wylde
The Merciful Death Cabal ended up preparing a pretty good number for the scythe demonstration. As it turned out, Silene was quite the dancer. With her leadership skills, she managed to convince us to do as she said, and on the eve of the Yule Ball, we were all feeling confident. She’d insisted that I stepped onto the stage later, as the pièce de rèsistance. That was fine by me, even though there would be no one there to see me.
Yep, that was right. I was the only one whose parents didn’t come. How would they, when they were all dead? Both biological and foster parents… And Mila was too busy reaping. She said she’d try to be there, but then this horrible new virus outbreak in the human world ruined her plans. It was okay. If no one was there to see me, that meant less pressure to be perfect. It was enough that all the other parents would probably stare at me all night, trying to figure out whether I truly was what everyone said I was, whether I lived up to my reputation.
“Everything’s ready,” Corri chirped. She popped out of nowhere, like she always did, her wings buzzing incessantly. Mila had always hated that sound and tried to make Corri sit when she was around her, but I found it soothing. It filled the silence and reminded me that I was not alone. “I spelled the broom closet. Anyone who steps in there will think it’s a goddamn hotel suite.” She chuckled.
I smiled. “Good. I can’t wait.” I was standing in front of the tall mirror, trying to zip up my ball gown. Corri helped me. I’d decided to go with red because it fit me so well. And I was the only one in the MDC wearing red, which meant Silene’s plan to have me in the center of attention as the star of our cabal was going to work even better. I also wanted the five guys who’d made the bet to suffer as they realized they’d been discovered and outsmarted. I wanted Seth and Davien to see what they’d lost. My blond hair was pinned up in a complex bun, with strands falling around my face. I’d applied natural makeup on my lids – no reason to ruin a perfectly pretty face, – and went with blood red on my lips. Red mani and pedi, as I wore a delicate pair of high-heeled sandals. To be honest, I felt good in my own skin. And I needed this after how Davien had made me feel after the shenanigans in the forest.
These past two months had been tough. I couldn’t let the guys know I’d found out about their stupid bet, so I had to play cool. I stayed out of their way, but I couldn’t completely avoid them. After all, I wanted them to believe the bet was still on and they each had a shot at winning it. I didn’t change my seat in Geography when Seth sat beside me, and I laughed at Davien’s jokes in the hallways. I even made small talk with Phoebus, the false god in the RDC, and accepted Huriel’s company on a stroll to the Holy Chapel to check my worth points. To my surprise, he wasn’t the jerk I thought he was. Then, why was he doing this? Just so he’d look cool in front of the other guys? It was ridiculous! They were supernatural, for fuck’s sake, and they behaved like spoiled children! I couldn’t stomach Valac, though, so he got zero attention from me. I hated him with a passion.
“You look gorgeous!”
I stepped to the center of the room and spun. My long gown swirled around my ankles, brushing the floor softly.
“No, you look gorgeous!”
Corri blushed. She was wearing a sparkling green dress, with an open back, since her breasts were so tiny that she never needed a pixie bra. Tonight, she wasn’t going to be invisible. The plan was to enter the ballroom together, Corri on my shoulder, her green dress a perfect complement to my red gown.
“Come on,” she said. “The party is about to start, and we have work to do.”
The dining hall had been turned into a ballroom. The long tables of the four cabals had been taken out, and in their place, the staff had brought in round tables with six seats around each. I was seated next to Hayley and her parents. The other two seats at our table were occupied by Silene and her mother. Her father was MIA, and Silene didn’t like to talk about him.
As I stepped through the tall open doors with Corri on my shoulder, holding my scythe with the right hand and the heavy skirt of my gown with the left, all eyes fell on me. I kept my back straight and my chin up. I was the only one at the Academy who owned a pixie, and even if I couldn’t care less and didn’t consider Corri my property, I knew literally every single person in this room was impressed and a little jealous. The fact that I hadn’t showed her off until now ensured a greater impact. I walked toward my table with grace and care. I was in no hurry. I could feel Davien’s eyes on me, his incubus magic rushing to cling to my aura as I strolled past him. I turned my head and offered him a smile. His green eyes lit up. Oh, he thought he was special, didn’t he? Seth was next. He was sitting between Mr. and Mrs. Khepri, and he looked rather bummed. For some reason, Professor Maat was sitting at their table, and it struck me that she was probably talking to his parents about her daughter, Cleo. As I went past them, Seth’s eyes found mine, and for a second, the tension in his face and shoulders dissipated. A smile pulled at the corner of his lips, but he quickly averted his gaze when he noticed Professor Maat was staring at him. What was the deal with his parents and Nefertari Maat? Seth was a sphinx, for God’s sake! One of the rarest and most noble species of supernaturals. He should have been allowed to make his own choice when it came to his potential partner. Not that I considered myself such a possible choice. If he forgot about me, he would be doing me a favor. But my heart clenched at the thought, so maybe I wasn’t being completely honest with myself. Damn it! These two idiots have messed with my head so hard that I don’t even know what I want anymore! I finally took my seat, and Hayley and Silene introduced me to their parents. As they chatted lightly over my head, asking me questions from time to time, I couldn’t help but notice Professor Wyvern in a corner. I replied to Silene’s mother on autopilot, but she seemed satisfied. My eyes were trained on Adrian Wyvern, nursing a glass of whiskey and watching the colorful crowd with barely concealed disdain. He didn’t seem to be a fan of these gatherings. He was wearing a black, perfectly cut suit, and he looked incredible in it! His shirt was black, too, and the lack of color, instead of making him look creepy, made him look like a bloody male supermodel. He’d dressed like he was attending a funeral, not the Yule Ball, and silently, I kind of agreed with him. It was going to be the funeral of at least five jerks – two from the VDC, two from the RDC, and one from the MDC.
The live band played a soft, classical tune. A few couples were on the dance floor, but people were still settling in. In an hour or so, the scythe demonstrations would begin, and the Violent Death Cabal was going to go first. It was time to act. I excused myself, stood up, and strutted past Seth’s table. He looked like he was interested, he leaned forward as if he wanted to come after me, but his mother placed a hand on his arm as she laughed about something, and he shot me an apologetic look.
Shit. Who would’ve thought Seth was going to be the hardest to get?
Davien was next. As he saw me disappear down the hallway, he assumed I was going to the restroom, so he swiftly followed me. Corri had long flown to her designated post. It was my job to bring her the victims.
The incubus caught up with me. I spun around, and he was suddenly in my personal space, his hands coming up to cup my face.
“What are you doing?” he asked, his voice low and husky. “Where are you going?”
“I needed to get out of there,” I whispered. I placed my hands on his strong chest, keeping him at a distance. Our lips were inches apart, but I didn’t want to kiss him. I knew that if we kissed, he’d get into my head, and I would forget all about the plan. “I needed you out of there. I have a surprise for you.”
He grinned. “After all this time?”
I pouted. “Well, I didn’t want you to think I was easy… So, I took my time.”
He licked his lips. He was so horny that he didn’t see through my act.
“Close your eyes. Actually…” I reached inside a hidden pocket of my dress. There was a reason I’d chosen such a wide, expansive gown. “I have something that I want you
to put on.” I pulled out a blindfold and waved it in his face as I looked at him through my long lashes. I was giving him the best bedroom eyes I had in my arsenal of feminine bullshit.
He bit his lip. “Oh my, Miss Aleksiev. I had no idea you were so… kinky!”
“Well, do you like it or not?”
“I love it!” He grabbed the blindfold and put it on himself.
I almost couldn’t believe this was so easy. I took his hand and guided him down the hallway. A left, another left, and a flight of stairs to make him believe we were going to one of the MDC dorms. We were in the MDC tower, in fact, but our destination was not a dorm-room. Let alone my dorm-room. At the end of the hall, I pushed him into the broom closet Corri had spelled earlier. She was there, waiting for me. The moment Davien stepped over the threshold, the pixie’s magic activated, and he had the impression that he’d stepped into a wide, cozy space. Before I closed the door behind him, Corri blew a handful of pixie dust in his face, and Davien fell instantly asleep on his feet. She’d spelled the pixie dust to act like a sleeping drug. The thing had a lot of uses!
“Well done!” She chirped.
We high-fived, then I grabbed the skirt of my gown and rushed down the corridor, back to the ballroom. One down, four to go.
Huriel, Phoebus, and Valac were easy prey. Especially Valac, who was shocked I was giving him any attention at all. He followed me like a puppy. Seth couldn’t help but notice something was going on. When Davien didn’t return, and I kept coming in and stepping out with a different guy every time, he excused himself and left the table. He caught me just as Jace Merlin was asking for a dance. Seth took over, and Jace was forced to walk away, a deep frown on his face. Seth pulled me into his arms, and we disappeared amongst the other pairs, away from his parents’ prying eyes. Professor Maat was probably seething right now.
“What are you up to?” he whispered as he searched my face. “You look… happy.”
I giggled. “I am happy. Why wouldn’t I be? It’s a wonderful evening, a lovely ball… Aren’t you happy?”
He sighed. “My parents want me to get engaged to Mrs. Maat’s daughter, Cleo. But Cleo and I have been friends since we were toddlers. We’re not exactly attracted to each other.”
“Oh.” Cleo sounded like a normal girl. I felt bad for thinking she was the one who wanted to trap Seth in an unhappy relationship. “That sounds awful.”
“It is.”
My hand trembled in his. He felt it and squeezed my fingers. He had a strong effect on me, and I couldn’t deny it, couldn’t really fight it… Even knowing that he’d placed a bet with the other guys, I still found him fascinating. And a little sad. He had this gloomy, mysterious air about him that made it difficult for me to stay away. As we danced, I remembered how he’d let me ride him in his shifted form, and how we’d soared through the sky. How his fur and wings had kept me warm as we defied the cold ocean breeze.
I took a deep breath in and released it slowly through my nose. I had to stay focused. Grounded. I wasn’t going to back down now. I didn’t care about his sad story. He was still a jerk.
“I’m sure you’ll figure it out,” I smiled. “You can’t let others decide for you.”
“Yeah. Well, that won’t happen, for sure. But I don’t want to cause a war between our families.”
“A war? That’s a little dramatic.”
“Not when you’re a sphinx and your family insist on the purity of our blood.”
I shrugged. “So, find another sphinx. Not Cleo.”
He looked down at me. Our eyes locked, and I lost myself in his blue depths for a few seconds.
“I don’t want to date a sphinx. Sphinx women are arrogant and entitled. They only care about wealth and the latest fashion. Instead of an engagement ring, a sphinx woman wants her suitor to bring her a pixie to show her just how much he treasures her.”
“Don’t tell me… She’ll get bored of the pixie in exactly one month.”
“Less.”
“I don’t think I like sphinx women that much.”
“Me neither. That’s why I won’t ever date one.”
I thought for a second. “Does Cleo want a pixie?”
“Eventually. But not from me. And her mother just doesn’t want to get it through her thick skull.” He shot Professor Maat a murderous look over my shoulder. “And if I don’t behave and at least pretend I’m somewhat interested in Cleo, she butchers my worth score.”
“That’s unfair.” And life was going to get even less fair for him in a minute.
The song ended, and Seth spun me around to take a better look at my dress.
“You didn’t answer me. What are you up to tonight?”
“Wouldn’t you like to know,” I giggled seductively. Or I hoped it sounded seductive, since I wasn’t exactly the giggling kind.
“I would…”
I bit my lower lip, letting my teeth pull at it in slow motion. He was mesmerized. I had him right where I wanted him. I sneaked my hand into his and pulled him away from the dance floor. As we left the ballroom, we walked past Professor Wyvern, who’d just topped his glass for the dozenth time. The Unseelie followed me with his gaze, and for a moment, I thought he was going to stop us. After all, the scythe demonstration was about to start, and Seth should have gotten ready to go on stage. I shot Wyvern a look over my shoulder. He scowled at me and shook his head. God knew what he was thinking! He didn’t care enough about the stupid scythe demonstration to intervene. And he didn’t care at all about me, seeing how I was dragging a man after me and he just allowed it.
I had to get Adrian Wyvern out of my head. He was nothing but trouble.
“Wait! Where are we going?”
“You’ll see.” I pulled out the blindfold and threw it at him. He caught it and stared at it like it was the ugliest thing he’d ever seen. “Put it on. It’s a surprise.”
“I don’t want to. I like to see where I’m going, thank you very much.”
I spun on my heels. Pressing my breasts against his chest, I looked into his eyes and purred: “You’re always so in control.” I traced a finger up his neck. His Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed hard, and I caught myself wanting to kiss it. I resisted the temptation. “What if you let go just this once? Don’t you trust me?”
He cocked an eyebrow. “I don’t know. You’ve been avoiding me lately.”
“I didn’t want you to think I was easy. After what happened with Davien… I felt… embarrassed.”
“Oh.”
Poor fellow… He believed me! Of course he did. To a sphinx who thought he was the center of the world, a woman who was embarrassed around him because he’d almost caught her fucking another guy made sense. Right then, I realized that I was going to go through with the plan because I hated him. He’d said that sphinx women were arrogant and entitled. He was next level! And a misogynist, too.
“I’m sorry,” I went on, dragging him closer and closer into my trap. “I don’t know what happened on Mabon. I don’t even like Davien, you know.”
“I know. It’s hard to resist him because he’s an incubus. But you’re not really attracted to him. He’s messing with your head, invading your energy field… It’s disgusting. If it hadn’t been for his powers, he would’ve never gotten a girl. He would’ve died a virgin.” He laughed out loud.
I laughed with him, hoping he didn’t notice how forced it sounded.
“So, will you put this on?” I took the blindfold from him and ran it down his cheek. “For me? Please.” He nodded. Once I had his consent, I slipped it over his eyes, grabbed his hand, and pulled him in the direction of the broom closet.
The blindfolds had been spelled by Corri. They didn’t only prevent the guys from seeing where I was taking them, but they also dulled their other senses. When their eyes were covered, they became compliant. I stuffed Seth in with the other guys, and Corri blew pixie dust up his nose. We now had a broom closet full of jerks. Sleeping je
rks. I closed the door and motioned for Corri to do her thing.
The pixie twirled in the air three times, whispered something under her breath, then sent a wave of golden energy toward the door. Her magic sealed it like glue. It wouldn’t last forever, and the five idiots would eventually wake up and escape, but it wasn’t going to be easy for them, either. Yes, Seth was a sphinx and he could shift. He wouldn’t have enough space. Davien had probably replenished his magic the night before, by fucking some random chick. There was a good chance he’d be the one to get them out of there. However, I knew Corri’s magic was strong, so I was pretty confident they wouldn’t be able to escape until after the scythe demonstration. And that was all I wanted – for them to miss it.
Corri and I returned to the ballroom, where the VDC was already on the stage. They were looking for Davien and Seth, asking around, and freaking out. Seth’s parents didn’t look pleased. Davien’s parents were slightly more relaxed, but when the music began and the guys in the Violent Death Cabal took their positions, even they paled. To have their sons miss the scythe demonstration was a disgrace. It denoted lack of respect, disinterest, incompetence. All the parents had come to see their darling offspring wield their scythes for the first time and perform beautifully.
Well, tough luck.
The VDC did great, in my opinion. No one missed Davien and Seth. The NDC was next, and while they were dancing, and swinging their scythes, and swaying in unison, I noticed Domina and Scarlett starting to freak out. For one, Domina’s little obsession – A.K.A. Davien Krause – was still missing. And now both Huriel and Phoebus were missing, and it seemed like they had pretty important roles to play in the RDC’s number. I poured myself some red wine and sipped as I watched their downfall.
