by Kim Cormack
Zach leaned over and whispered, “You’re doing fine. Trust me. Those feelings, they are all in your head.” He placed his hand over hers. “I’ve got your back.” Immediately at ease, she looked at Zach’s hand on hers. She was being silly. She was over thinking everything. Kayn smiled, while looking into Zach’s eyes and said, “I know you do.”
Grey excused himself from the table and made his way to the open bar at the back of the room. Lexy looked as uncomfortable as she felt. Kayn smiled at her. Lexy stood up and began to make her way past the table full of Triad behind them.
Tiberius blocked her path with his leg and teased, “We should finish what we started this afternoon.”
Lexy smirked and stated, “Oh honey, you couldn’t handle me even if I came with blow by blow instructions.”
Tiberius whispered something to her that Kayn couldn’t quite make out. Kayn looked at Zach and he was also watching the steamy interaction.
Zach gave her a nudge and whispered, “It’s like watching a train wreck.”
Tiberius brushed a thumb that had been resting on his own leg softly against Lexy’s inner thigh. It was hard to tell whether Lexy was turned on or repelled by him. Out of nowhere Lexy hauled off and cuffed Tiberius across the face. Grey was on her, but he’d been a second too late. Grey towed Lexy away. She glanced back at Tiberius. He was smirking and rubbing his jaw. Kayn was sure he had loved it. They sat down at the table. It wasn’t very often that you got a front seat to Lexy and Grey uncensored. The three of them sat quietly, attempting to pretend that they weren’t listening to every word.
Grey scolded, “Seriously? You hit Tiberius five minutes into the damn banquet!” Lexy sat back down in the seat, still smiling. Grey grilled, “What in the hell did he say to make you have selective amnesia? We are in a cease fire and you bloody hit the leader of Triad? You could be entombed!”
Lexy chuckled as she replied, “I’ll tell you what Tiberius said, but I’m sure you’d prefer to leave this one alone.”
Grey took a drink of his wine and probed, “Tell me what he said?”
Lexy rather bluntly said, “I was going to look for you. He blocked me with his leg and suggested that we finish what we started this afternoon. I told him that he couldn’t handle me even if I came with instructions. Then he told me he was going to make me scream his name until I lost my voice. He touched my thigh and I liked it, so I hit him.”
Grey looked confused as he repeated her words, “You liked it?”
“I’m not sure why I’m defending myself. He touched me and I hit him,” Lexy whispered.
Grey’s tone became dead serious as he said, “Not Tiberius Lexy. Anybody but Tiberius.”
Lexy replied, “You can’t seriously think that would ever actually happen? He was just teasing me like he always does. It was no big deal.”
Grey leaned over and touched the side of her face tenderly. He kissed her lips softly and implored, “Please don’t.”
Lexy looked upset as she stood up and excused herself from the table. Kayn watched her make her way through the crowd across the crowded dance floor.
Zach whispered in Kayn’s ear, “I knew there was more than friendship going on there.”
She heard Frost’s laughter and it drew her gaze towards him. Frost was being Frost, cavorting with one girl after another without even the slightest glance in her direction. Good for him.
Melody held up her glass and declared, “Have a sip of this wine. I swear this is the best wine I’ve ever tasted.”
Kayn shifted her attention to her friend and chuckled, “I don’t think adding alcohol to my messed-up situation tonight is a great idea.” Kayn felt a tickle on the back of her neck followed by the warmth his hand on her shoulder. She grinned and shook her head. Frost’s breath was sweet scented from the wine he’d been drinking.
He whispered in her ear, “I am going to be flirting with Mel. Evidently my brother Thorne has a thing for her. It will drive him nuts. Try not to read anything into it.”
Frost was the reigning master of mixed messages. He didn’t owe her any explanation as to why he was flirting with Melody. He could do whatever he wanted. Kayn looked down at the little pot of tea as it arrived in front of her and thought, on second thought, maybe I will need a drink.
Frost swooped in and sat in the seat beside Melody. He whispered, “Color me impressed. It’s possible I had you pegged all wrong as a prude.”
“I’m not in the mood for your cryptic little mind games Frost,” Melody mumbled.
The gorgeous immortal took the glass right out of her hand, swallowed every drop and teased, “Well, just in case you want to know. Thorne hasn’t been able to take his eyes off you.”
Melody glared at Kayn and accused, “You told him... That was a secret.”
“I said absolutely nothing to him,” Kayn stated a little bit miffed that she’d automatically assumed she had.
Frost teased, “She said nothing. I was just watching my brother stare at you like a love-sick puppy dog and you just confirmed my suspicions all by yourself...Just now.” He took her glass out of her hand again and placed it down on the table. Frost added, “You’re doing this all wrong. You don’t want to be a sloppy drunk. You’ll make an idiot out of yourself and it will backfire. You need to appear to have moved on. You need to look like his presence doesn't have any effect on you.” Frost extended his hand to Melody and said, “Dance with me. Trust me… Nothing will piss Thorne off faster than that.”
Melody gave her a helpless slightly comical look as Frost led her towards the dance floor. Kayn turned around just in time to see the obvious look of panic cross Thorne’s eyes. Frost spun Melody around the dance floor, made eye contact with Kayn and winked at her. Kayn couldn’t help herself as she giggled.
Zach leaned over and imitated what he imagined Frost to be saying to Melody, “Just relax, go with it. You know what would make my brother certifiably insane? If we slept together, he would be absolutely furious.”
“It’s for the good of the game,” Kayn teased imitating Frost’s imagined smooth conversation.
“I’m sure Kayn would be fine with us hooking up. We have an understanding.” Zach chuckled. He continued to mock what Frost was probably saying.
He’d added her name to the conversation and his joke fell short of its mark. She made herself laugh anyway. Kayn and Zach were still joking around at the table when the empty seat next to her squealed as someone slid up beside her. It was Thorne.
With a knowing smile on his face Thorne said, “My younger brother’s immaturity level can be astoundingly toddler. He doesn’t really think I’m buying this, does he?”
Kayn couldn’t help but read between the lines as she answered honestly, “I think he’s just trying to help Melody feel better.”
Intrigued by her response, Thorne said, “Well aren’t you a breath of fresh air. Not a lie in that whole sentence.”
Kayn kept the brutal honestly going as she replied, “Why bother making a half assed attempt to lie to you. Honestly, I think Frost probably figured the two of you out about five seconds after you first saw each other. It was obvious to everyone.”
Thorne smiled and said nothing. He took two glasses of wine from the tray as it passed by him and placed one in front of Kayn. She looked up at him and smiled. She tasted the red liquid as it slid between her lips onto her tongue. Her taste buds danced. She understood what Melody had been talking about. She had wanted to taste the wine. She’d been curious. Thorne knew what she wanted without her having to say anything. He would have been a wonderful guy to have as a boyfriend. They sat in silence with the humming of everyone else’s conversations going on around them. There was no need to speak.
Zach piped in, “I’m missing something here.”
Kayn replied, “Thorne here and Melody had a thing when she was with Trinity.”
Zach looked at Thorne and directed his next question at him, “You were actually together in the biblical sense?”
Thorne
looked serious for a second as he watched his brother and Melody dance. He glanced at Kayn and said, “She looks happy. Has she been happy?”
Kayn met his eyes as she answered, “She hasn’t been with anyone else if that’s what you’re beating around the bush about.”
Thorne didn’t reply. He just smiled as he took another sip of wine. Orin was sitting close enough to hear the conversation. He shot Thorne an unmistakable look of disapproval. This was getting awkward. Thorne had slept with Orin’s daughter. The song stopped and Frost scooted into the chair beside his brother.
Thorne scowled at him as he accused, “That was a little mean spirited. Going after the girl your brother cares about, that is so unlike you.”
Frost chuckled, “Oh, come on. That was my good deed for the day. You obviously needed a push. She went to the bathroom. If I were you, I would go talk to her. You can be alone in there.”
“That is the very last thing I should do. You’ve always been a trouble maker.” Thorne mumbled while watching her walk away.
Tiberius slipped into a seat on the other side of the table, “I was feeling left out of the brotherly bonding moment.”
“I just was pointing Thorne in the right direction,” Frost said while taking the wine Thorne put down.
The leader of Triad teased, “Well isn’t that nice of you. You should find me a date while you are offering up your clan.” Tiberius met Lexy’s glare from across the table and sighed, “No means no Lexy. I don’t want to date you.”
Without hesitation, Lexy threw a knife from the table directly at his chest. Tiberius caught it on instinct. He was completely impressed, where another would have been traumatized. He appeared to be in personal awe of her.
Tiberius seductively said, “You really have not one single bit of self-control, do you? That may be my new favorite thing about you.”
Lexy scowled at him with unveiled distaste. She was like a machine.
Tiberius gave her some unwanted advice, “Next time, distract me before you throw the knife. You might take me by surprise and hit your target.” He stood up and threw the knife back at Lexy. She placed her hand in front of it and it went directly through the centre of her hand. Without flinching, Lexy yanked the blade out of her palm. She very casually held her hand up towards Tiberius. Her hand did not even have a chance to bleed before the wound closed and disappeared completely. Both Grey and Orin had tried to restrain her. They were obviously afraid she was going to stand up and kick his ass. She wasn’t going to though. Kayn suspected it was exactly the opposite. This felt like foreplay between Dragons. Tiberius gave her a knowing smile. He had Lexy’s number. Tiberius knew exactly how to press her buttons.
Grey took Lexy’s freshly healed hand and said, “Let’s go get some fresh air.”
Lexy replied, “Yes, the air smells a little bit off in here.”
Tiberius pointed at Frost and mouthed, “I think he farted.”
Lexy couldn’t help it, she smiled. Grey was grinning as he dragged her away from the table. They almost jogged through the dancing people and out of the room. Orin looked disappointed as they left.
Zach leaned over and whispered in Kayn’s ear, “I don’t know what it is tonight but Lexy’s looking insanely hot.”
Kayn whispered back, “Lexy just tried to stab someone.”
“Only Tiberius,” Zach chuckled.
The leader of Triad smiled at them and shook his head. He’d heard everything. Tiberius grinned at Frost and carried on their prior conversation, “Arrianna’s with Markus. Lilarah is a work in progress. Who does that leave? Oh yes, the tightly wound looking lion. What was her name again?”
Tiberius was killing two birds with one stone. He was testing her to see if she was capable of disguising her feelings and Kevin to see if he remembered her on some level deeper than he had admitted to.
Frost assured, “I’m sure that Kayn’s not the slightest bit interested in you.”
Tiberius met Kayn’s eyes from across the table as he said, “I know who she’s interested in.” He raised his voice, “Kevin! Come over here son! We’re all getting to know each other!”
Thorne stood up at the table as Kevin sat down. She wanted to stand up and leave but she couldn’t give him the reaction he was looking for.
Tiberius said, “Don’t leave yet brother. You haven’t met my grandson. Kevin, go and shake Uncle Thorne’s hand.”
Kevin reached across the table, shook Thorne’s hand and apologized, “Sorry, my grandfather’s being a bit of an ass.”
Thorne smiled at him and said, “Sorry for the whole genetic glitch thing. I don’t mean this as an insult, but I was really hoping my brother would never have the opportunity to procreate.”
“If he was my brother I would have hoped for the same inability,” Kevin replied as he sat down in an obvious attempt to humor his grandfather. Kayn wanted to avoid being part of the show. Someone startled her by pulling out her chair. How in the hell does he always sneak up on me like that?
Tiberius smiled from a cock-headed position above her and said, “Let me take a good look at what all the fuss is about.” He took the pins out of her hair and her hair cascaded down her shoulders again.
“Will you cut that out!” Kayn stammered as she swatted him away and attempted to pin her hair back up.
Tiberius brushed her hand away and her hair tumbled back down. “Sit back down. Let’s have a toast to old friends. Drink this.” He handed her another drink.
Kayn glared at him and set it back down on the table. She did not like to be told what to do.
Tiberius ordered, “Do as you’ve been told or I will be forced to throw you over my knee and spank you right here in public.”
Kayn rolled her eyes. She picked up her drink and replied, “You can try.”
Tiberius cracked a grin, “I like her.”
Kayn met his eyes and said, “I don’t respond back to men that talk about me and not directly to me.”
Tiberius teased, “You just did.” He looked at Frost and said, “I don’t think she knows I’m really going to spank her.”
Frost spoke, “Please Kayn, do me a personal favor for the sake of the cease fire. Humor him or he is going to become a giant pain in the ass... Literally. Then I’ll have to step in and it’ll become a big thing.”
Kevin was sitting far too close to her. Tiberius pulled his seat up between Kevin and Kayn. She was doing her best to avoid looking at him but he was only a few feet away. She stared at her wine glass and then across the table, trying to look anywhere else. She raised the glass of purple liquid to her lips and swallowed. She licked a few drops off her bottom lip and peered up through her eyelashes. Kevin was staring at her and he wasn’t even attempting to be stealth about it.
Tiberius politely enquired, “Tell me all about yourself Kayn. Which parent do you get that gorgeous curly hair from?”
Frost looked at him and hinted, “Take a good look at her.”
Tiberius stared at her for a second before she saw his eyes light up. He declared, “I’ll be damned. She’s Freja’s daughter?” He tapped on Kevin’s shoulder and pointed at a blonde man quite clearly staring at the table. Tiberius requested, “Do me favor kid. Bring Uncle Frey over to the table to meet his niece.”
There was a moment of awkward silence at the table before the banter began again between the brothers. Kayn made eye contact with the man that was her uncle. Why wait? Undeniably curious, she stood up and walked away from the table towards the blonde good looking man Kevin was speaking to on the far side of the room. Kevin saw her approach and motioned to the man Tiberius had called her uncle.
The man they’d referred to as Frey stood up to greet her and immediately suggested, “Let’s go for a walk and get away from prying eyes.”
She followed his lead as he walked through the dance floor and out of the building through the door marked fire escape. They stepped out onto the balcony. He paused for a moment before openly gawking at her.
The man known as
her uncle explained, “I don’t mean to stare but you look so much like her. I imagine you know what it’s like to have a twin. How you don’t even feel like a separate entity sometimes.”
Kayn replied, “I’m actually not a separate entity from mine. Imagine how messed-up that feels.”
Frey leaned over the railing without looking at her again. He said, “I imagine you have a lot of questions?”
Kayn bent over the railing and responded without looking at him, “Some questions but nothing that matters.” She nodded and imagined she felt a touch of what Melody must have felt like to lay eyes her genetic donor. This stranger was a living breathing member of her immortal bloodline.
Her uncle casually changed the direction of their conversation, “How have you been finding the transition to immortality?”
“It’s been both good and bad I guess,” she answered honestly.
Her uncle responded, “Isn’t everything?
He was staring at her again as he spoke, “Do you mind if I look at something?”
Kayn hesitantly replied, “I guess?”
Uncle Frey lifted her hair, looked behind both of her ears and breathed a sigh of relief. He was checking the birthmark, making sure it wasn’t on the wrong side. Kayn wanted to ask the question burning in the back of her mind, but he wasn’t Ankh so she didn’t dare. She blurted out, “Now that you’ve not so stealthily checked to make sure that the right twin survived the Correction. Do you happen to know where your sister is?”
“I lost contact with her.” Frey replied. “There’s no ceremony when you are punished and entombed. If her own clan doesn’t know where she is then that is usually the reason. If she were anywhere else, the Ankh would have been able to track her whereabouts. We were in opposing clans but we always kept in contact. Now as far as the infamous birthmark goes, you can’t blame a guy for being a little curious?”
They both stared over the railing as Kayn dared ask the question that plagued her thoughts, “What would you have done if the birth mark was on the wrong side?”
He turned to face her, replying with brutal honesty, “I’d snap your neck, just to take you out of the equation for the evening. It’s obviously too late to change your clan but the third tier’s Oracle would be informed. They’d entomb you and block your clan from the Testing.”
