by Amelia Jade
Rhynne realized he was talking about himself there, and his mate that had died before him. She wanted to know more, but Rhynne respected his decision not to go into detail as well.
“What should I do?” she asked bluntly.
Daxxton smiled. “I cannot tell you that, Rhynne,” he said gently. “You must do what you need to do. What is best for you. But if I could say one thing, it would be this: do not give up on something before giving it a chance.”
She nodded.
“I’ll give you some time alone,” he said. “If you need me, I’ll be around. Otherwise, I shall see you this evening.”
He rose, and with a squeeze of her shoulder, departed, leaving Rhynne alone with her thoughts.
Which, she soon came to understand, was exactly what she needed to process what he had said. Daxxton hadn’t used many words, but he had said so much at the same time.
Something Daxxton had said in those words niggled at her brain.
Why would he see her tonight? What was tonight?
Rhynne sat upright.
Of course. No wonder they were discussing the Wards when I got here. They’re all going to meet them tonight!
She’d gotten so wrapped up in the world her parents lived in that she’d forgotten they hadn’t yet been fully exposed to the rest of Cadia. That would happen tonight, at the party being held in their honor.
A party she had to attend. Where both Dominick and her parents would be present.
And Garviel.
Oh boy.
Chapter Seven
Dominick
He tugged on the collar around his neck, unused to the feeling of such a tight-fitting outfit. His skin itched everywhere, or at least it felt like it. Dom rarely was seen out of his jeans and white T-shirt. That was a perfectly acceptable outfit in almost every occasion he was present for. Why couldn’t he wear that tonight?
“I look like a clown,” he muttered, tugging on the neatly hemmed pants, trying to pull them away from his leg a bit. “Are you sure this is the size I’m supposed to wear? These feel awfully tight.”
Asher just ignored him, but Zeke couldn’t quite contain a laugh. “Dom, you need to get used to wearing dress clothes. Especially if you’re going to become a Guardian. They have to wear these far more often.”
“What? Nobody told me that! I quit!”
“You can’t quit something you aren’t a part of yet,” Asher said, finally entering the conversation.
“You take your logic, and you get out,” Dom said grumpily, though he smiled as he dodged the elbow Asher threw his way.
“In all seriousness,” Asher said, “you’ll just have to trust us, Dom, but you look good. The ladies will love it.”
He started to roll his eyes, then paused.
Would Rhynne think I look good?
“You’re sure?” he asked cautiously, drawing curious stares from the two of them at his sudden change in tone.
“Yes,” Asher reassured him. “Seriously, look at yourself, man!” He turned Dom to face a shop window so he could admire his new look.
Dom had to admit the dark gray suit with pinstriped patterning and a black shirt with no tie looked mighty sharp. His shoes were so shiny they practically glowed as the light from the falling sun reflected over them. His hair, always kept buzzed right down, was trimmed up neatly as well.
His hand came up and ran across the day-old stubble that covered most of his face. Dom had never been one for facial hair, but the others had convinced him that it was a great look that suited him well. Like so much else lately it seemed, he was taking their advice over his own thoughts.
“A far cry from getting drunk in some dirty-old bar, isn’t it?” Asher said.
There was a fair amount of poorly concealed relief in his friend’s voice, and Dominick knew that the two of them were glad he’d stopped his headlong rush down that particular road. But Dom was past that life now. He’d been on the mend already because of the efforts of Asher and Zeke, but the bombshell that Rhynne had dropped on him promised to be more motivation to do whatever was necessary to turn his life back around.
Dominick was going to be there for his child, son or daughter he didn’t know, but it didn’t matter. They would have a father in their life. He would not allow himself to fall down that rabbit hole anymore. He’d not touched a drink since, and the desire for it, the urge, was gone. Even if it came back, all he had to do was to remember the look on Rhynne’s face as he’d promised her he would be there for her, and that would be that. He would succeed.
They hadn’t had a chance to speak at all during the day, but he was hoping that would change tonight, with the day’s training now behind them. Perhaps he could steal her away for a dance or two. They had so much more that needed to be talked about. Mostly about the baby, but he wanted to talk to her as well. The old Rhynne had shown up yesterday, and Dom was desperate to see if she was still around, if perhaps things were going to ease between them.
Perhaps they might even grow close once more, like he longed for.
“Well, here we are, gentlemen,” Zeke said, pulling him from his thoughts as they approached the Cadian Hall.
Each shifter territory had its own Hall. It was the central gathering place, an auditorium of sorts, that could handle the entirety of the population. There they could meet on momentous occasions to handle issues looming large for each individual stronghold. Or, such as was the case that night, the Hall could play host to a massive party, as Cadia officially welcomed its guests from out of town.
The Cadian Hall’s unique feature was that it was mostly underground.
Only a single story high above ground, the building stretched for several blocks to either side of them, and was more than three blocks long as well. The arched roof at its peak in the center reached almost three stories, but the true wonder was what lay below the surface.
“It’s been a while since I’ve been here,” Zeke said as they jogged up the wide steps to the front door.
“Agreed,” Dom said, looking at the ornately carved columns of marble that decorated the outside, polished to a brilliant white.
Multi-colored stained-glass windows covered the sides, depicting various scenes from shifter history. Animals of all shapes and sizes, and shifter heroes of folklore were prominent in many of the scenes, though in other places there were images of the founders of Cadia and the early struggles relevant their own stronghold.
Several men and women dressed in black uniforms stood in front of the doors. The Guardians wore no colors except for the gold badge pinned to their right chest. It was the letter G, which was then made to look like the jaw of their respective animal was holding the letter in place. He saw a dragon, a wolf, a lion, and two bears.
“Gentlemen,” one of the bears said with a nod as the trio passed them.
They returned the polite greetings quickly, before pulling the door open and heading inside.
Music reached their ears almost immediately as they stepped forward to the railing, overlooking the scene below. The Cadian Hall was a giant rectangle on the outside, but inside an effort had been made to have more gentle curves and a flowing shape to it. Every time Dominick looked down upon it, he marveled at the impressiveness of it all.
The bottom tier, several stories below, was a giant oval, broken up on the sides and the ends by wide staircases of beautifully carved wood. One level up, in the four corners, were slightly more private areas. These were more square boxes that came right up to the edge of the lowest tier, but didn’t overhang it. The roof of the third level, a giant ring one set of stairs below them, covered the boxes. It was to this level that the giant staircases came up to, providing a grand entrance for anyone walking down to the main level.
“Where are Quinn and Amber meeting us?” he asked his friends. Their mates had said they’d meet the boys there.
“Right here,” a voice said over his shoulder, and the three turned as one.
Dominick recognized Amber easily enough, her shoul
der-length black hair falling neatly to one side, accentuating the skin bared there, as her dress hung from the other side only. Zeke made a coughing noise as he looked at his mate and moved to her side.
Quinn looked just as wonderful. He was momentarily jealous of his friends, even if he harbored no actual desires for their women. That didn’t mean he couldn’t appreciate beauty when he saw it. Quinn was wearing a floor-length dress of brilliant white that matched Asher’s white suit perfectly. Her brown hair was pulled back and up, allowing the streaks of color—back to purple again he noticed—to show through.
But in the middle of them was a strange woman that he didn’t recognize. She was short, small, but still powerful-looking with the easy grace of a shifter. Probably wolf, he thought. Her brown eyes screamed of intelligence and blonde hair bounced in curls behind her.
His stomach felt uneasy. Had they brought him a date without telling him? Panic bubbled up deep within him, and he became rooted to the spot, unable to move as the paired mates said their greetings and he and the unknown woman stared at each other awkwardly.
Finally Amber seemed to notice what was going on and broke away from Zeke.
“Oh, where are my manners!” she said with a laugh. “Dom, this is Mina. Mina, this is Dom.”
His suspicions were immediately aroused at the twinkle in Amber’s eyes. Something was up, and whatever it was he wasn’t privy to it for some reason. He steeled himself, however, and forced his feet to move, carrying him closer to Mina. No matter what, he wasn’t going to be rude to her.
“Hello,” he said, unsure if he should hug her or what.
Mina saved him the trouble by sticking out her hand. Dom fought his eyebrows back down and extended his right hand. They shook.
“Shall we then?” Asher said, gesturing to the side where stairs led down a level.
Dom hooked his right arm out to Mina, who easily slipped her own through it. They followed the other quartet down the stairs. As they descended, the lighting grew brighter. The upper levels were layered with darkness, while the bright lights illuminated more the lower one went. By the time the three pairs reached the top of the staircases, there were no more shadows present.
They reached the bottom and immediately Mina, who hadn’t said a word, seemed to notice something.
“Dance with me,” she all but ordered him, taking him out onto the floor as a whirling tune was struck by the live band playing from one of the boxes that had been roped off for their access.
“Okay,” he said dumbly, still trying to figure out what the hell was going on.
They moved together, and it took Dom a few moments to gain the beat of the song and begin to move in time with it, taking Mina by the hand and spinning her around. The press of bodies around them grew tighter as more people crowded the floor.
Dom didn’t care. Mina was a phenomenal dancer, and he simply kept moving with her. At one point she made him spin around. Dom laughed and did as he was told, losing grip on her hand in the process. He frowned at that; it shouldn’t have happened. As he completed his circle he froze suddenly, as did the other party, completing their own turn.
Mina was gone, he noted, moving away with a man she practically melted into, who had the same look as her. Probably her mate.
In front of him, however, he tried not to stare.
“Rhynne,” he said, the pair of them standing unmoving in the sea of gyrating bodies.
She looked amazing.
“You look beautiful,” he said out loud, trying not to stare and failing miserably.
She wore a dress that cut off just above the floor. It rose up, hugging her figure, over her hips and conforming to her stomach and breasts like clingwrap. The figure of it was stunning enough, but the coloration—moving from a red through to an orange, with just a fringe of yellow-ish orange at the bottom, all done through some sort of glittering stone—was simply stunning. It didn’t reveal much skin, yet at the same time, it showed him all he needed.
“Dom,” she said softly as she came to a stop. Her hair was swept up in a high ponytail and it continued to bob from side to side for a few moments longer.
“We’ve been had, I think,” he said with a look toward Mina and her mate, whom he assumed had been dancing with Rhynne.
“Yes, I do believe so,” she said, a smile creasing her face. She wasn’t wearing much makeup, but she accentuated her cheeks and eyes just enough that he couldn’t stop staring.
“Care to dance?” he asked nervously, his throat suddenly dry.
Rhynne looked around at the others all still dancing, and shrugged. “I never did like being the odd one out,” she responded, and took his outstretched hands.
Dom laughed and began to move again. They didn’t say anything more; instead they simply allowed themselves to get lost in the moment, becoming whirling dervishes as they moved in and out of each other’s arms. The thousands of others who surrounded them were all but forgotten for those several minutes, until the band wound down for a quick breather.
He guided her to the edge of the press of people, where they could talk slightly more comfortably.
“How did they all know?” he asked, referring to Mina and her mate.
“Mina is my best friend. She knows everything, so she must have plotted it all,” Rhynne admitted.
“Ah, I see. Well, thank you for not blaming me,” he teased.
Rhynne swatted at him lightly.
“Although I don’t know how Asher and Zeke went along with it. Unless they know too?”
Dom snared her hand and gently pulled it to his mouth, pressing his lips to the back of her palm.
“Hey, easy, okay?” she said. “It’s not that I don’t like it, but…” she trailed off.
“But there are lots of people around who might see it,” he said unhappily.
Rhynne nodded. “I’m sorry. I promise, I’m going to tell my parents. I just don’t know how to do it yet. Not without them absolutely losing their cool,” she told him lamely. “I don’t want them to hate me.”
“I don’t want them to hate you either,” he agreed. “Though I’m not sure how I feel knowing that they would hate you because of me. That part twists the knife a little bit.”
Rhynne looked unhappy, and he sighed, deciding to drop it for the moment.
“Can I get you a water or something?” he asked instead.
“That would be wonderful,” she told him with relief. “I’ll meet you over in the Mountain Box? Mina and I have a table there.”
He nodded and set off. There were three bars set into the wall below the boxes. The fourth housed washrooms and other such amenities. After a long wait in line for the two waters, he headed up for the Mountain Box. Each of the four boxes was so named after the surroundings of Cadia.
Mountains to the west. Plains to the north. Forest to the east, and Desert to the south. The boxes inside the Hall all aligned with their compass points as well. There were also images carved in bas-relief above each box, in case one didn’t know where to go. The entry to the boxes came from the wooden staircases. There was a landing level with the boxes, and he slowly ascended one, pushing against the flow of people as he carefully held the two glasses.
At one point a group of youngsters came marauding down the stairs, and Dom flattened his back to the wall of the box above him at the side of the stairs. Normally he would interfere, but he was busy just then.
From above, spurred by the momentary lull in music, he was actually able to pick out Rhynne’s voice.
“Come now, Mother. You can’t be serious. You didn’t really think I would be interested in him, would you?”
There was a pause. He couldn’t hear her mother; she must be talking too quiet. Even Rhynne’s voice was fairly faint.
“I’m sure he is nice. In a way. But the answer is no. Not interested, at all. In anything. I’m not going to give it a chance. As soon as it’s finished, he’s gone, and I’ll be happier for it. That’s just the way it is.”
Dom’s h
ead thudded dully into the wall at her words.
She wasn’t interested in him. It was all fake. Rhynne was just waiting for his training at the Academy to be done, and then she could be happy again. Without him. She was going to raise the baby without him.
He couldn’t believe it. The world came crashing down around him.
“Here,” he said, angrily shoving the water glasses at a passerby, who took them in confusion. But before they could say anything, Dom was gone, losing himself in the crowd as he worked his way to the far side of the stairs, and then ascended all the way to the top.
The inviting darkness of the corner beckoned him, and he tried to melt into it, wishing it would swallow him whole just then. He didn’t want to deal with the world, or anymore of its bullshit. He was tired of being lied to, and treated like some sort of second-class citizen just because his parents weren’t part of the Cadian Council or something.
Well fuck that. He was a good person, and had a lot to offer. There had to be someone out there who would appreciate him for him.
But that person wasn’t Rhynne. Not the Rhynne that he normally saw. But the one that existed somewhere inside of her. The one he had seen the night they had lain together, or when she came to him yesterday, vulnerable and afraid, with momentous news. He wasn’t sure why Rhynne was so carefully hidden.
He should ask her about it.
No, she’d just deny it, he was sure.
Footsteps interrupted his reverie.
“There he is. I told you I saw him coming up here.”
His head snapped up at the accusatory tone.
Four men detached themselves from the crowd heading downstairs that continued to flow in and made their way around the top level to where he was standing. His back was against one of the outer walls, under one of the stained-glass windows. By then the sun had gone down, and the only light came from below. It was his enhanced eyesight that let him see them clearly.
“Who are you?” he asked warily.
They were all clad in formal suits, though the style and cut were different from most that he had seen during the night. It was like they didn’t quite fit in for some reason. There was no emblem on their chest, so they weren’t Guardians. Who were they then, and what did they want with him?
