by LJ Byrne
“Is this what you’re wearing tonight?” Katrina asks, shaking out the gown from the garment bag. I normally go for silvery or red shades, but the gown she’s viewing is in sheer black with silvery metallic threads making a lacy pattern. “Very dramatic. Like an avenging angel.”
I consider my best friend’s words. “Maybe. Or a fallen one,” I quip. We exchange grins, but mine falters first. “Tonight, everything comes to an end.” I exhale sharply. “And then that’s it. I can’t let this take over my life.”
Katrina lays the gown out thoughtfully, her slim fingers straightening the folds of the dress. “They tried to kill you. They should be in jail. But if you hang on to that path of destruction, you’ll lose yourself. You’ll end up destroying things to achieve your goal.”
I sit next to her. “I saw my grandmother. I know Peter Spark – my father – died in a car accident. While she’s never suggested it, I wonder if it was an accident. What if… What if he ran out of steam? She said we were alike in some ways.”
There’s quiet wisdom in Katrina’s face. “From what Dad said, you are similar and different. You wanted to change society, too. And your intentions were pure. But you’ve made sacrifices, and I don’t think they were easy for you. You’re too young to go down that destructive path.”
We get dressed and head down together. Jasper is dazzling in a white linen suit with a black silk shirt – he looks borderline angelic. I laugh a little since he is far from an angel. Both Brock and Mason are in traditional suits, but Lucas gives me a moment’s pause. He’s in a dark gray suit with a matching vest. I swear he must have a closet full of dark clothes. His silk tie contrasts well with his crisp white shirt. The suit is fitted, showing off his toned figure and broad shoulders.
When he sees me, there’s a touch of uncertainty in his appreciative gaze, but his eyes kindle and warm as I take his extended hand. “You look exquisite.” His eyes darken as he lingers on the moonstone necklace against my skin.
“Get a room, you two,” Charles says, entering the room with his twin.
“Gladly,” Lucas smirks, making a faint sound when I elbow him sharply.
Bruce’s lips twitch. “Here we are. Our last Christmas Eve party as students of Highbury.” He glances around.
I realize something. We did not all begin as friends – and who’s to say that the Elites were friends to begin with – but we’re friends now.
“We’ll need to make it a habit to do this every year,” Mason suggests, “or come up with our own traditions.”
“Growing up is hard,” Brock deadpans.
“Don’t worry, Brock, we expect you to remain immature forever,” Katrina teases. Brock sticks his tongue out.
“You’re all in good spirits,” Elizabeth Maverick says, looking delicate in pale pink. The color suits her even if it washes out the vibrancy of her red hair. “Elena dear, Henry Caruso wants to do a duet with you this evening.”
I turn all shades in less than a minute while Brock turns green. “Oh, dear, I promised Brock we’d sing together tonight.” I paste a smile on my face. “I mean, it’s our last time as high school students.”
Brock latches on to the idea immediately. “We’ve been practicing,” he lies outright.
Elizabeth breezily accepts our excuses. “Not a problem. Oh, Lucas, your father said he’d be here a little early to talk to you.”
Lucas tenses slightly. “Ah, yes, he mentioned he would.” I squeeze his hand gently
“Let’s go to the solarium before everyone arrives,” Mason suggests to his sister.
Lucas holds me close for a few seconds before we join everyone.
CHAPTER 8
When I began my plan to take control of my life, there were many things I didn’t predict. I didn’t predict a strange boy from another country. I didn’t predict the Elite girls’ attempt to kill me. I didn’t predict Lucas. I didn’t predict my emotions.
It’s with a sense of trepidation that I see Lucas walk off with Michael Rhodes. The tense set of Lucas’s shoulders, the shadows in his eyes, tell me what he’s feeling. Lucas is so caught up in watching his father that he misses the faint nod I give Michael.
I help Katrina greet some of the guests before making my way to the den that Elizabeth had directed Michael towards. When I reach the door, I hesitate when I hear a loud thump. My heart beats hard, and I’m overwhelmed with an emotion I can’t place at first; then I realize it’s fear – more precisely, fear for Lucas. Another sound followed by a shout has me bursting through the door in my midnight gown and done up hair.
Lucas looms over his father, hands clenched in single-minded focus. Michael Rhodes, on the ground with a split lip and a blooming mark along his cheek, has one hand up as if to defend himself, the other hand holding him up. The cruel smirk I normally see on his face is replaced by surprise and confusion. Both men turn the moment I step in: Lucas doesn’t want me there; Michael Rhodes is reassessing.
“Get out of here, Elena,” Lucas snarls at me, and he’s shaking. I see a bit of blood at the corner of his mouth.
I stand my ground. Lucas knows better than to order me around. Michael Rhodes shakily stands as his son crouches slightly, clearly expecting a fight. “Well, my dear, shall we settle this once and for all?” Michael asks me with false bravado, his breathing hard as he wipes his mouth. My face contorts with disgust as I look at him. “Alright, son, she’s here. What’s it to be? You can have everything. You want her? You can have her. The life you’re accustomed to. The privilege. You know what you simply need to do.”
Lucas doesn’t move from his spot, his eyes flickering over my face.
“Leave Lucas alone,” I find myself saying.
Michael Rhodes sneers. “Look, Lucas, look how she defends you. Be honest with me, Elena—”
“Don’t you say her name!” Lucas roars. His hands are red and bruised, but he looks ready to bash his father’s face in.
“Tell me honestly,” Michael rushes out as Lucas descends upon him, “who did you turn to when you needed funding for the Club? Who do you turn to when you need that favor?”
I know his intent. And to some extent, we’ve agreed to what would be said here. I open my mouth, but Lucas grabs his father by the throat, pinning him to the wall. “I told you not to talk to her,” he snarls through gritted teeth.
“Lucas—”
Michael yells, “She’s with you out of pity! She told me so! She felt bad that I disowned you! In her heart, she wants to be with Jasper Bourbon. He’s her equal in every way! But you can change that.”
The flicker of uncertainty. The shadow. I wait. Five seconds. Ten seconds. “Elena?” A plea. A hope.
“Don’t lie to him now, Miss Spark,” Michael chokes out as Lucas’s hand tightens.
I evaluate the situation. Everything is hanging on one decision. “I do feel I am to blame, Lucas.” I’m calm, impassive. I hate this game.
The breath. The indecision. An agonizing look. And then he shakes his blond head, his gray eyes bright and almost silvery. “No. No, I won’t do it. I won’t use her,” Lucas says on a shaky breath. “Even if I’m not good enough for her. I never deserved her to begin with. I refuse to do anything at your bidding.” He pants with emotion, letting his father go. “I won’t. I won’t be under your control again, Father. And if you touch me again, I won’t hold back. You wanted me to be strong? You don’t want to know how hard I can truly hit. And if you touch Elena or go near her, I don’t care what happens to me. I’ll kill you.”
I close my eyes briefly, but then I don’t hesitate. I run to Lucas – or I try to. It’s difficult to do that in a dress. So, I hitch up my skirt and stumble forward. I grab Lucas, even when he resists, and throw my arms around his neck possessively. “I’m sorry.” I kiss the corner of his bleeding lip before kissing him gently until he trembles and reaches for me. “You’re mine, Lucas Rhodes. I love you.”
I’m sure he’s rumpling my dress when he grabs me tightly, and I would be lying if we aren’
t shaking just a little. I look at Michael Rhodes’s jeering face.
“You’ve lost the bet,” I say, feeling Lucas tense in my arms. I cup Lucas’s face with my hands. “Your father and I made one last bet. I said you wouldn’t let him hit you anymore. He said you’d propose to me just to be reinstated as his heir.” Startled gray eyes gaze at me. “That’s what he offered, right?”
“We could have united two great bloodlines, Lucas,” Michael says with disdain.
“What did you win?” Lucas’s tone is uncertain.
Michael says nothing, pulling out a sheaf of papers from his inner pocket. He walks over to us, but his eyes – dark like Lucas’s but duller – focus on me. “How did you know?” he questions me.
I snatch the papers from the older man, my lips pressed thin. “I knew because when a person comes into his own, he fights back against the bullies in his life.”
“I want one more thing, Miss Spark,” Michael says in a ringing voice.
I keep my eyes on Lucas. “There isn’t anything more that I want.”
“He gets the money from the original trust fund set aside for him if you leave the Club. I will give you back your membership dues. But I want you out of the Club, you bitch.”
Lucas snarls, but I hold him back.
I don’t look at Michael. I don’t need to. “Get it to me in writing and it’s done,” I say shortly. “Now leave.” The Club can move to Antarctica for all I care. I’m done. Done with the Club. Done with bets. The sound of the door closing tells me we’re finally alone.
“What did you do, Elena?” Lucas’s worry bleeds into his voice. “What are those papers?”
“Do you hate me? Are you angry?” I ask first.
Lucas’s voice is muffled in my hair. “No. No, but I don’t want you anywhere near my father.
“He reinstates you as his heir without any stipulations.” I rest my head on his shoulder.
“And my trust fund?”
“I think Michael Rhodes is sick of me,” I deadpan. “He’s sick of both of us.”
“Did you say you love me?” Lucas positions himself to look at me. When I smile, he whispers, “Say it again.”
“I love you, Lucas Rhodes, even if you are a cocky jerk at times.” My fingers trace his curved lips before I brush the lock of blond hair on his forehead back. “I’m done with the Club and trying to control the world, Lucas.” I close my eyes. “I don’t want to make any more sacrifices.”
“I don’t want the money, you know that, right?” Even though he’s asking me a question, he’s distracting me with kisses to my neck. “I could care less.”
I’m a little breathless when I respond. “Keep it or give it back. Or crush your father. It doesn’t matter. I mostly did it to mess with him.”
Lucas stares at me in astonishment before chucking softly. “That’s my girl.”
We return to the party. Although I dance with all my friends, Lucas gets to hold me as much as he wants. His eyes never leave my face. When I told my grandmother that I wanted someone whose love for me consumed him, I meant it. Lucas didn’t change because I asked him to. He changed because the way he loves me required him to change.
At midnight, after the guests have left, we stumble to chairs and sit around the tree, yawning. Katrina hands out little gifts she’s purchased for everyone, but I’m reminded of my grandmother’s box. I return with the box, settling on Lucas’s lap to open it. Inside is an envelope with a card with the words Because you became wiser than your father.
I remove the document from the envelope. Lucas reads over my shoulder.
“She’s made you her heir,” Lucas says when Katrina notes my shocked expression. “Elena, you’re going to inherit the Spark fortune.”
And for some reason, that sets me weeping. I don’t want it, but I don’t know if that matters. It’s not Jasper who comforts me; it’s Lucas. And I think how strange it is that I’ve come full circle.
When Lucas walks me to my room, I turn to him with a question in my eyes. He doesn’t take his eyes off me as he enters my room.
CHAPTER 9
My exit from the Club is met with mixed reactions: joy from the members, relief from my friends. In all decisions, I take time for self-reflection. Lucas takes great pleasure in telling Jasper my debt is paid. It doesn’t change my deal with Jasper. I won’t renege on my promise.
BSGirl was my outlet, an escape from a life where the kids were cruel, and life had become constrained to rinse-repeat. I had to take my hands off things I couldn’t control.
Over breakfast, Jasper confronts me about the Club. “So. You’re done. Just like that.” The way he phrases it, I can’t tell if he approves or disapproves.
“I am.” I glance at Katrina and Bruce, both of whom are listening but pretending not to. Lucas makes no such pretense.
“And BSGirl?” Jasper continues to be a hard read.
Lucas places his hand on the small of my back in support as I state, “Taking a break.” I smile at Brock, who is disappointed.
The lord of Ectotania uses his fork to make a pattern in the syrup on his plate. Then his blue-green eyes flicker between me and Lucas. Without warning, he reaches out to stroke my cheek. Lucas’s hand is there in an instant, trapping the other boy’s wrist in a vice grip. The smile on Jasper’s face is not a pleasant one. “I see. So, the deal is done between the two of you.”
Lucas rises to his feet. “I don’t see how that’s any of your business,” he says coldly, “but don’t touch her. She’s mine.”
“Lucas.” There are lines Jasper will cross, but he won’t cross them with me. I don’t know how or why I know this. I just do. “Jasper, I’m tired. I’ve gotten my message across. And they won’t come after me again.”
Jasper’s eyes soften. “Of course.” He leans over. “I told you I would make you a queen. And now you’re coming into your own.” His smile is cocky and dangerous. “You know how to reach me if you ever need me.” With a wink, he straightens, pulling his uniform into place. “If you’ll excuse me…”
After Jasper leaves, Lucas presses a kiss to the back of my hand. “I don’t trust him,” he scowls. Bruce and Katrina agree with him.
I kiss Lucas gently. “But I do.”
I don’t see hide or hair of Jasper for three days. My calls and texts to him go unanswered until I receive a letter – an actual letter with the postmark indicating it was mailed from the airport. In his spidery script, he’s penned me a rather short note.
Elena, by the time you read this, I will have withdrawn from Highbury Academy. I’ll be in touch by summer. My work is done, and I never linger once I’m done. I am and will always be your monster to command. You know how to reach me if you ever need to. Or if you simply tire of Lucas. We’d burn bright and furious before we killed each other, but it would be worth it. I do have one last gift for you. You’ll know what it is when you hear about it.
Your avenging angel, Jasper.
Lucas reads it more than once. “Seriously, he wants to be your backup plan?” he scoffs. He drags me to his side. “I have no intention of letting you ever tire of me. Jasper’s a loose cannon.”
I mumble something that sounds like a cross between agreement and wonder when Katrina comes running towards us, eyes wide. “Did you hear?” she gasps out, Mason, Brock, and the twins right behind her.
“Hear what?” Lucas asks.
“Vanessa Valentino is dead.”
“What?!” I jump up.
“Not just Vanessa,” Bruce rushes out, his face pale. “Ashley, Kiana, Ben Summers, and Thomas Carver.” His face is pale with shock.
“They’re calling it a suicide,” Brock says in a shocked voice. “A suicide pact between all five of them. They found them together.”
Many things come to mind when I think of Vanessa. Suicidal is not one of them. Katrina stares at me in horror, mouthing, “Jasper.”
Mason puts an arm around his sister. “There’s a note by Vanessa saying that they decided they would do thi
s together. It just doesn’t sound like Vanessa.” His dark blue eyes look nearly black.
“So, that’s his gift,” I say softly as Lucas pulls me down on his lap, his arms tight around me. Everyone stares at me in shock. “He wanted blood. He wanted them to pay for what they did.” And when he realized I was not going to finish it, he ended things his way.
“Jasper. Shit,” Charles says, sitting down. He’s shaken. “Should we be scared?”
I shake my head gently, looking at the note. “No. He wouldn’t want to hurt us.”
“He wouldn’t want to hurt you,” Lucas says pointedly. “You are the only one he cares about. I knew he was dangerous, but this is just…”
I lean my head against Lucas’s shoulder. “I never wanted them dead.” As horrible as it sounds, I know why Jasper orchestrated their deaths. In the end, it’s to ensure that the Club will never bother me again. It’s a warning to them that there are forces out there they can’t control – or at least persons. I should be grateful, but I’m not. Jasper’s ruthlessness takes my breath away. If he is my darker half, in an alternate universe, would I have been capable of such brutality? There’s a strange hollow feeling in my chest. Five people are dead because of me.
Lucas holds me close. Perhaps he senses where my thoughts have headed. We don’t keep secrets from each other.
Katrina laughs nervously. “Anyone feel like a slumber party tonight? You know, a big pile of us sleeping in the same room or same area, maybe guarding the door?”
“Yeah, that sounds good right now.” Brock looks like he might be sick.
For the rest of the school year, we take turns so that no one really sleeps alone. While I’m certain Jasper wouldn’t harm me, not everyone shares my confidence. We agree it’s better to be safe than sorry.
CHAPTER 10
“You’re okay with taking a gap year?” I ask again.
Lucas grins at me. “We have all the time in the world, Elena. Yes, I’m certain.”