by Abbie Lyons
“Indeed,” I said. After the creepy mom-watching incident the other day, I was more than ready to forget my troubles. I hadn’t ever really been to a proper party, for one thing. I’d snuck into the occasional bar to sneak some free popcorn, and been to one disastrous school dance way back when I was 12 because my foster mother forced me, but other than that...nope. It was part of the typical college experience I hadn’t even realized I was missing.
Except that nothing about this party was going to be typical.
“Everyone’s going to be fashionably late,” Morgan said, flicking the eyeliner across her lids in a perfect, symmetrical cat-eye. “I mean, God knows it’s already 10 p.m., but still.” She shrugged. “Demons.”
Surprisingly, Morgan wasn’t going all-out fashionwise, but opted for a more casual look she called “jeans and a party shirt”: jeans, obviously (and obviously black ones) plus a loose-fitting, sapphire-colored shirt of something liquid-looking and glimmery. “Don’t want to look like I’m trying too hard,” she’d explained.
I, for my part, was keeping it even more casual, in a black tank top with crisscrossing straps, dark blue skinny jeans tucked into my Docs, and—just for the hell of it—red lipstick. Morgan’s idea.
“Well, we’re here!” Teddy chirped. He was wearing an adorable version of “nerdy guy on a date”: a button-down shirt and what were clearly his “nice jeans.” Except ever since he’d gone through his butterfly-like transformation, he looked pretty good no matter what he wore.
“Yes,” Karolina added. “We are.”
My roommate’s version of party-wear was...pretty much a stereotypical party dress: dark maroon velvet with ruffles at the neck and sleeves. It was like something the chick from Beetlejuice would’ve worn, and I loved it.
Morgan sighed. “You all are perfect angels—well, not actually, but you know what I mean.” She flung down her eyeliner. “That said, I hope you’re not the only ones who show. That’d be the kiss of death. I mean—”
A single loud knock at the door interrupted her. Morgan shrieked with delight.
“Guests!”
She swung open the door to reveal Aleks, decidedly un-decked out in the same standard-issue Hades Academy uniform he wore every day. Guess not everyone was seeing this as an opportunity to show off their fashion sense.
“I have brought vodka,” he said, handing forward a bottle.
“Oh, you shouldn’t have!” Morgan said, ushering him in. “I mean, really it was unnecessary. Demons don’t have much of a taste for that stuff, I’m afraid.”
“Is okay. I will drink it.”
Aleks immediately lived up to his word, popping the cap and taking a giant swig that would’ve made anybody else barf within seconds. Aleks, however, looked entirely unfazed.
“Incredible,” Teddy observed in fascination. “Just incredible.”
“What a way to start a party,” I mused. Then again, as was well established, what did I know? Binge drinking didn’t seem out of the ordinary.
From there, the guests began to trickle in. Next, of course, was Zelda eager to see her “Tedster” (“we called him that first” Morgan seethed), and dressed to the nines in a tight-fitting green dress that almost exactly matched the shine of her emerald hair. Matthias, he of Morgan’s one-time sorta-date and Teddy’s roommate, showed up after that with a surprisingly large crew in tow—who knew he had so many damn friends? After that, I lost count. The trickle slowly turned into a steady stream and before I knew it, Morgan’s room was packed to the walls.
Morgan pecked my cheek and explained she needed to mingle, which I was fine with. And then I was alone. So this is a party, I thought. Elbowing through dancing bodies, shouting to make myself heard, chugging water at every opportunity. Morgan’s playlist was pounding on all sides, and I found myself sweeping my hair off the back of my sticky neck. The air had turned hot and thick pretty quickly—or as far as I could tell, seeing as I had no idea how much time had passed—even after a flush-faced Karolina forced open one of the iron-trimmed windows for a jolt of winter wind. Meanwhile, one of Matthias’s friends had turned Morgan’s desk into a wine-pong table, and he and Teddy were going head to head, with Zelda cheering them on.
But even given all the people, what was most on my mind was who wasn’t there: Camilla, for starters. Morgan kept an eagle eye out even as she was tossing back shots of Hellwater. Of course, the rumor mill, in the form of Zelda, would probably make her aware of how badass the party was regardless.
But no: I was looking for Raines. I hadn’t personally invited him, of course, but both his roommates, AKA The Infernal Other Two, were already there. Aleks was holding court in an armchair, animatedly explaining something about advanced fulguration to a pair of girls who were either sleepy or drunk, and Collum was making a strong case for the title of Life of the Party. He was singing along at the top of his lungs with every word of the music—from Beyoncé to Backstreet Boys throwbacks to far more traditional demon music—and even though it should’ve been annoying, there was something about him singing terribly in that Irish accent of his that was absurdly endearing. The only person who didn’t seem amused was his date, Amarind Bradbrook. (Still couldn’t believe that was an actual name.)
That boring bitch, I thought before reminding myself that she hadn’t stolen an actual boyfriend from me. All the same...boring bitch.
If this was a party, it was all a little overwhelming. Nothing like gathering a whole bunch of students in one room to make me realize that there were still so many people at Hades who I didn’t know. I didn’t want to just cling to Morgan; she was busy flitting around and looking absolutely delirious with happiness at how many people had turned up, so I didn’t want to kill her vibe. Maybe it was the not-insignificant amount of Hellwater I’d already consumed talking, but I figured there was no better time to start, you know, starting random conversations. Finally finding myself at a wall, I took a pull from my goblet—because of course Morgan wasn’t going to outfit us with regular-ass Solo cups—and nodded.
“What’s up?” I asked a blonde girl who looked cool, but a bit uncomfortable, especially given how she was wobbling on her heels. Maybe she just didn’t know many people either. First year? I hadn’t bothered to meet any of them.
“Oh not too much,” she replied. She took a sip of her own drink. “You’re that Nova girl, right? I keep hearing a lot about you.”
“About me?”
“What, like you’re surprised?” She sighed. “Raines brings you up all the time.”
A shot of lightning crackled down my spine. “He what?”
Raines, who wasn’t even here? God, only he could play hot and cold within the span of 30 seconds. But wait, no. I didn’t want him going out of his way for me. I didn’t want him sacrificing anything.
This was so complicated.
I drained my goblet.
“Okay, not all the time,” she admitted. “Not him, exactly. But I put two and two together.”
“What do you mean?”
“Fine. Not gonna lie, I tried to ask him out,” she went on, her voice hoarse over the music. “He said it wasn’t going to happen. There was someone else. Then I filled in the gaps based on what everyone else said.”
“And what did everyone else say?” I pronounced the words slowly, carefully. Was I drunk? No. I didn’t get drunk, not regularly if at all.
“You’re the half-human girl,” she said simply. “The one who’s got all the guys wrapped around her finger. Your wish is their command. Chew ‘em up and spit ‘em out.”
My stomach plummeted. I didn’t mind being called half-human—that was par for the course at this point, and even Camilla (who still didn’t seem to be here) couldn’t hurt me by pointing it out anymore. But this other thing. If that’s what people thought about me: that I could get guys to do whatever I want. That I wrung everything out of them for my own selfish purposes. That I was no better than she was.
Chew ‘em up and spit ‘em out.
&nbs
p; That hurt. Like a dagger to the gut.
“People said you’d gotten Collum pretty bad.” Why was she still talking? My grip tightened on my goblet. “But then when I heard about Raines—I mean, God. Anyone who can get that bad boy to heel must have mad skills. What’s your secret?” She hiccupped, then giggled. Right, because to her, this was all a game. She wasn’t the daughter of one of the most deranged, evil, legit murderous seduction demons this side of the Rocky Mountains.
“Nice talking to you,” I mumbled. “Not.”
Karolina’s joke was a lot less funny when I tried it. I pushed my way back into the fray, past Collum’s karaoke version of “Me!” and Teddy and Zelda unapologetically making out against one of Morgan’s bed posts to one of the little upholstered footstools where—thank God—my savior, my best friend, Morgan herself was doubled over in laughter.
“Finally,” I said, plopping down next to her. “I’ve been looking for you everywhere.”
“Noves!” Morgan’s face lit up. “Funny thing, same here. We’ve been dying for you to join.”
We?
She floated a hand in front of her and I realized she was surrounded by a small semicircle: Aleks, his tie finally a bit loosened; Ruby, Camilla’s other crony who looked totally blitzed; Matthias; Karolina; and...
“Raines,” I said.
And hiccupped.
Fuck. How did I miss him?
“Hey,” he said.
Unlike Teddy, he wasn’t dressed to impress, per se. But he still did it for me. Tight black T-shirt, weathered black jeans. Hell, we had practically the same outfit on. Isn’t that cute? A pendant at his throat. God, it killed me to see him like that, both because my pheromones were rioting off the charts and because the blonde girl’s words were still churning in my mind.
“Now!” Morgan clapped her hands. “We’ve got the proper ratio—well, in a heteronormative sense, if that’s all right with everyone—and we can get going. Karo?”
She offered what seemed to be an empty wine bottle to Karolina, who gingerly set it on the carpet in front of us.
“Seriously?” I said. “Spin the bottle? What is this, fifth grade?”
Morgan just cackled. “Come on, Noves. Just a bit of throwback fun.”
To her right, Karolina nudged the bottle barely two inches. The neck pointed straight at Matthias, whose light brown skin looked a little flushed.
“Intriguing,” Karolina said. She stared up at him.
“Cool,” Matthias said, and leaned across the circle and smacked one right on her.
“Ahhhh!” Morgan squealed and clapped her hands. Ruby echoed the gesture, then flopped sideways onto Aleks. Raines gave a small smirk. His eyes were on mine.
Matthias settled back down and Karolina continued to stare dead ahead. I honestly had no idea whether she’d liked it or not. But hey—get it, girl.
That was definitely drunk Nova talking. I squeezed my eyes tight.
“Next up!” Morgan said. “Nova.”
Of fucking course.
“Morgan,” I said through my teeth, “can we not?”
“I’m afraid we can’t not not. Can’t not not? We have to,” she bubbled. “You’re uuuup!”
The bottle was shoved into my hand. I set it down without spinning.
“I don’t want to,” I said. “Come on.”
Raines’s gaze was hard on me.
“No, you come on,” Morgan said, and sloppily pushed my palm against the bottle. The label had a little cartoon devil on it—charming.
I bit back a sigh, knowing the only way to get her off this notion was to comply. “Fine.” I pushed the bottle with my pinky finger until it was facing...me. “Look at that. Dead end. Guess I’m done.”
“Um, no way.” This was, of all people, Ruby, who I guess wasn’t as drunk as she seemed. She lifted a manicured hand, snapped her fingers, and the bottle whirled in place at triple speed until grinding to a dead halt—
—right in front of Raines.
Ruby snickered. Karolina continued to stare, but her eyes were even wider. Morgan’s mouth fell into its trademark oh shit O of surprise.
Even with the music resounding against the walls, it felt dead quiet. Raines’s golden gaze locked with mine, and in that moment I felt every stupid trembling inch of my own body, from the light sheen of sweat on my exposed arms to the blossoming heat in my stomach to the irregular and speeding skip of my heart.
“I...” I broke the spell. “God, Ruby, don’t fucking do that.”
I got up. Only a little unsteady.
“I’m getting some air.”
The door to the hall was only a few steps away, and as soon as I slipped through, the rush of coolness was a blessed relief. I swept my mass of hair off my neck and shoulders for what felt like the millionth time, parked myself in front of the wall, and leaned back.
Eyes closed, I took a few deep breaths.
“You all right?”
Eyes open.
I stared Raines up and down.
He had his hands in his pockets, his voice low. Eyebrows just barely lifted.
“That was a bitch move,” he said.
“Well, thanks,” I said. “Tell me how you really feel.”
“Of Ruby,” he clarified. “You’re awfully touchy, though.”
He stepped in front of me, putting his hand against the wall right by my face and leaning in.
“I have a right to be touchy,” I said.
“I’ll say.”
I closed my eyes again. God, not everything has to be innuendo.
Except maybe with me, it does.
“I know I was late,” Raines was saying. I could catch his scent from this close, that intoxicating masculine smell. “I wasn’t sure if you’d want me to come. But then I figured I’d do it anyway, regardless, just in case you wanted me here. But I was late, yeah. Is that why you’re pissed?”
“No,” I said, and opened my eyes. He was inches from my face, from my mouth. “I’m not pissed.”
“Lie,” Raines murmured. And crushed his mouth to mine.
It felt good—so good. Like he always did. Instinctively, my hands grabbed at his upper arms, pulling him closer to me, drawing his whole body to press against mine.
And then, like a shock to the system, I pushed him back.
“Jesus, Nova,” Raines growled. He looked slightly dazed, his eyes half-lidded and his breathing hard. “You know how to tease a guy.”
In another context, in another world, for another two people, that would be a flirty thing to say. Something to invite me back, kiss him harder, go further than just kiss.
But to me, it was something different entirely.
“I don’t want you doing things like that for me,” I blurted out.
“Kissing you?”
“No,” I said. “Coming to parties as a favor. Anything like that.”
Raines frowned. “What the hell are you talking about, Nova? Did you not want to see me?”
“No,” I said again. “It’s not that. It’s just...would you have come to this party if it weren’t my best friend’s and you thought I’d want you to?”
“Of course not,” Raines said, almost snarling. “I loathe parties.”
His words twisted around my heart. “So there you go. Don’t come to them.”
“But you’re...” Raines pulled fully back, folded his arms, the black T-shirt stretching deliciously across his shoulders. My eyes had to flutter shut. “Okay. Fine. Whatever you say.”
“I just...I don’t want you doing things for me,” I said again. “That makes sense, right?”
“No,” Raines said. “Not even a little.” He straightened up. “Good night.”
“You’re leaving?”
He started down the hallway. “You didn’t want me to come, so I’m going to go.”
“That’s not—”
“Look, Nova.” He turned, a few yards away from me, and gave me a plain, honest look—no teasing, no malice, just Raines’s open face. “You
do whatever you need to figure out whatever you need to figure out. But I’ve already had one girl keep my hopes alive for too long. Don’t make me go through that again.”
His footsteps echoed and gradually faded until there was nothing left but muffled party music and the sound of my own breathing.
Chapter Seven
I woke up the next morning feeling like complete and utter shit. After Raines left I started to hit the alcohol a little too hard and, to my embarrassment, a lot of the night was a blur after that. There were definitely trips to the toilet involved, but the memory was so vague that I wasn’t even sure who’d held my hair back. I also seemed to remember insisting that I perform “Celebrity Skin” by Hole for karaoke, simply because I found it hilarious that the song used the word “demonology.” Given my extreme inebriation, I can’t imagine anyone got much enjoyment out of that one.
Mostly I just felt guilty. For what? I wasn’t sure. But I was positive that at some point I’d done or said something really stupid that I just couldn’t remember anymore.
That’s it, I bet everybody hates me now.
Was I probably overthinking it? Almost definitely yes. After all, everybody at the party was pretty sloppy. But my hungover brain wasn’t able to think straight.
I think the real proof I’d drank too much, though, was that I couldn’t even bear the thought of eating breakfast. Usually the idea of scarfing down waffles and pancakes and scrambled eggs brought me nothing but joy. But right now thinking about eating anything just made me feel like throwing up again.
Karolina made some unholy noise from over in her bed before going straight back to lightly snoring. Was it awful of me that knowing somebody else was also feeling super shitty made me feel a little better?
Luckily, I didn’t have any early classes. Lying in bed a little longer and hoping that the pounding in my head settled down was probably my best bet. I wanted to be clear-headed as possible for Professor Mantel’s class now that the possible connection between necromancy and my mom’s cult had been swirling around in my head. Probably better to save that question for after class, though—I could only imagine the stares I’d get if I raised my hand to randomly ask if communicating with the devil was technically possible.