“I’ll save it for a rainy day,” I said, moving to hang the dress up myself. A masterpiece like this didn’t deserve the floor.
My phone blared to life.
Sliding it free of my jeans pocket, I studied the name. Holding my finger to my lips, I warned Tommy with my eyes as well. She nodded, and I put the phone on speaker.
“Safina,” I answered.
“Basilia. This is Kyros’s mother, Queen Titania.”
Oh, shit!
Tommy covered her mouth, and I shot her another warning look. “… Queen Titania, what an honour.”
“Thank you. I understand you do not wish to join us for Kyros’s birthday tonight.”
Tommy’s eyes narrowed to slits, and I turned away from her.
Busted.
How did you say no to a queen? I’d barely had any interaction with her. “I—”
“Do not make yourself uncomfortable,” she interrupted. “I understand perfectly why you choose not to attend. If you would, I have someone here who wishes to talk with you.”
My heart sank. I had a fair idea who—
“Human.”
My throat worked. “Hello, King Julius.”
His voice was tight with anger. “My queen is upset. She tells me the only way to undo this is to assure you I will not kill you this night.”
Uhm.
I rubbed my forehead. “Right.”
I listened to their furiously whispering voices.
“Or hurt you in any way.” He ground out after a beat. “You will come to Kyros’s birthday dinner.”
The phone disconnected, and we both stared at it.
“Fuck,” Tommy hushed. “What kind of cosplay crazy parents does Kyros have?”
My friend was much smarter than me. I shouldn’t have put the call on speakerphone. Tommy wasn’t meant to know about Vissimo.
“Pretty crazy, right? That’s why I didn’t want to go,” I hedged.
“Or tell me it was the douchebag’s birthday,” she accused.
We both jumped as a message appeared on the screen—an address.
Tommy slipped past me and returned with the white silk dress.
“Looks like you have a reason to wear this after all,” she said sweetly.
I snatched it from her. “Sometimes I think about maybe disliking you for a small amount of time.”
She scooped up her own pile of dresses. “Put it on, lovely. It may give you some enjoyment during the messed-up cosplay night you have ahead of you.”
Truth.
This was a blank canvas dress that would suit pretty much any make-up and hair combination, but my nude lipstick and natural-palette smoky eye from today’s spa day were perfect. Tommy emerged in a yellow dress with a green clutch and burnt-orange chunky heels.
“I seriously don’t know how you do it,” I said, kicking off my jeans. “If I wore that I’d look like a wearable arts version of a potted sunflower. Hot, girl. Seriously hot.”
She curtsied. “Let’s get that dress over your hair.”
My long blonde tresses were gathered in a loose arrangement that gave the impression it could come undone at any time, but I’d seen and felt how many pins went in. That shit was there to stay. The stylist had pulled out lazy curls all around my face and at the back, reinforcing the sultry elegance of the updo.
I might go back to that spa one day. I’d booked under a fake name and they still did their best. Though Sansi would never forgive me.
Tommy’s mouth formed an O as she looked me over. “Is it too late to switch teams?”
“Don’t tempt me, Tommy Tetley. Come on. Let’s go. The sooner you leave on your date, the sooner I can replace the memories of my night with yours.”
She tapped the back of my hand as I slipped into pointy-toed white heels. I usually hated matching heels to a dress. But if I didn’t rise to the unstated drama of this piece, it would crush me.
I looked at my friend, taking in her huge brown eyes.
She clutched my forearm, mouthing, “Will you be okay?”
King Julius said he wouldn’t kill me tonight. So no, I probably wouldn’t be okay. But I couldn’t get out of this.
If I didn’t live, Tommy was about to become a fucking rich woman. The condition of her inheritance hinged on her leaving Bluff City with her father without delay, however.
I winked. “Loves ya, babe. I’ll see you later tonight—or tomorrow.” I thought about the incredible sex she’d described at the spa. “Or Monday morning.”
We walked down to the lobby, and Tommy went off with Fred, and a carload of Indebted who left thirty seconds after. Tommy didn’t know she was being followed, and that’s how I wanted it to remain. They were under strict instructions to stay far enough away that she couldn’t see them.
I slid into the SUV with Laurel and the others, a second car ahead of me, and one behind.
“What’s in the bag?” Josie asked, gesturing to the black gift bag on my lap.
Something I’d planned to drop at the tower tonight while he was away at dinner. “Just a little gift for Kyros. It’s his birthday.”
Kelsea whistled. “Don’t we know it. One hundred and fifty years is a huge deal in our world. Like, you know how eighteen is considered adulthood for humans, but then there’s a bigger deal at twenty-one?”
I nodded, my gut twisting.
“This is Kyros’s twenty-first birthday.”
“So we’re the same age?” I said weakly. “Yay.”
My present was not a twenty-first level present. It was something I threw together on a whim. I clutched the top of the bag, wondering if I should ask Laurel to swing by Vie to get him something nicer.
Except that would give the wrong impression.
Shit.
Sighing, I passed Laurel my phone so she could read the address. Never knew if ears were lurking around.
She set off.
I was about to have dinner with Kyros’s entire family. What was my status there? I wasn’t his girlfriend, but apparently his mate. His father didn’t want us any closer than we already were.
Then there was that lingering bitter taste in my mouth from last night’s fight with Kyros.
Ugh.
Laurel pulled up to a set of black gates.
I lifted my head. “What? We’re there already?” That wasn’t nearly long enough to settle my nerves. For some reason, I assumed dinner was at the king’s mansion again.
“Yes, Miss Le Spyre. I believe this is Princess Safina’s family residence.”
On the estate side of Black.
I’d assumed Kyros’s siblings lived in towers too. But Fernando had said Safina had a child. “I see.”
We were buzzed in, and Laurel directed the vehicle down the driveway.
I frowned. “I expected Indebted to be everywhere.”
Fyrlia probably knew there was no point attacking all the royals at once. They were too powerful.
“This is a personal property, Miss Le Spyre,” Laurel answered. “A no man’s land. Fyrlia will not come here, but this evening does carry risk. Most of the Sundulus Indebted are guarding VIPs and other royal abodes during the celebration.”
No wonder, this was prime time for Fyrlia to cause a ruckus.
Laurel stopped nowhere near the house. She pointed right. “That way, Miss Le Spyre. Across the grass.”
Heels and grass. Perfect.
“Okay.”
“We’ll be close by,” she said, smiling at me in the rear-view mirror.
Laurel didn’t usually reassure me. I must look terrified. I took a deep breath and exhaled, trying to rearrange my face a bit so my topaz eyes weren’t huge and my lips weren’t parted. I circled my shoulders.
As ready as I’d ever be.
Josie helped me out, and Kelsea passed the gift bag to me.
I set off across the grass.
Rounding the corner, I spotted string lights in the middle of an otherwise open lawn. It looked like tables were set up. Spotting a bridge that
spanned a small creek to get from this lawn to the other side, I adjusted course, trying not to fall on my face down the slope.
Lionel appeared suddenly, nearly losing the battle for me. I jolted, pressing a hand against my chest.
“Lionel, you brat,” I said crossly.
Gerome appeared, shoving his brother out of the way. His grin lasted half a second before he was shoved away by Rory.
Lionel returned to the fold, and I stepped around the wrestling vampires to continue on, stopping short when I discovered Neelan behind them.
Face smoothed of any emotion, he offered his arm.
Walking to him, I studied the vampire closely.
He relaxed as I took his arm.
“Thank you, Neelan. Grass stains on white aren’t ideal.”
“No, and it would be a shame to ruin such a beautiful dress,” he replied, clearing his throat.
Uhm, charming much?
I couldn’t recall Neelan ever being nice to me, so I didn’t respond in case it was a trick.
We crossed the small bridge, and I took in the bubbling creek lined with lilies on each bank.
Picturesque was a weak word for the romantic landscaping.
A long table occupied the apex of the curving lawn across the creek. Candles in tall holders and string lights surrounded the table, illuminating the space and lending a lilting glow. More candles were spaced out along the white tablecloth at random.
The occupants quietened as we neared, and my heart thumped faster. Neelan directed me to the middle of the table and gestured at his father.
“Miss Le Spyre has arrived, Father.”
The king remained mute, and the queen hissed from the opposite end of the table.
“Welcome,” he forced out. “Sit.”
I curtsied, thanking my grandmother for forcing me to learn. “Thank you, King Julius. Good evening, Queen Titania,” I said, curtsying to her afterward. Who the fuck knew if that was correct protocol?
She beamed back, and I sucked in a breath at her heart-stopping magnificence.
“Welcome, Basilia. Thank you for choosing to come.”
Choosing? Sure.
“Where’s the birthday boy?” I asked. Everyone else was present.
King Julius snarled. “My heir is no boy.”
“Father, it’s a human colloquialism, not an insult.” Safina gestured to a seat on her left, and I squeezed Neelan’s arm before untangling myself.
I did my best to ignore the king’s unveiled dislike as I settled on the high-back seat. This was feeling more and more like the Mad Hatter’s tea party.
“Kyros is inside getting more wine,” Deirdre said to me. “But it doesn’t take this long to get wine, so I’d say he’s delaying because you arrived.”
Francesca grinned into her glass of water.
Cocking my head toward the house—an enticing vision at the bottom of the hill—I tuned into Kyros.
Anticipation. Nerves. Dread. Frustration.
Weirdly, we both felt about the same tonight.
“My lady.” Lionel snapped into existence on my left. “I apologise for not properly greeting you earlier.”
Kyros’s brothers were in that kind of mood tonight.
“Sir Lionel,” I answered. “Fear not the mode of your greeting. Sir Neelan filled the position with sufficient aplomb.”
I evaded his attempts to take my hand, whacking the vampire in the rock-hard stomach when he wouldn’t let up.
“You wound me.” He took the seat opposite Lalitta.
That’d be the day.
Gerome and Rory took their seats in the middle without teasing me.
“Any news on the nightclub?” Gerome asked.
I shoved the gift bag between my feet, feeling more and more uncomfortable about the present. “Settlement was a few days ago. The builders are in there. I’ll reopen in a week.”
“New theme, huh? What is it?”
I lifted a shoulder. “New name too. If you score an invite to the opening, you can see both for yourself. Or read about it the day after.”
He scowled, and I smirked despite the relentless and heavy stare of the king boring into the side of my face.
“I’ll get an invite, won’t I, darling? Parties are our little thing.” Rory winked across the table.
I frowned slightly. “The bar won’t have any mirrors. Not sure it’s your scene, Rory.”
Francesca snorted and then glared at me.
Lalitta waved from the queen’s end. “You look absolutely incredible, Basilia.”
The entire table chose that moment to peruse my outfit with a critical eye. I steeled myself against fidgeting, inclining my head. “Thank you, Lalitta. You look beautiful too. Is that the dress from when we went shopping?”
She flushed. “Yes, it is. I wasn’t sure you’d remember.”
My nerves swelled and confusion filled me before I realised the emotions didn’t belong to me.
Safina rose to her feet. “We may need to rearrange the seats, Miss Le Spyre.”
I stood and eased around the back of my chair, lingering there, half my mind occupied with the slow hardening overcoming Kyros.
Crap, what did that mean? Was he still mad at me? Or was he about to be a jerk because his dad was here?
I shouldn’t have come.
“Son,” the queen exclaimed. “Look who has come.”
Like he didn’t already know.
“Yes, Mother. I felt her arrive.”
My back tensed. Had Safina warned him I was coming? The dread within him intensified, but I hadn’t sensed any shock yet.
“Basilia,” he said quietly.
Foreboding twisted my gut, making me feel almost sick.
Withholding a sigh, I turned around.
His face slackened as he took me in, his grip on the open bottles of wine loosening. The hardness I’d felt him putting in place was obliterated—the dread, the frustration, the nerves, dissolved as he looked at me.
He closed his mouth most of the way, but his sharp inhale ruined the effort.
My eyes drank him in as if they hadn’t seen him less than a day ago. He’d forgone a tie and the neck of his shirt was open—casual. His suit wasn’t for business, it was for dinner, longer and with only one button.
The sight of him left me in denial he could exist.
“Wine,” the king snapped.
Kyros didn’t twitch. He was about five seconds away from pouring wine on his very expensive shoes.
I stepped forward and took the two wine bottles without resistance. My heart sputtered uselessly in my chest.
“Happy birthday,” I said, my voice throatier than usual. “I’m told one hundred and fifty is an important milestone for Vissimo…” I trailed off awkwardly.
He inhaled deeply and stepped back to bow to me. “Thank you, my beauty.”
Uhm, was that something he should say in front of his father?
His emotions were a jumbled mess. He was entirely off-balance.
Flushing, I pivoted to set one bottle of wine on the table and walked around the table to where the king sat glowering. I picked up his glass and filled it halfway with the ruby shiraz. I paused, glancing at him and then filled it to the top. Safina grinned as I set the wobbling glass in front of him.
The king’s jaw clenched, but he merely stared at his queen in silent mutiny.
I wouldn’t play up too much, King Julius. Not against someone with Twitter-worthy nipples.
“Would anyone else like some?” I asked.
“If there’s any left,” Rory grumbled over the general murmur of assent.
I went around the table pouring the wine, making sure to only put a mouthful in Rory’s. When I got to my glass, Kyros placed a hand over the top.
He quirked a brow. “You may not want to drink this one.”
“Oh. Oh.” My eyes widened.
Not just red wine then.
Safina had moved across the table and Kyros sat in her vacated chair on the king’s left.
I picked up the second bottle and filled his glass, then sat.
As soon as I did, the tension with Kyros ratcheted to spectacular height. Fuck, it was at agony-levels tonight. I stole a peek at him only to find myself the bearer of his sole attention.
I did not want to die.
I kicked him under the table, and his lips twitched.
“You smell better than normal,” Deirdre said, from two seats to my left.
“Thanks, Deirdre,” I replied, my lips trembling. “I spent the day at a spa.”
Her brow cleared.
Silence returned.
I jerked as a ball blurred at Safina’s head. The woman twisted and caught the ball, beaming as she deposited the child on her lap.
Holy. Fucking. Cuteness.
The girl, two or three by the looks, launched into a string of words too fast for me to understand.
Angelica approached the table behind her. “Kearra, we speak slower in the presence of humans.” She smiled at me. “Miss Le Spyre, how lovely that you could join us.”
“Thanks, Angie,” I said drily.
She took a seat beside Lalitta.
I glanced across the table to find two blue eyes on me set in a face as perfect as her mother’s.
“You’re human,” the young girl demanded. She had to be older than three—unless vampires developed their language skills a whole heap faster.
“I am,” I replied solemnly.
The toddler gasped and wiggled to be free.
“You may sit on your Uncle Kyros’s lap,” Safina said sternly. “Be gentle with her.”
Maybe King Julius wasn’t the most dangerous Vissimo here.
The child disappeared under the table and reappeared on Kyros’s lap. He dragged his green eyes from me and wrapped the child in his arms. He leaned down to kiss her chubby cheeks and she squealed.
“Stop it, Uncle Kyros. I want to look at the human.”
Ovaries. Bursting.
I’d thought Kyros couldn’t get sexier. Oh how wrong I’d been. He loved kids—not that we were compatible like that—but hell, my womb was primed and ready.
Kyros snatched back her outstretched hand. “This is Basilia Le Spyre, Kearra. You must be very careful with her.”
“I heard,” the child said dramatically.
I bit back my grin. Kyros wasn’t kidding when he said children were revered. She was spoiled rotten. The king had been rendered to a pile of goo since her arrival. The child dominated the attention of everyone at the table, including mine.
Vampire Debt: Supernatural Battle (Vampire Towers Book 2) Page 27