by S King
“Karina,” I looked at the ceiling for patience, “I will not give my body, or anything else to that arrogant, pompous—”
“Unforgivably sexy—”
“Nerve ending—”
“Domineering—”
“Brute…god.” I blew out a heavy, defeated breath. Looking at her, I rolled my eyes on the knowing smirk playing on her lips. “For the love of Mary, Jesus and Joseph, stop.”
“I knew I’d get you somehow.” With a wink, she finished off her coffee and shook the glass at me, “put this in a to-go and let’s go shopping.”
“You could say please,” I rolled my eyes as I took the cup from her and got the coffee.
“Please, thank you, you’re the best, blah blah blah.”
“Jackass.” I slid her the coffee and headed for my bedroom. “What’d you have planned for the costume?”
“I don’t know, something sleek maybe. What about you?”
“Whatever,” I shrugged, ditching my night clothes for a pair of jeans, my signature wedge heel boots, a thick sweater and my leather jacket. When I reemerged to the kitchen, I leaned against the door watching my best friend pouring the rest of the coffee and half of my cup in her travel mug before turning around.
“You good there, pumpkin?” I asked, pushing off the door frame and grabbed my house keys and wallet.
“I need something stronger than what you have in the cabinet.”
“We knew that.” I grumbled, locking the door behind us and pulled up my hood. “Which store do you want to hit first?”
“I don’t care, just don’t take my coffee.”
Smirking, I looped my arm through hers and walked side-by-side in silence with my friend.
Unfortunately, even though our mouths were silent, my mind was roaring with what Karina had said in my kitchen. Was my problem seriously just a matter of carnal lust and nothing more? Would all of my problems seemingly disappear because I allowed Demir to invade my personal space?
Something in the back of my mind told me she was right. I knew it—I’d be a damned idiot to think otherwise. The problem—among the countless others—was I couldn’t bring myself to admit the truth. Even if I said nothing to Karina, I knew the way Demir had made me felt in that alley and knew, moreover, how much I was craving for that feeling once again.
For the time being, however, I was going to ignore this one little problem and focus on something other than getting under Demir Losett.
§§§§§
As the sun finished its duty of lighting the world, I stepped out of the shower and just stared at my foggy reflection.
My slate gray eyes were hard from years of training, torture, and witnessing more death than a battlefield. Of course, the harsh color was slightly offset by my darker gray hair that kids in their teens and early twenties purposely tried to achieve.
Match that with my slightly tanned skin, I looked like a fucking avatar from a video game. Sure, I had some slight scaring on my face thanks to puberty—not to mention battle scars from fights long forgotten, but extra weight? No. Loss of muscle definition? I think the fuck not. Giggly thighs or arm fat? Impossible. Unlike Karina who was built more like a modern-day model, I looked like something straight from an CGI team in China.
I envied my best friend with her curves and her ability to gain and lose weight when she wanted to—even when she didn’t. She wasn’t overweight but she wasn’t a toothpick, string bean either. She had a perfect blend between muscle and baby fat.
Blowing out a hard breath, I ignored my reflection and started drying my body off. My best friend had dragged me around the richer parts of Castlehedge for the perfect costume. All of which consisted of a simple white dress with belle sleeves and a deep V slit in the front, stopping just shy of the top of her belly button.
Couple that with a porcelain, dull silver mask and a Tiger Lilly flower hair pin which covered her complicated twists to make the flower look as if it were laying in a bed of spray painted silk. In truth, she was going to look like something straight from a fist person shooter video game. Gorgeous. My best friend was going to be absolutely, undeniably gorgeous in her costume.
Granted, if anyone ever were stupid enough to call her such endearments, she’d simply shove one of her signature Russian Heart bombs up the offender’s ass and watch the poor sap go boom.
My own costume, however, was as simple as simple could get. After pulling on my underwear and bra, I stared at the silk hanging from the hook on the wall. Black would forever be my favorite color and considering, I was going to be spray painting my hair the color, it would only make sense I wore a bed sheet in the same shade. Ok, the dress wasn’t a bed sheet per say, but I didn’t like wearing dresses any more than a spider liked getting stepped on.
The outfit in question was form fitting with a solid bodice in the front and a low V in the back. The top of my dress stopped just below my collar, allowing my bare shoulders to be exposed. Of course, the dress was floor length with a dangerously high slit to show off my leg from the top of my thigh down.
That was the disadvantage of allowing my best friend to pick out my outfit for the evening. Not only was I going to be chilled—at the very least—but there was a little too much naked flesh showing for my comfort. The entire thing was solely Karina’s idea to get the dress because, in her words, you have legs for days, why not show them off?
In truth, I had only gotten the thing to stop the mad search and come back home. By the time she found her outfit, we had already been to seventeen different stores, stopped at four different coffee shops and grabbed lunch at some hole in the wall diner that prided themselves on friendly service. Needless to say, when she held up the dress, I blindly agreed to it without taking a second glance at the garment.
Now here I was standing almost stark naked, facing the dress and contemplating if I really needed to go to this ball. Shifting my eyes to the matching stilettos sitting on the floor next to the dress, I growled under my breath and stared at the ceiling.
The worst thing about the marques ball was having to be somewhat unguarded for the eight hours of the night we would be in the same room as other guard members. Namely, members not a part of our own guard. I guess the silver lining—if I were expected to compare apples to apples—would be not having to look over my shoulder for someone attempting to execute my pending Diamond Order.
I wasn’t oblivious to the obvious and walking around thinking I was above anyone hadn’t been my M.O. ever. Besides that, Demir had spoken to BC on my behalf nearly three months ago, but it didn’t change the fact everyone was still chomping at the bits for the chance to execute the order. If anything I was more anxiety ridden about the possibility of what was to come after the ball instead of what was going to happen during.
A Diamond Order was the highest honor to have on your belt—outside of a Black Diamond Order—and if you were smart, you’d execute as many as you could while staying alive yourself. In turn, respect came in abundance and the fear of getting dead ebbed to nothing more than a fleeting thought.
The true question I found lingering in the multitude of theories in my mind was simple, why would Demir defend me? He knew better than anyone, when an opportunity appeared to eliminate your opponent you took the chance and didn’t question the method behind how and why. The fact was simple and Demir fucking knew better. So, why had he gone against Onyx Elite for me?
My phone ringing tore my thoughts away from trying to figure out—for the umpteenth time—the rhyme and reason behind Demir’s defense and defiance. Pushing off the counter, I shoved my damp hair from my eyes and grabbed my phone from the stand, answering the thing on speaker.
“What’re you doing?” Karina sounded just as fed up with the night as I was, and it hadn’t even begun.
“I’m—”
“Let me guess, you’re standing in front of the dress, stark naked and debating what lie you can tell Greenaway and the others to get out of going, right?”
“You’re doing
the same,” I accused, setting the phone on my counter as I chewed on my nail.
“Great minds and what not,” she huffed out a breath, “anyway, we have to go. Lovett’s already getting his car and headed our way.”
“Of course, he is,” I grumbled and rolled my eyes as I grabbed the temporary hair color can. Shaking the thing I skimmed over the directions for a split second.
“What color is your hair going to be?”
“Doo-doo brown.”
I snorted and glanced at my reflection, “why that color?”
“Incognito, remember?” I heard her own hair can rattling over the phone before the hiss of the nozzle followed.
“Are you sure this stuff washes out the next day?” I hated parting with my slate locks and didn’t want any permeant damage to my mane.
Hell, I’d spent the past five years growing the shit out after getting a little too happy with the box dye from my favorite drugstore. Sure, my ombre locks were professionally done, but I was not trying to whack off all of my hard work just for one night at a stupid ball.
“Not really,” she said calmly as the can continued to hiss over the phone.
“What do you mean not really?”
“It says it’s temporary, look if you really don’t want to try it, just throw on a wig and be done with it. But if you do that, you better not go for a bathroom quickie.”
I burst into laughter as the statement finished with an embarrassing visual in my mind’s eye.
“Wouldn’t that be just awful,” she said through her own laughter. “You’re trying to get busy and he goes to pull your hair and rips off the wig? Even through the mask, it would be a train wreck!”
I was laughing so hard, I had to brace my hand on the counter as I bent over in a fit of giggles. I couldn’t imagine what I would do if that ever happened to me. Just the thought was mortifying.
“Babe, your hair!” Karina continued laughing adding her own commentary and sending me into a full-blown ab hurting, tear rolling, loss of breath laughing fit.
I didn’t know how much time had passed before the laughter subsided to nothing more than surprise giggles and deep breaths passed between us. But when it was done, I wiped my eyes and straightened myself.
“Better?” She asked after a few seconds.
I nodded, even though she couldn’t see me and glanced over my shoulder at the gown. “I guess.”
“Well, you better figure it out because Lovett just pulled into my driveway,” she grumbled something under her breath and blew out a frustrated breath. “By the way have you thought about what I suggested this morning?”
I grunted, not wanting to admit I had more than thought about what my best friend had told me to do. Yet and still, I was not going to confirm or deny the information. Instead, I did what I do best, I changed the subject.
“Where did Lovett even get the car from?” Between Gold and Silver, I didn’t know anyone who had a car.
“Hell, that man has more tricks up his sle—come in!” she shouted before continuing. “Sleeve than a magician. We’ll be there in thirty, ok?”
Again, I nodded, “yeah.”
We hung up, leaving me to flip my hair over my head and start spraying the black dye all over my head. All the while, praying I wasn’t going to lose my hair when this night was done.
Thirty minutes later, true to her word, Lovett and Karina were pulling up to the curbside of my apartment building. I had been waiting for my friends for all of five-minutes in the alley behind my building and constantly checking my dress.
Emerging from the alley, I quickly ducked into the car beside Karina not wanting to catch the attention of any of my neighbors coming down the stairwell or rushing to the front door.
“You look amazing!” She said eyeing me through her porcelain mask.
“She’s right,” Lovett was in his tailor-made black suit with a signature gold mask. Thanks to contact lenses and some heavy eyeshadow, his seafoam green eyes were now a taunting liquid gold.
I nodded to his combed hair, “same can dye?”
He rolled his eyes before cutting the things to Karina, “blame this one.”
“Hey if I have to be doo-doo brown then so do you.” She snapped.
I snorted and glanced out the window as Lovett shook his head and turned his attention to the road.
“Why couldn’t Lumi match your hair color?”
“Because her skin tone wouldn’t allow it.”
“She’s wearing light brown contacts!”
“Hidden under, what?” She squinted under her mask at my eyes, “fifty layers of black eyeshadow!”
“I’ve got forty-eight layers and a fucking primer thanks to you.” He snapped and motioned to his face.
“Well, if you don’t like it, learn how to do it yourself.”
“No.”
“Then shut up,” Karina sat back in her seat and crossed her arms over her chest. Of course, however, she was not letting a chance to argue with Lovett go to the wayside. “Where did you two get the bright idea to get married anyway?”
Lovett tensed at the mention of our engagement and didn’t say anything, silently admitting defeat.
I gave her a sidelong glance and a subtle shake of my head to warn her about bringing up the topic. She knew my true feelings about the subject and was subconsciously twisting my hand by bringing up the M word to Lovett.
Internally, I took a deep breath and stared up into the dark sky. This was going to be a long night should anyone bring up the announcement and start snickering on the notion.
The remaining car ride was silent and what was even worse was the fact we had arrived at the private banquet hall when next to everyone else was already inside.
“This is going to be a fun night kids.” Karina said as she got out of the car eyeing the steady line of people making their way to the lit entrance.
The building was somewhat like a world-renowned museum was simply dropped in the middle of nowhere. It wasn’t some cheap tent covering a shed but an actual building. Granted, every year the ball was held in a different location for safety reasons. How you arrived was how you were going to leave and none of the higher members of the courts or the guards were going to be held responsible for what happened after.
It made sense, still I didn’t understand why the three of us were staring at the nearly two-story building, surrounded by trees and the stars. Somehow from the time I had gotten home to now, the temperature had plunged, and snow was beginning to fall in loads. Given the weather and the glittering lights, the scene was almost breathtaking.
I titled my head and stared at the white building with its giant pillars and dull gold draped floor to ceiling windows. The scene didn’t make me want to throw up like at my cousin’s wedding and maybe it was due to being around my friends and the knowledge nobody would be dying for the next eight hours. But like Karina, I wasn’t necessarily excited about going in.
Glancing at my best friend, I watched her hike up her dress to avoid the dirt in the make-shift parking lot. Without saying anything to either Lovett or me, she blew out a hard breath before carefully picking her way through the dark parking lot, grumbling the entire way to the front entrance.
I smirked, picking up my dress and followed her, until Lovett’s voice stopped me.
“Hey,” I glanced over my shoulder at him with a raised brow—thanks to the mask he wasn’t able to see.
“What’s wrong?”
He scratched the back of his neck and looked at the ground, “you really look beautiful tonight—I mean, you—” he blew out a deep breath, forcing me to smile.
“Thank you, Lovett, truly. You don’t look so bad yourself,” gathering my dress in one hand, I held out the other to him, “ready to jump into the fray?”
If I had to guess, he was more than likely blushing under the mask but nodded nonetheless and offered his arm instead.
“You are aware we have to act as if we don’t know each other. Right?” I asked, tracking the g
lamour and gowns floating in the entrance. Soft music mingled with the crisp breeze, setting the mood for the night ahead.
“What’re we going to do next year?” He asked absentmindedly.
I didn’t want to think about next year and I really didn’t want to think about what next year could bring should we follow through with this idiotic plan of getting married. When guard members got married, they usually didn’t attend the ball and opted to stay in the house for the night.
“Let’s not worry about it,” I mumbled, dropping his arm as we neared the entrance.
This was the moment we all had somewhat dreaded and waited for. One night of playing nice and—at the very least—acting like we wanted to make some new friendships wasn’t going to hurt.
I dropped my dress and smoothed it out as I stepped on the catwalk leading to the front door. With a deep breath and a feign attempt to push Karina’s voice from my mind, I walked into the lion’s den.
Like the outside of the building, the interior was impressively designed in the color scheme and set up. Waiters and waitresses didn’t mingle or flit their way through the crowd, instead opting to stay near the back wall close to the kitchen. It was still early in the night and dinner wouldn’t be served for at least another hour, but that didn’t stop some of them from setting up the place settings, adjusting the drinking glasses and napkins.
A professional grade dance floor shined of a high polish through the already dancing couples while a band was set up in front of the windows on their own stage.
Of course, all of the members of the band were masked and disguised, but something told me the young guys were some garage band from the daytime tricked into believing they were playing for the execs and heavy hitters in the music industry. Staring at the five guys, I smirked looking at each of them.
The lead singer, obviously the most outgoing and flamboyant when it came to stage presence was smiling under his mask and making hand gestures at the crowd that matched the lyrics. Next was the backup singer, who looked like he’d rather be anywhere else but on the stage. Frankly, I felt more sympathetic toward him than his four other counterparts.