I sensed this was the right time to leave and we both slipped out of the room without a word. We moved away, lingering on the edge of the crowd as I eagerly hunted for another glass of champagne. If there was one way to get through this night, it started with alco and ended in hol.
“This party is a bore, huh?” I turned at the sound of the voice, finding a man beside us who I guessed was in his early thirties. He wore a smart suit, his top button undone and his shining bronze hair swept back stylishly. His eyes glinted with coppery flecks and the smile he gave us was the friendliest I'd seen all night.
“Do we know you?” I frowned suspiciously.
“Not yet,” he said, swigging from a glass of champagne in his hand. “Do you want to?” His voice was smooth, not seductive but inviting all the same.
“I'm gonna say no,” Tory said.
“Sounds about right,” he muttered and I couldn't help but notice how detached he was from the crowd, how he seemed to hover with nowhere to be. Just like us. “Have a fun night then.”
He gestured for us to leave but Tory and I shared a look, a decision passing between us to stay for a little longer.
“What's your name?” Tory asked, her tone slightly warmer this time.
“Gustav Vulpecula.”
“That's quite a name,” I said with a teasing grin and he flashed a bright-toothed smile at me.
“That it is. Handed down from father to son for generations. But do you want to know a secret?” He leaned in closer and the mischief in his eyes made Tory and I lean in too. “I hate it. So most people call me Gus.” He winked, stepping back.
“What brings you to the oh so mighty Dragon household?” Tory asked dryly and Gus chuckled.
He turned, sliding something off of his shoulder and I found a large camera in his hand. “I took some new portraits of Lady and Lord Acrux before the ball. You'll all get one before the night is out.” His eyes trailed over us. “Well, maybe not you, huh? I hear there's a little tension between you two and the Councillors.”
“Who told you that?” I asked.
He rolled his eyes. “The room, Miss Vega. I only need to look around and see the way they're all looking at you.”
“Well you're spot on. I'm pretty sure they hate us but they're pretending not to. I'm Darcy,” I held out my hand. “This is Tory.”
He nodded, clasping our hands briefly. “At least I'm invisible here, I wouldn't want to be on the receiving end of all those sharp stares like you two are.” He threw a glance over his shoulder at the door we'd exited. “Are the Heirs in there?”
“Yeah,” Tory rolled her eyes. “Being their usual dickish selves.”
I glanced at her quickly, unsure if she should mouth off about them in a room full of their supporters.
Gus looked between us with a serious expression, inching closer and lowering his voice. “You don't speak to them like that do you? You’ve gotta be careful what you say to people with their kind of power.”
“Well they usually start it,” I said, pressing my lips together. I didn't exactly want to discuss this but I wasn't going to let this stranger make assumptions about us without defending ourselves.
“Like at the Fall party?” he whispered in a deathly quiet voice and I sucked in air.
“You know about that?” Tory demanded, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear.
“Of course. There's nearly two thousand kids at that school. Sure, it was only a third page story instead of a front page due to Ling Astrum's murder but still...” He shook his head, his expression sad. “You two have been through the mill. Did they really cut your hair off?” he asked me, eyeing my full locks in disbelief. “Or maybe that bit was exaggerated?”
“No,” I said sullenly. “Seth did it. And then he wore my hair on his wrist as a trophy.”
“He didn't,” Gus breathed in shock. “How did he get so close to you?”
I hugged my arms, embarrassed as I whispered, “Well I stupidly kissed him.”
“Seth was acting nice all week,” Tory added. “Like he really cared about Darcy. It was vicious, just like them.”
“Shitting stars,” Gus said under his breath. “So they did try to drown you?” he asked Tory in horror and she nodded stiffly.
“In Lunar Leisure; they Coerced me to jump into the pool then froze the surface. Professor Orion had to get me out.”
Gus let out a low whistle. “Sounds like it's been hell. I'm sorry.” He frowned sympathetically. We fell into a discussion about that night and it felt kind of good to open up about it. Even Tory and I hadn't really spoken about it since. And I was starting to feel like we had at least a few people on our side here.
Orion bowled through the crowd like an oncoming storm and grabbed both of Tory and I's arms.
“What are you doing?” I gasped as I tried to pull my hand free.
He bared his fangs at Gus, his eyes flaring with rage. “Get the fuck out of here.”
Gus released a dogish bark then scuttled off into the crowd, disappearing in an instant.
“Shit,” Orion hissed, glancing around as people looked our way. He tugged us closer, his eyes flitting between us and my heart hammered violently in my chest at his expression.
“That guy is a Teumessian Fox and a damn reporter,” he hissed.
“A reporter?” I echoed in alarm.
“Yes and he used his Order gifts on you. Foxes are sly, they get under you defences, befriend you then draw the truth from your lips. Why Lionel thought it was a good idea to let...” He trailed off, glancing over his shoulder and drawing us further into the corner of the room. “Dammit, Lionel set you up. Fuck. What did you tell that guy?”
“We told him about the night of the Fall party,” Tory said in horror.
Orion nodded stiffly. “Most of that has been leaked anyway, so you’d better count your lucky stars that he didn’t get anything more damning on you. If anyone else starts asking about that night or your time at the Academy run the hell away, got it?”
We both nodded and he rolled up his sleeves, turning away.
I caught his arm. “Where are you going?”
He gave me a dark smile that set my pulse racing. “Fox hunting.” He shot off into the crowd and my hair was pulled forward by his momentum.
“Shit, I hate these people,” Tory hissed and I nodded, a scowl pulling at my face.
“The sooner we're taught to defend ourselves against other Orders, the better.”
“Grain-free granola, these champagne bubbles are going right through me. Which way to the bathroom?” Hamish Grus called out in his booming voice, appearing further along the ballroom.
“Let's go after him and make this party worthwhile,” I whispered and Tory nodded, her mind clearly on the same track.
“We'll corner him outside the bathroom,” she said.
We hurried after him as someone gave Hamish directions through a door and along a vast corridor. We held back as we followed and Hamish strode off ahead, humming to himself as he went. He soon turned through a door and the scent of potpourri carried from within it.
We stopped beneath a painting of a Dragon who appeared to be eating a Pegasus whole, its yellow legs protruding from the beast’s jaws.
Nice.
Hamish reappeared and we pretended to be admiring the painting as he approached.
“Well bless my goslings, a solo audience with the Royal Heirs. How the stars are shining on me today.” He bowed low and we smiled kindly, patiently waiting for his display to end.
“It's quite the piece, huh?” Tory jerked her chin toward the painting and Hamish looked at it, his eyes darkening to pitch.
“It's a filthy insult to the Solarian Orders. Dragons are not better than any other, they just like to think they are.” He moved nearer, waggling his finger angrily at the picture. “They're a bunch of slippery wangadoodles if you ask me.” He cupped his mouth in disgust at what he'd just said. “Do forgive me, your highnesses, I don't normally have such a dung tongue, but I just
get so wound up when it comes to equality.” He shook his fist.
“You're honestly not offending us,” I promised. “And I totally agree with you.” I grimaced at the picture. “If this is what all the Dragons are like, I don't want anything to do with them.”
“Professor Orion seems very close with Darius,” Tory said airily and I assessed Hamish's reaction closely.
He pursed his lips, nodding stiffly. “That grizzly gherkin and his family have always worked closely with the Acruxes.” His brows knitted together sharply. “Unfortunately, that relationship doesn't always work in the Orions' favour.” He sighed sadly and I sensed we were getting closer to what we wanted to know.
“Mr Grus...do you know someone called Clara Orion?” I asked tentatively.
His spine straightened and he glanced up and down the hall. “Gravy balls, where did you hear that name?”
“Just from one of the students at school,” Tory said quickly and Hamish nodded slowly.
He smoothed down his large moustache, his lips twitching as he seemed to decide what to say. “This is entirely classified, but as you are the true rulers of my kingdom, I will divulge to you what I know on the subject. You see, after your poor mother and father were murdered, my gifts as a Royal Constable were better served in the FIB. I joined them for many years but the last case I worked for them four years ago...” He shifted uncomfortably, looking up and down the hall again. “It was the disappearance of a young woman called Clara Orion.”
“Did you find her?” I breathed.
He shook his head, his expression grave. “No, things got very shady indeed while I conducted my search. My investigation led me to the door of the Acruxes. The last time she was seen alive was here, you see, in this very house.”
My heart thundered in my ears and a cold ball of ice formed in my stomach.
“I pushed for a more thorough search of his grounds and for Lionel to give more information about why Clara didn't make it home that night. But between him and Clara's mother, Stella, I could get nothing from them. The bond between their families is iron clad. Even Stella wasn't forthcoming with information about her own daughter. In fact, the only one who seemed devastated by the loss of Clara, was her brother, Lance Orion.”
A pang of sympathy pulled at my heart for Orion. Whatever had happened to his sister, I had the feeling it was something terrible.
Hamish glanced along the hallway back toward the ballroom. “I fear the Acruxes have ears everywhere in this place,” he said ominously. “Come, let us return to the party.” He marched off down the corridor and Tory and I headed after him.
Questions whirled in my mind, but the moment we stepped back into the ballroom, the crowd descended on us. We were showered with false compliments and dragged in two separate directions as the vultures took their pieces of meat at last.
Behind their smiles was a calculating gleam which unsettled me to my core. And I wondered if any of them were keeping wicked secrets for the Acruxes that involved Clara Orion.
I didn’t think I’d ever been to a party that was less about fun and more about rules, honour, respect, keeping up appearances... in short it was dull as all hell. If this was what it took to rule over Solaria then I was doubly sure I didn’t want anything to do with the throne.
The Councillors had all been cornered by supposed party-goers who were all in the process of pushing their own agenda in one way or another. I caught snippets of conversation about things like taxes, land claiming, Cerberus hunting rights and even one particularly shrewd looking bastard who was complaining about his desire to take mortal slaves despite the fact that it was outlawed. I gave him an extra wide berth as I moved throughout the lavishly decorated room.
More than one eager man or woman tried to approach me. Some of them gushed about the joy of the Vega Twins returning, others seemed to be sizing me up. I didn’t allow any of them to snare me into conversation for more than a few moments. Now that we knew the one seemingly friendly guy at this party had really just been a reporter on the hunt for a story, I wasn’t going to risk getting snared in another trap.
Caleb’s mother, Melinda, had her eyes on me from across the room. She was engaged in conversation with her handsome son and from the looks he kept shooting my way, I was fairly sure I knew what the topic of conversation was.
The string quartet played some beautiful, classical music and couples swirled across the dance floor in perfectly synchronised moves. They looked amazing but the lack of dim lighting and thumping bass counted me out when it came to the idea of dancing tonight.
Waiters swept around the room with silver trays perched on outstretched arms, sporting all kinds of fancy bite-sized bits of food which didn’t count as a real meal in any way. I’d tried a few of them but the flavours were so rich and overpowering that I’d quickly decided against eating any more. My stomach was pitifully empty and I wished I’d eaten something before we’d left. Rich people might have had the right idea when it came to some things but they didn’t know how to enjoy food.
I snagged my fourth flute of champagne as a waiter swept by, drinking it in one go and adding to the fizzy party in my belly. One thing they did seem to get right was the alcohol and it would have been rude of me to refuse to drink it when they’d gone to so much effort to provide it for me.
I felt Darius approaching me before he arrived and turned to face him as his shadow fell over me.
“I’m not sure I’ve ever seen anyone look so bored at a party,” he murmured, leaning close to me so that his words didn’t carry. His scent coiled around me, smoke and cedar and danger, or simply put, temptation of my particular variety. I fought against the effects of it and turned my gaze from him to inspect the room again.
“I’m not sure I’ve ever been to a more boring party,” I countered. Though that wasn’t strictly true. It was definitely interesting to see the Celestial Council at work and to put some faces to names but this didn’t really seem like the best way to learn anything real about the Fae elite. It felt like a production, staged a little bit for our benefit but more tailored to suit the Councillors than anyone attending.
“Well you wanted to see how the other half lived. Now you know, it’s frightfully dull.”
A smile tugged at my lips. “Who says frightfully?” I teased. “You wear your mask tighter here than you do at the Academy.”
Darius’s eyes darkened a little. “Who says it’s a mask?” he asked. “I was born to this. This is who I am, who I’ll ever be.”
I leaned a little closer to him, tiptoeing to speak in his ear. “Well, that seems frightfully dull to me,” I breathed. “Don’t you ever want to just rebel against all of it?”
Darius caught my gaze and fire seemed to burn within the depths of his eyes. “All the time,” he replied, his voice a low growl.
I smiled conspiratorially at him. “Prove it,” I dared.
Darius straightened, looking around the room until his gaze caught on Daddy Acrux and the mischief in his expression spluttered out. Lionel was watching our interaction with just enough zeal in his gaze to make my heart flutter with anxiety. There was something about the head of the Acrux family which set all of my instincts screaming warnings.
“Do you want to dance?” Darius asked, his tone returning to its formal setting.
His hand brushed across the bare skin at the base of my spine and butterflies spilled through my stomach before I could stamp them out.
“You’ve danced with me before, Darius,” I said slowly, reminding him of the drunken evening we’d spent grinding up against each other on the dark dance floor of a bar. “And it doesn’t look like that,” I pointed out as the glamorous couples swept across the dance floor in perfect time with each other.
“I know the moves,” he replied. “And you’re a quick study.”
I blinked at the almost-praise from him then laughed it off. “But I don’t want to dance to your tune,” I said before turning away from him and slipping into the crowd again.
My back mourned the loss of contact with his fingers as I walked and I could feel his eyes trailing over me but I didn’t look back. Darius Acrux was a brand of poison I really shouldn’t taste.
On the far side of the room, I spotted a table laid out with more drinks and made a beeline for them.
I snagged another delicious glass of champagne and took a large gulp.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen a girl ditch Darius like that,” an amused voice came from behind me and I turned to find a guy looking at me from a seat at a table in the corner.
He had dark hair that curled in a messy kind of way, looking like it had broken free of his attempts to tame it. His green eyes sparkled with restrained laughter and I couldn’t help but stare at his strong features; he looked almost familiar but I was sure I’d never met him before.
“Well, even Dragons can’t just get their own way all of the time,” I said, moving closer to him.
Apparently that had been the right thing to say because he smiled widely in response to it.
“What’s so great about Dragons anyway, right?” he asked, though a strange tightness came over his posture as he said it.
“Who’d want to be a big old lizard with anger management issues?” I joked. “I think I’d rather be a rabbit shifter - at least bunnies are cute.”
“You don’t have a very rabbity aura about you,” he replied with a smile which lit up his face.
“I’m not sure if that’s a compliment or not.”
“It is. Although a rabbit might be exactly the kind of ruler we need; shake it up from all these predators.”
“Maybe that’s why I can’t get on board with this fancy food. It’s just not meant for someone of my Order... although I’m really looking for a sandwich rather than a carrot,” I said wistfully.
He snorted a laugh. “Yeah I had a pizza before I came to join the festivities. I’m only supposed to stay for an hour or so anyway... show my face, sit in the back, avoid emotional triggers...”
He didn’t seem to want to elaborate on that weird statement so I didn’t push him but I did wonder why he’d come if that was all he was going to do.
Zodiac Academy 2: Ruthless Fae: An Academy Bully Romance (Supernatural Bullies and Beasts) Page 33