“Hum, yes,” said Mound. “You didn’t see them over the summer?”
“I’m sorry, but why are you asking?” I didn’t like this man, and from his articles he didn’t like me. He was fishing for something, and I was determined not to help him find it.
But before he could say anything else, the most wonderful thing in the world happened.
I saw Keller walking toward me.
My eyes went to him by instinct, even though he was dressed casually in a button down, with an open black jacket and nice looking slacks. Our eyes locked and his face lit up. I was sure that mine was doing the same.
Mound followed my eyes to Keller.
“Ah, still with the fallen angel, are you?” Mound muttered. “I wonder why the young always wish pain on themselves.” He shook his head and raised his glass to my boyfriend, whose smile slipped a little when he caught sight of who I was talking to.
“You should be more careful of the darkness,” Mound muttered in my ear as wine from his breath wafted into my nostrils. “The darkness is careful of you.”
I gave him a sharp look, but he seemed serious. “And you’d do well to be nice to me. The more friends you have in powerful places, the better off you will be.” I thought about taking issue with his assertion that he was in a position of extreme power, but after a moment of reflection I thought better of it and said nothing.
I didn’t want to let on that I didn’t know what he was talking about, so I just turned away and walked, well, basically ran, into Keller’s outstretched arms.
I had no idea what anyone else was thinking or doing at the party as Keller enfolded me into his arms. I nearly tipped him backward as my nose slammed into his shoulder in my effort to snuggle as close as possible.
He chuckled. “You’re going to force me to use my wings for balance,” he murmured warmly in my ear. “How are you, heart-sweet?” It was his special nickname for me. He didn’t use it often, which I liked. If he had used it all the time it wouldn’t have felt so special.
“I’m good,” I said, my voice muffled by his shirt. “Better now.”
“Um,” said Keller, resting his chin on the top of my head as he lightly laced his fingers around my waist. “My heart-sweet.”
I rubbed my nose against the base of his throat. I knew there was a huge grin on my face.
“Now now, you two, stop it with the public displays of affection,” Lisabelle drawled from nearby. Keller lifted his chin from my head but I didn’t budge.
“What’s the matter, Lisabelle? Don’t want to hang out with people who like each other?” he teased.
“Exactly,” said Lisabelle, nodding her head in confirmation. “It’s just embarrassing.”
“You could always get a boyfriend,” Keller suggested. “You might like it.”
Lisabelle paused for a breath. I couldn’t see her, but I braced myself for whatever she was about to say. “I would like having someone to order around,” she said thoughtfully.
“Is that the relationship you think Charlotte and I have?” Keller asked, nearly choking on his amusement.
“No,” said Lisabelle, “but the kind of relationship you and Charlotte have is filled with love and affection. As I said, embarrassing.” I could feel Keller’s stomach shake with laughter.
“They want us to find our tables,” she said, tapping me on the shoulder. I groaned. Keller’s family wasn’t there. I STILL hadn’t met them, but that just meant he’d be seated with his aunt. Professor Erikson was there, along with the other committee members who had run Public for a year, except for Risper, Lisabelle’s uncle, who was still MIA. He had gone off to find the artifacts on the Wheel, and no one had heard from him since. Lisabelle had tried to get in touch, but she hadn’t had any luck.
“I’ve heard they have several announcements for Public when we get back,” Keller commented. “I wonder what they have up their sleeve.”
I shrugged. “It can’t be as bad as last semester.”
Reluctantly I pulled back from him, knowing that if we didn’t do it ourselves Lisabelle would pull us apart anyway. She hated it when we were “mushy.”
“We need a new president,” said Lisabelle thoughtfully. “They can’t possibly want to go back to having the committee members run the show. At least not without Uncle.”
“Have you heard anything?” Keller asked, scanning the dais. Besides the main table, there was a smaller table in front. Keller pointed and said, “I’m sitting there, by the way, in case you need me.” I nodded and linked hands with him, wanting the contact until he left.
“I haven’t heard anything,” said Lisabelle. “I expect I won’t until he finds something he wants to share.”
“We could use him back at Public,” I said. “Especially if the committee is in charge again.”
Among the committee members, Oliva was decent enough. He was young and probably the nicest pixie I had come across, besides my old crush Cale.. Of course, Cale wasn’t there. He wasn’t from an important family, and he and his girlfriend, Camilla Van Rothson, had broken up last semester, something about him realizing that she was a terrible paranormal. Ever since then he’d had a lot more time and been a lot more friendly. I was glad, even if there were really no traces of my crush left. Now that he was entering the Police Academy, it didn’t matter any more anyhow.
Keller gave me a warm kiss and told me he’d see me later. I watched him walk away until Lisabelle made a disgusted noise and grabbed my arm to drag me away. I grinned and let her, enjoying the tingling sensation I felt all the way down to my toes.
It wasn’t hard to find our table, since Sip, Lough, Trafton, and Rake were already there. As Lisabelle and I took our places, I looked to the high table. From Caid to Saferous to the faeries to Dacer, I had never seen so much paranormal power in one place, even at Queen Lanca’s coronation.
Our tables had small decorations of white flowers, and the shining silverware gleamed in the light of the candles that sat at the center of each table.
Caid was standing near the main table talking to a paranormal I didn’t recognize, a man who was dressed all in black with a shaved head and a beakish nose, presumably a vampire. From the insignia on his clothing, he was a Rapier vampire, and if the Rapiers were here, that could mean only one thing. . . .
“Hi all,” came Lanca’s soft voice from behind me. Sip gave a cry of joy and jumped to her feet. Lough smiled and waved, as did Trafton, who didn’t know Lanca as well as the rest of us did but who seemed happy to see her anyhow. Rake, who as a vampire owed Lanca a deep show of respect, got up from his seat so that he could kneel to her.
She looked gorgeous. Her long black hair was in a million braids and plaits that were wound around her head, almost like a crown, except that I could see that the hair was perfectly placed so as to hold the actual crown she was wearing. It was black, with tiny black jewels, delicate and beautiful just like its wearer, with her pale skin, small nose, black eyes, and red lips. She was just about the most gorgeous paranormal I had ever seen.
The vampire queen had admonished all of us in a letter to treat her as a friend and not as a queen, so I felt perfectly comfortable standing up and giving her a warm hug. “If you bow, I will sic Vital on you,” her threat had been. I had a feeling he didn’t know she had said that, but he would probably do it. He would do anything for his queen
Lisabelle greeted her last, giving her a hug. Lanca’s cheeks became a little rosy, and I could see that she was pleased by the unexpected gesture of warmth from the darkness mage.
Speaking of Vital, he was stationed a few feet behind Lanca. Also dressed in black, with his pale hair pulled back and his hands clasped behind his back, he looked intimidating. He gave me a slight nod but kept his real focus on scanning the crowd. I had to imagine that he didn’t like it that Lanca had come to this party. There might be a lot of security because of all the important paranormals in attendance, but there was also a lot more to watch.
“We’re sitting at the high tab
le,” said Lanca with resignation. “But I’ll see you all after dinner. I also insisted on sharing your cabin, so we’ll have time to catch up before we all depart in the morning. I hope you don’t mind.”
“Of course you’re always welcome,” said Sip happily. She leaned forward and said hoarsely. “Will you introduce me to the faeries? They know the dragons.”
Lanca’s eyes sparkled. “I’d be happy to.”
Sip beamed. “Thank you,” she said.
“What’s this interest in dragons?” Lisabelle asked. Sip just waved her off.
Once they had left, we all took our seats again. Caid had sat down, but now he rose again to greet the queen of the blood throne.
The night air was cool, but not cold. It was a perfect night to be outside.
For the first time since we had arrived, I took the time to scan the crowd. There were many faces I didn’t recognize, but I did see tiny Professor Korba, who was seated on the lower dais with Keller. Most of the paranormals in attendance were adults; I didn’t see Dobrov or Daisy, or Adver, Evan, or Kia. Apparently not all of Public’s students had been invited to this dinner, or maybe they’d just had prior commitments.
To my dismay, before Caid started speaking I saw a pretty girl rush up to Keller. Vanni was a fallen angel who was about to start her sophomore year at Public and who had massive crush on my boyfriend. He didn’t return her feelings, obviously, but I still hated that she flirted with him.
A sharp elbow in my ribs drew my attention to Lisabelle.
“Jealousy is not your color,” she said dryly.
“Neither is brown,” said Sip helpfully.
I clenched my jaw and forced myself to look away.
“Good evening,” Caid’s voice boomed across the tables. “Thank you for joining me.” He paused for polite clapping, and once it subsided he continued. “I would like to take this opportunity to thank Professor Dacer, for without him this evening would never have come off so perfectly.”
More clapping as Dacer, who was seated at the head table with the other committee members and several important looking paranormals I didn’t recognize, stood up to take a bow.
“He looks splendid,” Sip whispered.
“He looks like he belongs on top of a cake,” Lisabelle muttered. I couldn’t really argue with her.
Dacer was dressed all in white, complete with a white cap, a white suit with white buttons, and a white cane. Even his shoes were white. His face paint was dramatic and black. His eyes looked more like cat’s eyes than like a paranormal’s, and he wore bright red lipstick. His nails were painted an eye-smarting shade of red. To my surprise, hanging around his neck was a white mask. In all the time I had apprenticed with him I had never seen him wear a mask.
“Thank you,” he murmured. “It was nothing.”
The clapping and cheers lasted for a long time. Of all the professors, Dacer had to be one of the favorites. As I watched Caid beam I decided that my mentor was just as popular with his peers as he was with his students.
Once Dacer sat down, Caid stood up again. Clearing his throat and holding his glass, he said, “I have a little speech.” There were mock groans all around the yard, and he smiled. “I know, I know, you just want food. Soon you shall have it, but I have a couple of things to say first.”
He took a deep breath and I saw his chest expand. He looked out over the crowd, his eyes growing serious.
“These are trying times for paranormals,” he said. “There is no getting around the fact that we have fought battles, we have lost loved ones, and we have lost parts of ourselves. It has been difficult. It has been heart-wrenching, and it is not over.” The crowd was stock still. Caid hadn’t said anything about darkness, but he was basically acknowledging that we were almost at war.
At least, that’s what I hoped he was doing.
“It is likely to get worse before it gets better,” he continued. There were slight stirs around the tables. I caught sight of Mound, who sat with some other pixies, including Korba, at one of the tables near the front. His eyes locked on Caid, he didn’t move.
“I do not wish war, but I do wish strength,” Caid said. “Sometimes the two are entwined. For when that day comes when we have to decide to stand and fight, when we must know who the brave are, it will be a dark day indeed. I wish you all strength. I am glad we are here together now, and I hope for many more summers of happiness.” He raised his glass. There was a spark of movement as everyone tried to grab for their glasses. It was a strange closing to his speech.
“Do you think he realizes we’re already at war?” Lisabelle whispered in my ear.
“I don’t know what he realizes anymore,” I muttered back. Lisabelle looked at me sharply. For once I had a darker view of the future than my darkness friend. I felt like Caid had a public face and a private face, and the two were very different.
Now Caid waved his hands. “Eat,” he yelled. “Eat and enjoy the evening.”
Servers appeared silently, laden with massive trays of food.
Next to me I could see Sip straining.
“What are you doing?” I asked, frowning. “Aren’t you hungry?” It had been a really long time since we had last eaten.
“Yes,” said Sip, “but I want to see the faeries.”
I had forgotten about them, but now I looked around. They must be on one of the daises, I thought, and sure enough, that’s where I spotted them. Dacer and Lanca were seated three seats away from each other, and between them sat a man and a woman. They reminded me of pixies, but only slightly. Many pixies, but not all, had a slightly green tint to their skin. Cale was one of the few pixies who did not. He was also bigger than most other pixies. Korba needed several stacks of books to see over the table he was seated at, but Cale was normal-sized.
The faeries were not small. In fact, the king of the faeries was probably as tall as Dacer, while his wife was taller and less delicate-looking than Queen Lanca. What was remarkable about them was that they sparkled. Both had white hair and eyes, and they were especially striking amidst all the vampires. They were both also impossibly beautiful.
My friends were looking in the same direction I was. “They look young,” Lisabelle murmured. “I guess that makes sense. He became king when he was only twenty-five, when his father died. He was only a little older than Lanca is now.”
“Are they on good terms with the Rapiers?” I asked. “Or any paranormals? They weren’t at Lanca’s coronation.”
“No, they aren’t very social. There are actually loads of faeries around, but they refuse to engage in the normal paranormal practices. There is no way that when we go to war against the Nocturns they will help. They will watch and remain neutral.”
The faerie queen now turned her attention away from Lanca, her white eyes searching the large crowd until they landed on our table. There they stuck for several moments.
“She knows you’re talking about her,” Sip chided. “Don’t get us in trouble.”
Lisabelle shrugged. “I’m not sharing secrets.”
“I guess not,” Sip grumbled. “Still, stop causing trouble.”
“But it’s just so much fun,” said Lisabelle.
The first course was soup. After that there was salad, then three main courses followed by a cheese course and a dessert course. The desserts were incredible.
Dream berries were on the menu, as were diamond chocolate, lace chocolate, silk chocolate, and pretty much every other kind of sugary deliciousness imaginable.
I was happy, truly happy. I just wondered how long it would last.
Chapter Nine
We spent hours eating and talking. Trafton had spent his summer, as usual, traveling around the world surfing. He had tons of stories of narrowly avoiding sharks and of getting lost. As a matter of personal policy he refused to dream himself out of trouble, a policy that some would call stupid, but it made for many great tales. Rake had spent his summer in Europe, interning with a vampire sect there. He said they were much more laid ba
ck, but not to tell Queen Lanca that. He was happy to be heading back to Public. We had such a good time and laughed so hard that Lough seemed to forget how much he disliked Trafton. Lisabelle was the only one who didn’t talk about her summer. When I had pressed her earlier in the summer about what she was doing with darkness magic she’d been very vague, and I knew she wasn’t about to get specific in front of company. Instead she sat quietly, sometimes listening, sometimes looking off into the distance.
The later it got, the more relaxed I felt. Many of the paranormals I had seen before, at Lanca’s coronation, where we had united to defeat Malle. Many came up to our table because they knew Lisabelle or Sip. And Trafton, it seemed, knew almost every paranormal there.
“Is your sister here?” I asked Lough. His sister Kair worked for the paranormal government. She was dating Sip’s brother Sulver, but I didn’t see either of them.
“Nope,” said Lough. “She wasn’t invited. She was very impressed when I told her I would be coming.”
“Rake,” I said, “why were you invited?”
“Rake is the son of the Radverous king,” said Lisabelle, as if it should be obvious. I started. Rake was vampire royalty?
The large vampire shrugged. “It’s not something I like to talk about.”
“What he means,” said Sip, “is change the subject.”
Rake gave the werewolf a smile. “I’m so glad I have an Airlee here to translate what I mean.”
“It’s getting cold, isn’t it?” Sip asked me, ignoring Rake. “I should have brought a sweater.”
“I can get you one,” said Rake, starting to rise.
Before Sip could tell him he didn’t need to, most of the lights went out. The only ones left were the candles that clustered at the center of each table. Somewhere nearby a paranormal gave a high-pitched scream, then there was a series of loud popping sounds, as if a gun had been fired, which led to more cries and yelling. In the crowd’s desperation to leave the party, several paranormals bumped into the back of my chair, making it hard for me to get up. The cries continued as Caid’s back yard started to fill with smoke.
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