I find her glowering at the look of pleasure on my face.
“You mentioned clothing?” I ask awkwardly.
She looks my body up and down, and says, “They’ve sent you couture dresses so that you can blend in with the female guests. They are not for you to keep, mind. Make sure you don’t damage them.”
She opens up a large wardrobe, and what is inside makes me gasp. It is full to the brim of beautiful dresses in vibrant colors and luxuriant fabrics. A long scarlet sheath catches my eye, and when I take it out to look at it, I see that it is strapless with a deeply plunging back. I’ve never worn anything like this in my life. I never imagined that I would. And yet it is the kind of dress that makes me want to put it on and take a look at myself in the mirror. I quickly put it back.
She opens up another wardrobe, and this one is full of shoes and accessories. They have thought of everything, even hats I see from the stack of pretty hat boxes on the top shelf. She flips open a panel to reveal gleaming jewels. There is no way that these necklaces and earrings and bracelets can be real gems, but they look very much like it. Mrs Colton would kill for them.
“What happens when the girls are finished wearing them?” I ask.
“They’ll be donated to charity of course,” she says coldly. “They’ve spent an absolute fortune. Far too much in my opinion. If they had to invite them, I don’t see why they shouldn’t have brought their own things. And will it be worth all this trouble, I ask?”
“And what are we girls supposed to do?” I say carefully.
She looks angry that I have asked her this question, as if she thinks I am being facetious.
“Keep the guests happy, of course! In the girls’ own, ahem, particular way.”
This verifies the suspicion that had begun to form in my mind, even if she won’t say the words. I probably shouldn’t be surprised, but I am. If what Freddie said is true, the Gala will be full of wealthy humans and otherkind. I wonder if to them, hiring these girls is little different to hiring catering staff.
My fingers linger on the beautiful dresses. I have let this charade run for too long. She’ll probably be embarrassed or angry now if I show her my invitation to the Engagement Gala and she realizes I am one of the guests that she has been talking about.
And it means that I won’t have access to any of these gorgeous things. It is clear to me now that she will not be willing to lend me any of them. So maybe I’ll stay here for a bit and pretend to be one of these girls. I can mingle with the guests and keep them entertained. It is what I was going to do anyway. Sort of. And if she thinks I am doing any more than that, she can go to hell.
I find that I am beaming all over my face. She looks disconcerted at my smile and takes a step back.
“Thank you,” I tell her.
She scowls, making it clear that she is unwilling to be my friend. She gestures to the bedside table, where I see a binder of information.
“You will find everything you need there. Make sure you read the rules and follow them. Misbehavior will not be tolerated.”
“Of course. I’ll read them.”
She hesitates at the doorway. “Remember, you don’t have to do anything you don’t want. And this opportunity to meet people you would never otherwise meet may never come again. Make the most of it.”
“Thanks,” I say, surprised by this unexpected softness from her.
The expression on her face hardens again. “Now get dressed. Someone will be with you shortly to take you girls down to the welcome drinks where you can get to know the guests.”
I nod. Sure. I can do welcome drinks. And maybe the royal couple will even be there. And then my heart starts beating really fast. Of course they will be there. And where Xander Daxx is, maybe there will also be my Hunter.
Chapter 10
DIANA
The woman leaves and I lock the door behind her. And then I do all of the things I’ve wanted to do since I first arrived in this room.
I fling off my ugly shoes and sink my toes into the deep soft carpet, and that alone makes me moan in pleasure. And then I throw myself onto the bed, and giggle as the deep mattress bounces. It is so comfortable. I can’t wait to crawl between the sheets here tonight.
I strip off Mrs Colton’s old clothes and dump them in the bin. I never want to wear them again. In fact, I will be glad when the bin is emptied so that I never have to be in their presence again. It is so satisfying to be rid of them, as if I have finally gotten rid of every trace of the Coltons.
I yearn to try on every single dress in the wardrobe, to see what a new me looks like, but first I want to take a proper hot shower without having to worry about being punished for it.
It makes me jump for joy to have an en-suite bathroom. They really have provided these girls with everything that they need. There is a waterfall shower and huge bath with little holes in the sides that must be spa jets. I cannot believe I have this all to myself. Near the sink is an array of luxuriant toiletries and make up.
I am in the middle of taking a long hot shower when suddenly I become aware of a sound. I switch the shower off to listen. Somebody is banging on my door.
I immediately tense up. The little voice unfurls into life in my mind. I can almost feel her, sinuously stretching. But she doesn’t belong here. This new life is for me alone.
Go away, I tell her, forcing her away. I don’t want you here. I don’t need you anymore.
You so sure about that? she taunts. See if I care. She leaves huffily.
I stick my head out of the shower cubicle, my voice trembling a little as I call loudly, “Who is it?”
A man calls through my locked bedroom door. “I’m here to take you all down to the welcoming drinks reception.”
“I’m running late,” I tell him. “I’ll just get dressed and then I’ll make my own way to the welcoming drinks.”
“The drinks will be in the Rose Garden Terrace,” he says. “There is a map in your welcome pack. Don’t be too late!”
I wait, listening hard to make sure he goes. To my relief he leaves immediately. I am going to have to train myself out of this anxiety.
I finish off my shower. It takes me ages of time to properly wash my long thick hair. I’ve never been able to condition it before. And by the time I am done it feels luxuriant and silky. I squeal in delight, and immediately mentally chide myself. I can’t squeak in delight at every little thing or everyone will know how crappy my life has been.
Reluctantly turning off the wonderful hot water spray, I step out. The rituals of feminine beauty are new to me. I blow-dry my hair because I can’t possibly go down with it still dripping wet. It takes forever. Then I hastily dab on a little lip gloss and blusher partially out of curiosity but mostly because I’m probably expected to. I doubt any of the other girls will go down bare faced.
In the bedroom I throw open the wardrobe. So many dresses to choose from. I have no idea where to start. My eye keeps landing on the red one, but I can’t possibly wear that. I look for something less attention-grabbing but still dressy enough for a drinks reception.
I choose a fitted ivory dress with a pink and black flower print on it. It is sleeveless and feels sumptuous. When I put it on, the hem comes to halfway down my thighs, and the scooped neck is lower than I expected, showing a little cleavage. It is sexier on than it looked on the hanger. Everything in this wardrobe probably is.
I put on a pair of strappy ivory sandals dotted with pearls, and then some pearl and diamante earrings. It feels like too much already, and I can’t bring myself to also add the matching necklace and bracelets.
When I shut the wardrobe door my reflection in the mirror startles me. I look like a beautiful stranger, my hair flowing, my eyes haunted. I wouldn’t even recognize myself in a crowd. I chew my lip, not sure if I like this. But surely this is good? In this new life, it is best if I don’t look like me.
Chapter 11
DIANA
I step out of my room and lock the door safely behi
nd me. It is not like I have any worldly belongings, but now that I finally have a room that is truly my own while I am here, I feel possessive about it.
I finally feel like what I thought being here would feel like. A bubble of excitement is swelling in my chest. I’m about to go to a party, a royal party no less, the party of the decade! And I am dressed in a gorgeous dress, and I’m going to meet amazing people, and maybe even the person who I dreamt of meeting.
Finally I feel as if I am living. As if all of life is happening here. I feel like my whole life I have been waiting for this moment. But first I have to find this Rose Garden Terrace that the party is at.
The corridor is quiet, all the other room’s doors firmly shut, the other girls having already gone to the party.
I scrutinize the map from my welcome pack, trying to figure out where to go. I find it, a long room running almost the length of one wing of the castle, right next to a garden. And now I have to figure out where on this map I am.
The map shows the castle is huge, with many floors and wings and towers and passages. Finally I find a little X that marks the spot where I am. I start walking, and to my surprise the little X moves with me. It is a magical map! I laugh in delight. But I shouldn’t be so surprised. Xander Daxx is otherkind after all.
I am so busy looking at the map that I bump smack-bang into someone. He hastily grabs hold of me to stop me from falling over.
“Are you all right?” he asks.
It is Freddie. I beam at him, glad to see a familiar face, but he looks shocked to see me. Pink on his cheeks and on the tips of his ears tells me that he is embarrassed. He also looks a little dazed, his pupils so dilated that the blue of his eyes is just a narrow ring.
“I’m fine. But are you okay, Freddie? You look a little… unwell.”
His cheeks flush a deep red and he straightens his clothes. They are the same ones he was wearing on the airplane, now looking a little crumpled.
“Perfectly well,” he insists. “I just bumped into a… um… rather remarkable girl actually.” He shakes his head a little as if confused. And then, suddenly, he looks mortified.
“Not as remarkable as you, of course!” he says. “You’re special. She was just… a girl.”
The door behind him opens and the girl he must have been talking about comes out. She is stunning. She is nearly six feet tall, with raven black hair and icy pale skin. Her deep ruby dress makes her look even paler, and matching lipstick is perfectly applied to her cupid’s bow lips.
She smiles at Freddie like a cat that has gotten the cream. “Darling,” she purrs, and strokes her long slender fingers down his face.
She doesn’t even give me a glance. She spins on her heel and strides confidently down the long corridor, seeming to know exactly where she is going.
“Do you know,” says Freddie, dazedly staring after her, “I think that girl might be one of them.”
“One of what?” I ask him.
“Them,” he whispers. “Otherkind. A succubus!”
I giggle before I can stop myself. “She can’t be.”
I wrack my brains to remember what I have read about succubae. I vaguely recall that they feed off human energy. She hadn’t looked much like a demonic energy-sucker to me.
“She is!” he insists. “She did things to me.”
“What things?”
I frown at him. How quickly he went from adoringly gazing at me just a couple of hours ago to hopping into this other woman’s bed. I’m pretty sure I don’t like Freddie that way, but I am disappointed at this fickleness.
“Oh, not that!” Freddie says, looking hurt as if I have accused him of cheating. “And I didn’t mean for it to happen. One minute I was wondering where you were and making my way towards my room, and then I met that girl and … And then I was here.”
“You said she did something to you.”
“She sort of touched me and I felt odd and… and it felt really good somehow.” He shakes his head, as if he doesn’t want to remember it. And then he puts his arm through mine, and cheerily says, “No harm done. You’re here now. Where are we going?”
I take pity on him. Whatever she did seems to have taken him by surprise. He does not seem like himself. And he did take care of me on the airplane. Feeling like I ought to pay him back, I let him keep hold of my arm.
“I was headed to the welcoming drinks, Freddie. I was just figuring out the way on this map.”
It turns out Freddie is not too good at reading maps, however he is very good at navigating himself around old castles. Between the two of us we manage to find the Rose Garden Terrace surprisingly easily.
The terrace is exactly what it sounded like. It is a roofed area outside of the castle beside a gorgeous garden full of blooming flowers that scent the air. As if to enhance the feel of its being a garden, they have brought some of the foliage and flowers to inside the terrace. Massive bouquets are everywhere, and long wreaths cover the archway entrance.
Through the archway, crowds of people are milling and chattering. Music is playing, and a few of them have begun to dance. Among the brightly dressed guests are waiters in black and white, balancing silver trays full of tall glasses of sparkling champagne and pretty cocktails.
Freddie grabs a couple of glasses of champagne for us, and we mingle. The crowd is so dense that it is a skill to get through it. Freddie is an expert. He effortlessly leads the way, excitedly greeting people he knows and stopping to make chitchat. It is clear people find him charming and funny. I watch their camaraderie and wish I had his easygoing ability to get along with people.
My eyes scan the crowd, stopping at every tall dark-haired man. It takes me a while to realize that I am looking for the man I saw in my dreams, the hunter with midnight in his soul. Every time I spot someone who might be him, my heart leaps, but then I see it is not him and my eyes move on, disappointed. Stupid of me I suppose to hope he might be real.
And then the fine hairs on my body begin to prickle. My eyes are drawn across the terrace as if by a magnetic force. And then on the far side of the room I spot him, a bronzed giant standing among mere mortals. Xander Daxx.
Chapter 12
DIANA
When I lay my eyes on Xander Daxx it is like the world changes. As if, before, everything had been in shades of grey and now the world blooms into color. The music, people’s voices, the gorgeous dresses, the glimmer on cocktail glasses – everything is more vivid and intense. It makes my head spin, and I must stagger a bit because I feel Freddie’s arm at my waist, steadying me.
“You okay there?” he says.
I nod, looking away from Xander Daxx in order to catch my breath. I feel like I have been walloped over the head. And it isn’t just the feeling you’d get from seeing one of your heroes in real life for the first time.
I look back, unable to keep my eyes from him. At first glance he had seemed a giant, standing head and shoulders above everyone else, but in reality he is only a few inches taller than six feet. It is his commanding presence that made him seem larger than life. Everyone near him is gazing at him admiringly, even adoringly. Men and women alike.
And now I am seeing him in the flesh, I sense something I never felt in my dream. Xander Daxx is dangerous. I’d seen him be shot but that seems ridiculous now. Who would dare to try to kill him? A mere glance around the room is enough to see the numerous discreetly placed security people at all the entrances.
The memory of him being shot feels intrusive, as if my old life is trying to push into my new one. Xander Daxx is not going to be shot. No way. Silly to even think it. Xander Daxx being shot here at his human fiancée’s party would probably start a war. I bet there are a ton of plain-clothed security people hiding among the guests to prevent that very thing. This engagement is that important.
Seeing him makes me feel odd. I had dreamed of him looking on almost jealously as my Hunter held me in his arms and gazed at me so adoringly. But my Hunter is not here. He is not in the group of people surrou
nding Xander. My dream was not true.
I realize there is a loneliness inside me that I had grown so used to that it felt normal. Now it seems to grow so big it takes over the whole of my body. A yearning claws my heart, feeling like it is going to rip me apart. I want my Hunter here. I want him to see me. I want him to ask me to dance. I want to be mesmerized by his eyes and the sound of his voice.
In all my life I have never wanted anything as much as I want this. Being here is not enough. Being here, surrounded by all this glitz, makes my life feel small and insignificant. I feel alone, so incomplete and purposeless. A wretched pretender. Why am I even here? I glance at Xander Daxx again and am hit all over again with a mass of confused feelings. I wonder if he knows my Hunter. If I could dare to go over there and ask him.
Psychic for Hire Series Box Set Page 7