Blowing out a long breath, I hopped on the spot, getting used to the feel of the heels I wore. “We’d better get to the party. I’m guessing we don’t need to be attracting more attention by being late.”
“About attracting attention,” Kade said with a grim expression. “You’re not going to the party just yet.”
I didn’t miss his use of “you’re” instead of “we’re,” and I didn’t like where the conversation was headed. “And where amIgoing?”
They all seemed to shift as if uneasy with the situation. Locke was the one who finally answered, “To see my mother.”
Perene.I thought of what Lyr had said about her, and then I thought of Locke’s father, Warrick. Was Perene like that? Cold and cruel? If so, no thanks. I didn’t want to see her.
“Why would we be going to see her?” I asked with a scowl. I was already riddled with nerves at the idea of going to the party, which I was sure was going to be as painful as pulling teeth.
Kade and the others didn’t answer, as if they were expecting Locke to do the honors. Seemed fair seeing as it was someone from Locke’s family.
“My parents are both members of the Taratun council, and my mother is in charge of overseeing the newbloods,” Locke said, confirming what Lyr had told me. “As is tradition, you need to enter the party with the other newbloods and follow Perene’s instructions. Once you’re inside, we’ll find you again.”
I shouldn’t have been shocked. Considering how the monsters required us to dress up in white during the Night of the Offering and stand neatly in a line for the selection, it made sense that they’d want to parade the newbloods around on the first night of the Week of Orash. Still, it annoyed me that no one had told me this until now. On the bright side, I realized it would give me a chance to talk to the other women from my village. It had only been a week since I had been lined up with them in that clearing, but it felt like much longer. Would they even be the same people, or had the fact that they’d turned into monsters made them different beings entirely?
A firm hand clasped my shoulder, and Kade leaned down to growl into my ear, “I’ll be watching you from the moment you enter the ballroom. You have nothing to worry about.”
Nothing to worry about?I had to stop myself from giving him an incredulous look because, you know, I was about to attend a party filled with monsters who didn’t know I was still human.But all right, I had nothing to worry about. I nodded at him as if I believed him.
Darian approached me next and placed his hands on my shoulders before giving me a light kiss on the cheek. “Just keep your head up and smile, lovely. When in doubt, flattery works best. Otherwise, say nothing. You don’t want to make any enemies on the first night.”
I made a sarcastic mental note:Don’t make enemies.The males were full of lots of great advice.
Asher didn’t approach me like the others did, but he gave me a reassuring lopsided smile, and then Locke was leading me from the room.Fuck. My. Life.
Lockedidn’tspeaktome as we made our way up the tunnels, which meant I spent most of the time thinking about the party and all the horrible things that could happen. Finally managing to push the negative thoughts away, I tried to focus on the positive. This was what I wanted. To have a chance to talk to some other monsters and hopefully see some of the newbloods from the previous round.
Taking a deep breath in through my mouth, I let it out through my nose and straightened my shoulders. I could do this. I’d never attended any of the celebrations back on the island, but I’d always heard the dancing and laughter. Would a monster party be like that, or would there be the screaming of tortured souls and gleeful cries instead? I guess I was about to find out.
Before we rounded the next corner, Locke stopped abruptly and pivoted toward me. I’d been so lost in my thoughts that I slammed into his hard chest.Fuck, what is this monster made of? Rocks?Cursing, I drew back and peered up at him. “What? Are we here?”
“Almost,” he answered.
Cryptic.“All right, then…so why have we stopped?”
He stared at me, and as usual, I couldn’t read his hard expression, but there was a reluctance about him. As if he hated himself for what he was about to say. “Don’t let Perene rattle you, and don’t believe a word that comes out of her mouth,” he finally said. “She’ll want to sink her fangs in deep and manipulate you in a way that fulfills her agenda.”
Oh, great. So Locke’s mother is a psychopath too. Now I know where he got the traits from.I realized then that he was probably warning me because he was worried I’d embarrass him. I wanted to answer with some sarcastic retort about promising to make a good impression on his mom, but the serious look in his eyes had me nodding instead.
“I’ll be fine. This isn’t the first time I’ve had to parade around in a dress for monsters,” I replied.
His jaw ticked, but his eyes seemed to brighten at my confident attitude. If that was even possible when your eyes were as black as a starless night. Turning forward again, he led me around the last bend, and we approached the group of monsters up ahead. Despite their changed appearances, I recognized the other chosen women from my village immediately.
Nora’s mouth dropped open with shock when she spotted me, and I had the sudden urge to rush over and ask what she’d been doing during the last few nights. We hadn’t been close for years, but there was a time when we’d been inseparable, and I wanted to know if she was all right. Before I could even move closer to her let alone utter a word, a tall, thin woman in a midnight-blue dress sauntered away from the others to meet us. Her thin lips pursed as she peered at us, but her shoulders relaxed almost imperceptibly, and I had the distinct feeling she’d been waiting for me to arrive.
“You were supposed to bring her to me an hour ago,” she chastised Locke, giving her son a scathing stare. “I hope you’ve at least prepared her for what this night will bring.”
Locke remained unreadable as if he didn’t give two shits about the first night of the Week of Orash, nor did he care about the fact he was handing me over to his psychopathic mother. “Perene,” he said with a terse nod. “Raine here is aware of how she must participate tonight. She’ll play her part.”
Perene raised a disbelieving brow at her son, but then she turned an assessing gaze on me. “I hope you’re right. Thank the devil she at least looks presentable.” Dismissing her son with a wave of her hand, she ushered me to the back of the line of newbloods, and I stepped up behind Nora. When I looked back to peer at Locke, he was already disappearing down the tunnel away from us, as though he couldn’t get rid of me fast enough.The feeling’s mutual, asshole.
Perene hovered before me, and I hated that her attention was still on me. “The others have already rehearsed the entrance, so you’ll just have to follow what they do. You will be entering one by one in a neat, well-presented line. You will come to a stop at the end, at which time another Taratun council member will introduce you all. When he is done speaking and the ceremonial toast is over, you will spend the remainder of the night meeting members from different houses and acting in a manner that befits a monster from one of the higher houses. Is that understood?”
Keeping my mouth shut, I smiled politely. The last thing I wanted to do was make an enemy before I’d even made it into the damn party.
Done with her little lecture, Perene moved to the front of the line, which was situated before a narrow iron door. As the monster moved away, Nora twisted her head toward me. The red dress that she wore was elegant, with a sweetheart neckline and streams of chiffon that flowed to the ground, but otherwise, everything about her appeared the same as the last time I’d seen her. She had no horns, claws, or tail, and her shoulder-length black hair still curved into her neck, but she seemed different somehow. It took me a moment to realize what it was.Her eyes.Mixed with her usual brown were flecks of golden yellow, and I couldn’t stop staring.
