And for the first time all night, I have nothing left to say.
THIRTY-SEVEN
Most of the guests have already left.
The music has faded to something softer now, and the first floor is scattered with the remains of the party: half-finished drinks, abandoned shoes, glittering strands of ribbon caught under chairs.
Paris and Berlin are staying over. The rest of us are still here under the excuse of helping clean up, though it’s mostly just lingering.
I’m gathering stray glasses from the sideboard when Lilia steps up beside me, her voice low.
“What do you think that’s about?”
I follow her gaze.
At first, I don’t see them. And then I do.
Kai and Gabriel. Just beyond the corridor, half-shielded by shadow, caught in some kind of conversation that doesn’t look remotely civil.
Kai’s jacket is gone, his tie long forgotten. Instead, he wears just a white shirt now, sleeves rolled to the elbows, collar undone. It should make him look relaxed. It doesn’t.
His whole body is tense. Shoulders tight, hands clenched so hard at his sides his knuckles have turned stark white.
And he’s shaking.
He looks like he’s trying not to explode.
Gabriel is leaning in, one hand lifted, fingers pointing too close to his face. And Kai doesn’t even say anything back. He just stares at Gabriel like he’s burning a hole through him. Not with confusion. Not even with anger.
With pure, unfiltered hatred.
I feel it like a punch to the gut. And I’m not even the one being looked at.
And then, he moves.
Turns like he’s about to walk away, probably to stop himself from saying or doing something he’ll regret. But Gabriel reaches for him. Grabs him by the back of the shirt.
I hear the tear from here.
My stomach drops.
Beside me, Lilia sucks in a breath. “Oh my god—”
But Gabriel has suddenly gone very, very still.
His hand is frozen, clutching a torn strip of white fabric. And his face—his face changes. The anger drains in a second, and what’s left behind looks like… shock.
No. Not just shock.
Horror.
He’s staring at Kai’s back like it’s something he can’t make sense of. Like it’s something that shouldn’t exist. And Kai just stands there, his shoulders stiff, like he’s waiting for something.
Waiting for Gabriel to speak, maybe.
But Gabriel doesn’t speak. He lifts a hand instead. Two fingers. Three bodyguards appear like ghosts from the hallway.
“Hold him,” Gabriel says.
