As they weave back towards the dance floor, they pass Marcus again and this time Aerin reaches out to squeeze his bicep, the Pixie Dust kicking in.
Everything is better on Pixie Dust. Lights shimmer like stars. The creatures around them blur just enough to make everything soft. The music floats into her body instead of pounding against it.
Despite their minimal clothing and swaying hips, no one dares to touch them without permission. Not the Party Princess of Valtara and her Vipers. But Aerin can feel them watching her, the eyes on her skin heavy like hands, abrasive with lust or envy.
The three of them dance through multiple songs before Vyx breaks. She drags a Lion Shifter from the crowd, allowing him to drape his body behind hers and lay his hands on her narrow hips. Vyx grins, her pointed fangs glistening as her tongue roves over them.
Quinn is quick to follow suit, exchanging a few coy words with a handsome male Fae whose eyes have been eating her alive since they arrived on the dance floor. He slides in behind her, hands respectfully on her hips, lips not-so-respectfully on her neck.
Aerin, not one to be left out of the fun, does a quick scan of the room. Though the Pixie Dust softens edges, the world isn’t blurry, and each creature comes and goes from her focus with purpose. Most of the males are attractive enough. Aerin has a propensity towards Predator Shifters: large, strong, possessive, and so very different from the males of her past. The rarer the creature, the more Aerin will pursue them, making a game of it in her head. How many of the most powerful species can she bed?
Though she never truly has to do much pursuing. She’s Aerin Tolvare. Males fall at her feet.
As Aerin scans the crowd again, narrowing in on her choices, her eyes land on someone new. He stands still in the writhing mass of bodies, too far away for Aerin to see his features in detail. But she can seewhathe is. The Dragon-Fae. The same wings she ogled at this morning are curled behind broad shoulders as he looms over the rest of the creatures in the room.
Dragon-Fae are a rare lineage of Fae. It has been hypothesized they are the result of Dragon and Fae crossbreeding, though this has never been confirmed nor denied as Dragon-Fae are a supremely secretive subspecies. They are known to live in small groups high in the Hannan Mountains, the same territory where Dragons once roamed prior to their extinction three-thousand years ago, lending credence to this hypothesis.
Aerin read the passage just this morning, curiosity getting the better of her after spotting him at the coffee shop. And now he’s here, in Tower 77, looking right at her.
His light eyes pierce through the dark of the club, though Aerin can’t tell what color. A strand of jaw-length dark hair hangs, the rest of his hair pulled back behind his head. He wears an expression that appears unimpressed, if not slightly revolted, by the scene around him, but it seems to abate when he realizes Aerin’s attention is on him.
Aerin throws him a smile, her magic faltering. The black hair over her shoulder turns golden blonde in a wave. In response, his features tighten. Every muscle, from his wings, down his arms, and up to his jaw, tenses ever so slightly. The shift is minimal enough that Aerin almost misses it.
She doesn’t miss the way he turns on his heel and walks away.
The excitement inside of Aerin turns to petulance as she grabs the nearest Predator Shifter, a Cougar sporting biceps bigger than her head.
Fuck that Dragon-Fae. His loss.
The Cougar is quick to lay his hands on Aerin, pulling her body flush to his and grinding their hips together. As Aerin releases the wave of irritation stirred by the Dragon-Fae’s rejection, she allows herself to sink back down into the Pixie Dust. Into the softness.
The Cougar’s touch turns from tolerable to amazing. The music turns from background noise to a siren song. She seals herself off from any other emotions, like a ward that cannot be broken. Instead, she loses herself in the revelry.
4
AERIN
By the early morning hours Aerin is tired, hungry, still slightly drunk, and completely down from her Pixie Dust high. She pushes out the backdoor of Tower 77 into the dark alleyway that lines the buildings, Vyx and Quinn at her heels.
Quinn, the most drunk of the three, stumbles along as they make their way back towards the main road. Smile bright and eyes hazy, she giggles every time her feet don’t land exactly where she wants them to. Aerin can’t help but laugh in response, eventually pitying her friend’s ankles and wrapping her arm through Quinn’s to steady her.
Laying her head on Aerin’s shoulder as they walk, Quinn slurs, “I love you, Rinnie.”
“I love you too, Quinnie,” Aerin answers, planting a loud kiss on the top of her friend’s head.
A few strides ahead Vyx turns, walking backwards to face them. She sticks a finger in her mouth and makes a gagging noise at their affection. Quinn straightens, flipping off her cousin with a fang-peaked smile. Aerin and Vyx laugh together.
When Vyx reaches the mouth of the alley she slips out of sight. Aerin feels a prickle at the back of her neck and glances over her shoulder. The alleyway is dark and quiet. Quinn drags Aerin onto the well-lit main street. Despite the hour, there are plenty of creatures milling about. Fae, Shifters, and Mer wander the streets between the bars, clubs, and late-night restaurants. The fast pace of the day is long abandoned, giving way to boisterous wandering and laughter.
Aerin follows the Vipers inside their favorite post-club eatery. After ordering, they eat on the patio under the glow of the streetlamps.
When Quinn goes back inside to order more food, Aerin gets the feeling again, a prickling along her neck and down her spine. Goosebumps rise in its wake. She rubs her neck as if to shoo the feeling away.
“Neck hurting?” Vyx immediately asks, missing nothing.
“I think that Pixie Dust is bad or something,” Aerin complains. Less refined Pixie Dust can cause similar symptoms on the come down, though Aerin’s never experienced it with the high-end stuff Vyx purchases for them.
Vyx raises her eyebrows in question.
