‘Rose,’ Sean says, the warning clear in his tone.
‘It’ll be fine. Seriously, Niamh, my brother knows how to suck the joy out of absolutely everything.’
‘Be nice, Bud. He has a lot of responsibility on his shoulders.’ Matt strokes his fingers up and down Rose’s arm and leans in to kiss the side of her neck. She giggles. ‘Now, Niamh, tell us what you’re studying? What do you want to be when you grow up?’
I glance at Rose. Surely, they’ll expect me to be doing the same as her? But it’s a big university there’s lots of places we could have met.
‘I’m going to be a lawyer,’ I say, and I could swear there’s a sharp intake of air around the room.
Nervous, I start to babble. ‘There’s so much crime in this city and people’s lives get messed up and it’s difficult to get justice sometimes.’
Sean searches my face for something, then turns to Rose. ‘You have definitelynotcleared this with Cillian, have you?’
This is getting distinctly weird.
‘Rosebud—’
‘It’s Rose, Sean. I’m not a baby anymore.’
‘You let Matt call you Bud,’ Sean points out.
‘I let him do a lot of things,’ she sasses back. ‘Fine we’ll go visit the boss. Get his approval. Sake.’
‘Want me to come?’ Matt asks, standing as we do.
‘No.’ Rose steps into him, kissing him for longer than is comfortable to watch. ‘If he’s in a mood, he might decide to throw you out.’
‘Can’t have that,’ he says. I turn away awkwardly when I notice his hands start to roam across her body. Intimacy like that has always made me feel uncomfortable. Maybe if I’d had the chance to experience it, I wouldn’t mind so much.
Leaving Matt behind, Rose directs me out of the room and down a number of corridors to another area of the house. ‘Does your brother really vet all your friends?’
She takes a deep breath, then sighs. ‘Sort of. The city’s liquor licences are strict. And our money sometimes attracts the wrong sort of people.’
‘Am I the wrong sort?’
‘Don’t be silly, Niamh. What on earth would make you the wrong sort?’
‘Because I… I don’t think we come from the same world,’ I say quietly. Her eyes narrow and she searches my face for… something. Then she smiles and shakes her head, throwing her arm around my shoulders as she leads me back to the hall. ‘And your friends seemed upset about me being a lawyer.’
‘No one likes law enforcement, Niamh, and lawyers also fall into that category. You’ll need to get used to it. And that’s not what my brother is worried about. I promise you.’
There’s something about her words that reassures me. But even though they make me feel somewhat better, I still feel totally out of place here. By the time we’ve crossed the hall, the feeling of reassurance has gone, and I hold my garnet necklace for luck. The warm stone calms my nerves immediately.
‘Cillian?’ Rose calls, pushing open a gleaming dark wood door. The lighting inside is dim, atmospheric and sensual music plays softly. The change of vibe from the airy room with the bay window is extreme. When there’s no response, Rose huffs impatiently. Despite being behind her, I can see that the lighting is coming from a handful of wall sconces, and on the far side of the room, a large, ornate mirror dominates the space.
A tingle runs down my spine as if I’m being watched but when I turn, the hallway behind me is empty, and it’s only when I look back that I catch a glimpse of a reflection in the mirror. The most striking woman I’ve ever seen is staring right at me. Her straight, thick black hair hangs down around her perfectly made-up face and over her bare, evenly tanned shoulders. There isn’t even a hint of a strapline. She tilts her head to one side as she observes me with cold, almost black eyes, her bright red lips pursed together as they curve downwards. There’s not a single ounce of warmth in her gaze and, together with the heavy black and purple sequinned dress, it makes her appear like an evil queen.
Rose pulls me further into the room, breaking my gaze with the unknown woman. The silence is unnerving. And then I see the figure sitting next to her, though he’s shrouded in shadows.
‘Cillian? This is my friend, Niamh,’ Rose says. ‘She’s in my class at uni– and in an attempt to make respectable friends like you are always telling me to do, I invited her to my party tonight.’
Aside from the evil queen, the attention in the room focuses on me for what feels like an eternity. I shift nervously under the scrutiny as Cillian puts down a whisky glass and gets to his feet, and it’s as though the shadows physically retreat, sliding from his shoulders and slithering down to the floor, then vanishing. I blink, maybe that sip of Stox has had more of an effect that I expected? My breath catches in my throat as I meet his gaze. His eyes are the oddest shade of blue I’ve ever seen, giving him an ethereal quality.
I lift my head, and for a brief moment I think I see horns appear either side of his head. Huge, great horns like a stag’s antlers, but antlers that are more like tree branches wound through with leaves. I’m startled by the sound of a horn, almost as if signalling the start of a hunt, but no one else seems to notice. I shake my head unable to process what’s happening in my mind, but I can sense Rose’s impatience growing, her desire to get back to her party, and she propels me further into the room until I’m stood directly in front of her brother.
We simply stare at one another, and it suddenly feels as though it’s just the two of us in the room. At well over six foot tall, he commands the space. His hair is that darkest of browns, and I’m caught up in those pale blue eyes, so unlike anything I’ve ever seen before. And when they meet mine I’m a deer caught in headlights, trapped by the intensity of his gaze. I can’t tear myself away. I think Rose has just repeated the introductions and I’m guessing that I should do or say something. But in this moment, where it feels as though no one exists but me and Cillian, I can’t catch my breath, let alone form a sentence. Maybe I should have accepted Sean’s offer for vodka with my Coke after all.
‘Hi!’ I manage to say at last, but I’m not sure what to do. Do I hold out my hand to shake his? This feels a little like a business meeting, with him wearing an actual suit in a dark black that seems like a total absence of colour rather than a colour in its own right. His shirt is also black, but open at the neck, and he’s not wearing a tie.
