CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
acelynn
The lightsof the bar were making the pounding headache I had behind my eye pulse. I had taken a small dose of hemlock this morning, letting the drug enter my bloodstream little by little. After two hours, I had taken the full tiny vial and had paid the price. My body had rejected the substance, causing intense pain through my limbs and hallucinations of shapes dancing across my ceiling.
I had lain on my kitchen floor, staring at the shadows floating across the ceiling until they finally faded hours later. The entire time, I had the spade necklace clutched in my hand to ensure that if I felt any inkling that my body was shutting down, I could press the button that lay within. But now all I was left with was a piercing pain in my head and the want to sleep off this hangover.
My hands meticulously cut the lime slices for the night, trying my best not to make eye contact with Josie, who had been curiously looking at me since Astoria outed her suspicionsof Kaius and my activities behind closed doors. Or not so closed doors if you count the car. The office’s entrance creaked open before Nolan and Astoria bounded out of it. I tensed, waiting for Astoria to yell at me for being involved with her brother. Even if we hadn’t slept together yet, we were still playing with fire.
“So did we figure out the napkin debacle?” Astoria shoved her hip into mine.
I watched her from the corner of my eye as she removed the ponytail from her bun and let her blond locks effortlessly fall down her back. She had a bright smile on her face, and not a drop of anger rolled off her.
“Uh, yeah. Josie was able to find one last box shoved behind something in the storage room,” I mumbled under my breath and set down the knife on the bar top. Turning toward her, “Look, Astoria, I am sorry?—”
“There is no need to apologize, Acelynn,” Astoria cut me off, hand coming to rest on my shoulder. A teasing smile played on her lips. “I think you are perfect for my brother. You don’t put up with his shit, and there is just something about the two of you together. It makes sense. It’s almost like magic.”
“Don’t get all sappy on me,” I said, laughter spilling from both of us.
Astoria squeezed my shoulder. “He wanted to see you before we got slammed. Probably wants to apologize for my outburst.”
“He doesn’t have to do that. We would have gotten caught sooner or later,” I said, wiping my hands against the cloth next to the limes. “Are you sure you aren’t going to need me?”
She shook her head, lightly shoving me toward her brother’s office. “Nope. Josie and I will hold down the fort until you’re back. Won’t we, Josie?”
“If we must,” Josie’s sarcastic tone called over her shoulder at us. She shot me a playful look as if she was in on some sortof joke that I was not. Rolling my eyes, I began making my way back to the office, butterflies dancing in my stomach.
“Oh, wait, Acelynn,” Astoria’s voice called me back to her. I turned on my heel, her once sparkling eyes now holding a lethal edge that I had never seen before.
“Yeah?”
“The boys had me clean out your car before they sent it to the mechanic in town. I put all your things in a duffel in my room.” Astoria’s voice was still bright and cheery, which made my stomach drop.
I didn’t let the fear pumping through my veins show on my face. If she had found that last Polaroid in my car, that means she knew I was involved in some way with Parsons and Watson. But if that was the case, why wasn’t I already six feet under? Why hadn’t she ratted me out to Nolan or her brother? She didn’t owe me anything.
She continued, “You can grab it after your shift.”
I nodded once, shooting her a soft smile. “Thanks, Astoria. I appreciate that.”
“It was no problem.” She cocked her head to the side, examining. “Us club girls have to stick together. Isn’t that right?”
“Always,” I said, voice cracking slightly. The blood had drained from my face, and I hoped the dim bar lighting camouflaged that. Before she could say anything else, I turned on my heel and headed toward the office.
Maybe Kaius didn’t really want to speak to me. If Astoria had shown him the third Polaroid, then maybe this was a ploy to get me away from the crowd. No one would hear me scream over the bass of the music, and one dose of hemlock wasn’t going to save me. If I confessed every sin I had made, every dark childhood horror I had witnessed, would he spare me? Find pity in the poor Spade daughter who just wanted answers. My hands shookas I reached for the brass handle of the door, hesitating for a moment before pushing directly in without knocking.
Kaius’s sharp eyes snapped up to mine. They softened in recognition as I closed the door behind me, fingers tracing the lock for a moment before latching it shut. He didn’t seem upset. Maybe he didn’t know.
“What are you doing?” Kaius’s words were rough, drawing me farther into the room until I was standing to his left.
My eyes wandered around the space. I had been in his office only once before tonight, when I asked for his help with the snake, but I hadn’t taken in the space that night. The room was painted a dark shade of gray and was illuminated by four low, light gold sconces on either side of the walls. A long, deep brown wooden desk stretched out at the back of the space, and Kaius lounged behind it in a black leather chair.
Two smaller plush chairs sat in front of the desk, and little gold metal upholstery tacks lined the edge of its dark leather. Kaius turned in his chair, hand reaching out to pull me in between his legs and the desk. The room whispered of power. The kind of power I had to dismantle from the inside out. This wasn’t only about my family anymore. This was pure survival. There was no world in which I could hide from the King of Lovelen, even if he no longer held the crown.
“Your sister said you wanted to speak to me before we got busy.” I peered at him through my lashes.
His brows furrowed slightly, causing me to chuckle.
“I am guessing that was a lie.”
