I lift my gaze slowly, scanning the crowd. Faces blur together—wealth, power, boredom. But then I feel it. That prickle at the base of my spine. That instinctive, traitorous pull toward the dark.
Kai is here.
I don’t see him at first. Of course I don’t. He’s never where you expect him to be.
Then I spot it—just beyond the ring of light, where the terrace gives way to shadow. A figure leaning casually against a stone column, half-hidden, dressed in black that drinks in the night. He doesn’t look like a guest. He looks like a threat someone forgot to remove.
His eyes find mine instantly.
They’re burning.
Pure, unrestrained fury—sharp enough to cut through the music, the laughter, the lie of this night. His jaw is clenched so tightly I can see the muscle jumping, his hands curled like he’s already imagining them around someone’s throat.
My phone vibrates again.
Don’t worry, little sister.
The main event hasn’t even fucking started yet.
A cold shiver slides down my spine.
Noah notices.
He turns slightly, angling his body to block my line of sight, his smile never faltering as he raises his glass to someone across the pool. “You’re trembling,” he says quietly. “Nerves?”
“No,” I lie. “Just cold.”
He chuckles softly, indulgent. “You always were sensitive.”
Kai’s gaze flicks to Noah’s hand on my back.
His expression changes.
The fury sharpens into something colder. More deliberate. A predator recalculating.
My phone lights up one last time.
Every step he takes toward that altar is a mistake.
Every hand he puts on you is borrowed time.
I swallow hard, my pulse roaring in my ears.
Kai pushes off the column.
He doesn’t come closer. He doesn’t need to.
He lifts his glass—mocking, lazy—and tips it slightly in my direction. A salute. A promise.
I realise then, with terrifying clarity, that this party isn’t a celebration.
It’s a declaration of war.
And I’m standing right in the middle of it, dressed in white, while two men who refuse to lose circle each other through silk, champagne, and blood-thin smiles.
Noah leans down, his mouth brushing my ear.
“Enjoy the night, Scarlett,” he says. “It’s the last one you’ll ever have like this.”
