Alec continues, “Remember? Everyone was there. Stellan covered the event, wandering around, and trying to get quotes from the inebriated guests. Janus was the only person who deigned to speak to him.”
That’s right. Stellan had been there, but I didn’t pay him much notice. He’d been a beat reporter for the mayor’s office, observing from the shadows for a long time, waiting for his opportunity to strike. Stellan had been quiet, if not nosy. I believed he was harmless, but after what Dimitri did tonight, claiming it was to further Stellan’s cause, I fear Stellan’s use of violence will push people to their limits. I glance at Gianna. More people will get hurt in the process.
Meg draws from a long, ornate pipe connected to an intricately designed water vessel. Swirling patterns and glowing runes adorn the glass. “Ah, yes,” she says, exhaling sweet, tobacco-scented smoke into the air. “Phe wore that hideous gown.”
“Yes! And Brigid, who wasn’t wasted, tripped and fell into the fountain,” Alec recalls, her voice rising in pitch as the story progresses. “You were floating around like a jellyfish in all that taffeta!”
My smile freezes on my face, cracking around the edges. That party . . . it was just a few days before the call, before Marlowe told me my dad was in prison, and after that my sister was dead. I remember Marlowe’s voice, the way she stayed on the phone for a full hour while I tried to grasp the impossible. How could I live without my sister? My twin. My other half, whom I left behind when I moved to Aurora to deal with my problems instead of being there for hers. I fight the wave of grief that threatens to drown me, one jagged, painful childhood memory at a time. My chest tightens, as if a vise grip wound around mylungs. Suddenly, each breath feels stolen, a desperate gasp for air.
Ry squeezes my shoulder. “You good?”
I force a nod.
He gives me a closed-mouth smile before sitting beside Gianna. Meg frowns into her drink.
Brigid’s cackle cuts through the tension. I sit across from her on one of the upholstered floor pillows. “Papa was so mad! I couldn’t understand why. It’s not as if I fell on purpose.”
“Please! Eddo had a good reason to be angry!” Alec screeches. “The water made your dress see-through. Everyone saw your pierced nipples!”
The girls and Ry erupt into another fit of laughter, but I know what’s coming next.
“When Wilder tried to pull you out, you yanked him in with you, tux and all,” Meg adds. I groan at the memory. I had promised myself nothing would happen again between Brigid and me, but I broke my word that night. “Eddo about blew a fuse.”
Brigid’s gaze meets mine, and the intensity in her eyes makes my lips flatten into a grimace. “That was a great night, wasn’t it, Wilder?”
I avert my gaze, feeling Leigh’s presence even in her absence. Things were different back then. “I’m heading to bed,” I announce, rising.
“But it’s not even midnight,” Brigid protests.
I shrug. “It’s been a long day.”
Gianna sets her untouched coffee on the low table and declares, “I’ll come with you.”
Eddo gave her a room across from mine. It’s small, but it does have a window overlooking the courtyard. It’s no Najma Hotel, but it also didn’t seem to have been occupied for sometime, so Eddo was being an ass for not getting it ready for her sooner.
Alec whines, “You can’t go yet, Gi! I haven’t even asked you all the burgeoning questions I need to know.”
“Like what, Alec?” Brigid asks, a slight edge to her voice.
“Like where Gianna bought that dress? It is so chic.”
“You probably can’t afford it,” Brigid says, her tone dripping with disdain.
Alec scoffs. “Bitch!”
While Alec and Brigid bicker, I tell Gianna, “You should stay if you want.” It’s good for her to be around other Nebula who don’t want to cause her harm.
“Yeah, stay!” Alec chirps.
Gianna’s gaze flicks between me and the others, lingering the longest on Brigid.
“Have some fun,” I encourage. Gi smiles, nods, and then sits back down beside Ry.
He leans in, lowering his voice conspiratorially. “Do you want to hear the story about how I accidentally shot Commander Eddo in the ass?”
“Aren’t you a sniper? That’s what Alec said,” Gianna asks.
Ry’s smile is wide and infectious. “That’s why it’s a good story.”
