“How much is it to attend this sort of thing?” Rae asked when she noticed the thankful notes left on each table.
“Six thousand per plate.”
Fuck. Me.
“What are those?” She subtly gestured to the large orbs that clearly didn’t match the decor, one in each corner of the restaurant.
It was Riley who noticed. “They’re anti-magic devices designed to block your connection to your chi.”
“Which means…” Rae waited.
“It means magic bearers cannot call their magic,” Titus said. “It feels like a pressure, more annoying than anything.”
“Oh.” Rae couldn’t feel that, unable to connect to her chi anyway. “Well, they’re eyesores.”
Rae expected more from a charity as widely known as the Children of the Moon. The organisation was one of the largest in Europe for helping young children who suffer from life-threatening illnesses caused by the vampira virus, and one of the richest if she was remembering correctly. Not that her knowledge in conditions caused by freshly turned vampire daddies fucking human mummies and causing sick children was particularly vast.
The view was the best part of the entire thing, the sun setting in a burst of pink and orange, reflected against the vicious waves that crashed against the cliff below.
Titus stiffened beside her, his head cocked towards Riley. They didn’t speak, but their eyes were fixed, direct.
“What?” she asked, nudging him in the side.
“We didn’t expect the entire Council,” he said, leaning down to whisper in her ear.
“Does it matter? We’re only here for one.”
His breath was hot against her face. “No, it doesn’t. As long as we play this carefully.”
Rae pressed her lips together, biting back her retort. She scanned the crowd of snobs, stopping at a young girl not much older than fourteen. Her hair was a dark curtain that fell to her mid back, skin paler than even herself. She stood so effortlessly still, a statue who watched everyone with a dark gaze. A man stood at her side, equally uncomfortable.
“Valentina and her Soldier,” Riley said when he noticed her line of sight. “She holds the seat for the vampires. The man beside her is Danton, an Elder.” He stopped a passing waitress, grabbing three glasses.
Rae frowned. “She looks like a child.”
“Don’t let that fool you,” Titus said, his grip tightening on her. “She’s old, and has had her seat the longest. Don’t ever meet her eyes.”
“I thought that was a rumour?” She’d asked Atlas about it once, and he’d simply laughed, explaining he’d never been able to hypnotise anyone.
“There’s usually a grain of truth in rumours and myths,” Titus said, pulling Rae against his chest. “You think there’s disruption amongst the Council?”
Riley handed out the glasses, and Rae tipped half it down her throat before they’d even taken their first sip. “When is there not?” He gestured to a tall faerie with lavender eyes. “That’s Liliannia, she holds the seat for the entire Fae.”
“The guy hiding in the corner’s Xavier,” Titus added. “He’s –”
“For the shifters.” Rae could see it in the way his body was tightly coiled, the barely controlled predator behind his single eye. The other was permanently closed, a ragged scar across the lid. Every few seconds claws would pierce through the end of his fingertips before being retracted.
“Xavier never comes to these, not unless he gets something out of it.” Riley pursed his lips. “Cassiel’s the guy with the wings, and I’m yet to meet the new woman who represents the witches and mages.”
“Okay.” Rae quickly looked over Cassiel, his presence loud and boisterous as he soaked up the flattery. Her pendant warmed against her breast, but she ignored it. “Don’t you think it’s weird that humans have never been represented on the Council?”
Titus frowned down at her. “Humans have a separate governing body.”
“That’s my point.” Rae finished her champagne, placing it on one of the tables. “The peace treaty’s over three-hundred years old. You’d think by now we’d all be seen as equal.”
“Humans out populate us six to one,” Riley said. “Does that seem equal?”
“Says the guy represented, and not seen as inferior, or weak just because we can’t light a birthday candle with a finger. It’s stupid supernatural society bullshit.” She frowned, biting her bottom lip. “So which one of these lucky fuckers is Edwards?”
