Complex.
After wringing his hands together for a few minutes, Atlas slicked back the wayward pieces of his hair and pocketed the box. Picking up the silvery mask he’d discarded, he headed down the stairs, ready to play host to his guests.
Chapter20
Lynx
There was no sign of Oakley on the lower level of the house, so I headed back toward the yard, searching through the maze of thorny black roses and the festivities still in full swing.
Nothing.
She probably headed home to get Aspen fed and in bed.
I rifled through the bucket and pulled out my phone, calling her to find out where she was. It rang over and over, in time to the buzz coming from the very same pile I’d just grabbed mine from. Walking over to it, I dug through, finding her phone blinking brightly among the dozens within.
Flipping through my contacts, I dialed the next best bet to get ahold of her.
“Hey, Hazel. I tried calling Oakley but there was no answer, and I realized she left her phone here at the party. Should I drop it by, or does she want to come get it tomorrow?”
“How should I know?” Hazel asked, unease prickling her tone. “I haven’t seen her.”
“What are you talking about?” I jolted at Atlas’s stern voice behind me. He reached around and snatched the phone from my hand, pressing the Speakerphone button.
“I left early to get Aspen home and to bed. I told her I was leaving,” Hazel said through the line.
“Of course you did.” Atlas groaned, though I wasn’t sure why.
“You’re saying you don’t know where my sister is?” Hazel’s voice jumped up an octave, wobbling a bit. I didn’t need to see her to know she’d be outlined in lime-green fear.
This was one of those moments I wish I could turn to my gift to calm her, but my words would have to do. “Don’t freak out, Hazel.”
She huffed out a sarcastic laugh. “That’s rich saying that to someone who was chained to a pipe for weeks.”
“Let me see if she’s with Saros,” I offered, trying to reassure both of them. Atlas rolled his eyes as I grabbed the phone back. “I promise I’ll text you an update, but if you see her first, please text us.”
Before I finished hanging up, Atlas had his phone out, holding it to his ear. A loud, persistent ring echoed from the bucket.
“Do you think he and Oakley could be together at Luna’s?” he asked, looking wary, blueish-gray smoke filtering around his feet.
“Without their phones?” My brows drew together. “Saros was pissed when he left. Maybe he could forget it if he wanted to be alone, but Oakley? I don’t see her leaving without her phone even if she was angry.”
His jaw ticked. “You’re right about that.”
“I’ll stop by Luna’s on my way back to the house. See if by some chance they are there.”
“I’m coming with you.”
“And leave your own party?”
“They are having plenty of fun without me. The amplifier should hold my illusion through the night.” He waved at Clio, circling his finger in the air to let her know to keep things going. “If you think I’d ever put a party before Oakley, then you have no idea how much she means to me.”
“Oh, believe me,” I watched the swirls of pink spiral around him like a hazy tornado, “it’s very clear to me. Or do you forget who you’re talking to?”
We sprinted down the drive. The lights were off in Luna’s, but it didn’t hurt to check anyway.
I kept pace a few ahead of the Archon the entire way to the truck, and I couldn’t lie, it had a pinch of self-indulgent pride blooming in my chest.
Unlocking the back, I opened the doors and switched on the light.
