He frowned. “But I thought it would be different here. I always imagined everyone being powerful and getting along.”
I dipped my chin in agreement. “Me too. So I’m going? To the party?” I tried not to get too excited. He could change his mind.
He smiled. “I’ll be working late at the Inn so you can find me there if you need me.”
I let out an excited squeal then, and reached across the table to squeeze his hand. Hug hard.
* * *
“You look amazing,”I told Eden as we walked through the East Side, down a road full of giant standalone houses. Eden wore a knee-length, powder-blue dress and she’d convinced me to wear an ankle-length, emerald-green sundress she’d given me. It had thin straps, so I wore a long-sleeved black sweater over it and a pair of black, wrist-high gloves. My hair was pulled into a tight knot, and I wore tall boots. I was taking all precautions not to get touched at this party accidentally and make a fool of myself.
“So do you, friend.” She smiled at me and it was kind of her to say. It was a teenage party with no parents, my dressing like this was going to stick out but I was used to it. As we approached a giant white stone mansion, music could be heard blaring out from the side.
“They got a band?” I asked, impressed. In Isa we had a few musicians who played guitar and violin, and a couple singers, but it was nothing like what was booming from the side of the house right now.
Eden laughed. “They are the band! Ayden plays drums, and Ariyon plays guitar and sings.”
Song writing.Of course. Ariyon had been doing that in the library.
Eden pulled me around the side of the house where a lithe fae guard was standing next to a closed gate. He wore the Gilded Royal Guard uniform with flame emblem on his chest.
I reached for my badge, nervous they wouldn’t let a few Westies inside. He flashed a light on my nametag and looked at me. “Fallon Bane?”
Oh Light.
“Yes?” I squeaked.
He nodded. “Come with me.” After he opened the gate to the backyard, I took in everything at once. There was a giant stage erected off to the side and Ariyon and Ayden were on it playing music. The sound was so loud it vibrated my chest, and I was amazed to find that it seemed to be amplified through some type of electricity. The open grass of the backyard was surrounded by a lush forest of thirty-foot-tall trees and was filled with at least a hundred people. I sucked in a nervous breath and shot Eden a fearful look. This much of a crowd wasverydangerous for me. The odds of my getting touched were high. The fae guard planted himself in front of me and then pushed his arms out, creating a six-foot clearance around me.
“Royal Guard coming through!” he yelled and began to push people left and right to clear a path.
I looked at Eden, wide-eyed, and she grinned ear-to-ear.
This was what Ayden had in mind when he said he would take care of it?
This was embarrassing! But also awesome and so very sweet. The guard walked us right up to the side of the stage, where a small corner had been roped off.
A sign hanging from one of the ropes readReserved for Fallon and Eden.
I looked up at the stage and met Ayden’s gaze as he smashed two thin sticks onto the drum skins and winked at me. My stomach did a full turn at that wink and a warmth spread throughout my chest.
“He is seriously the sweetest guy ever!” Eden commented as we made our way inside of the roped-off corner. Blair and some of her friends glared at us from the front row where they reached for Ariyon and swayed to the music. Blair wore a tight black sleeveless dress that barely covered her butt and jealousy surged within me. What I wouldn’t give to be able to dress like that, just for one night, without fear of being hurt for it.
I focused my attention then on the grumpy twin brother. His longer hair had flipped into his face and he swiped it out with his hand and slicked it back, causing every female in the yard to scream. His singing voice was deep, raspy, and perfectly in tune. I was pretty impressed, he had a good voice. He was rich so he’d probably had lessons from a young age. I found myself focusing on the lyrics he belted out and chills ran the length of my spine.
You’re bad news.
I should hate you!
But I find myself wondering what your lips would taste like on miiiiiine.
He finished and the girls went insane, screaming and throwing their arms towards him as he slapped their palms with his own and grinned down at them.
‘I think that song was about you,’Yanric said and I froze.
‘No, it’s not. I told you not to come,’I growled, searching the tree line to see his little black body outlined on some branches twenty feet away. Was that song about me? No. That was crazy to think, right?
‘I said I would take it under advisement, do you have any idea how many people here want you dead?’Yanric snapped back.
