“Take it off!” I called with a laugh.
“You like that?” Alistair wiggled his eyebrows. “I’ve got more where that came from.”
Alistair ripped his shirt off and spun it around his head. I snickered and rolled my eyes.
Danny cupped his hands over his mouth and yelled, “Save it for the bedroom!”
“I would, but I don’t see my man anywhere,” Alistair grumbled. “Where’s Eddie?”
Come to think of it, I hadn’t seen Eddie since Charlie sent him out of the throne room with the inferichite net. He’d left shortly after Cassiel, so I could only assume the Emperor had given him another errand.
“Who needs Eddie?” Ivy piped up. “I’ll dance with you!”
Ivy hopped up on the table to show Alistair some moves. Danny drank vodka straight from the bottle and twirled around the two of them. He must’ve been halfway through the bottle already and was stumbling a bit. I knew it took a lot to get a vampire drunk, but damn… he was going to wake up with one hell of a headache in the morning.
I was starting to get a little concerned about Danny’s drinking habits. He was drunk whenever he got a spare moment, and never failed to reach for a bottle, even on days when there wasn’t a celebration going on. I felt like he was hiding something. I wanted to talk to him about it, but I wasn’t that close to him, at least not yet, so I decided not to bring it up.
Ivy made their way over to Chancey, circling their hips in his lap. Chancey glanced at Ivy, but his eyes were empty. He looked back out the window, appearing haunted. Ivy was trying to cheer him up, but it certainly wasn’t working. Chancey just needed some time.
“Chance, you good?” Ivy whispered, looking concerned.
Chancey’s reply was deadened as he said hoarsely, “Yeah, Ives. I’m… I’m good.”
Ivy frowned, and tears formed in their eyes at Chancey’s response. “Okay. I’ll… I’ll give you some space.”
Ivy got off Chancey’s lap and headed to a corner of the room. They stood there clasping one arm, looking at the floor and biting their lip.
I couldn’t let Ivy feel this way. What had happened to Chancey was horrible, but it wasn’t their fault. They’d done what they had to do to save Chancey’s life. Chancey’s wing was gone, but at least he was still here with us. If I couldn’t help my angel friend, I at least needed to reach out to Ivy, and try to help them feel better.
“Over here, Ivy!” I called, trying to get their attention. “I need a celebratory lap dance.”
Ivy looked up. “Gladly, sweet thing.” Ivy headed my way, then twirled around and shimmied on my lap. Ivy’s smile slightly lifted as I shook my boobs against their shoulder, and we laughed together.
This felt like fun. It was just a simple college party, something we all needed after the stress of the heist.
Ivy shot a glance over their shoulder. When they caught sight of Charlie, they glowered. They seemed to be expecting a fight.
I realized Ivy was waiting to get into it with Charlie, so they could chew him out about what happened in The Devil’s City. Ivy was certainly pissed off that Charlie had sent him off the mission and back to Ilamanthe. It had taken away Ivy’s chance to get back at Salvatore, and that was something Ivy couldn’t forgive. Charlie plopped into an empty chair and devoured a slice of pizza, completely ignoring Ivy altogether.
Ugh. I could cut the tension in here with a knife. This was supposed to befun. I was worried about my friends, and concerned this party wasn’t giving them what they needed. Maybe this party was a mistake. Half the participants didn’t seem like they wanted to be here. We were trying so hard to be happy, but maybe what we’d gone through to get the vampire key wasn’t worth it. I didn’t want any of my friends to suffer because of Charlie’s destiny to unite the keys, and they were suffering now. We’d claimed the vampire key, but we’d had to sacrifice a lot to get it. If this party wasn’t at least serving as a good distraction from all the bullshit we had to go through today, it might as well not be happening.
“Charlie, come on, get up and dance,” I begged, and Ivy got off my lap. “We’re supposed to be having a good time!”
Charlie licked the grease off his fingers. He wore a devilish look as he said, “You want arealparty? Because this shit is boring. Let me spice it up.”
Charlie spread his arms outward, and his Air magic pushed all the furniture to the walls. Alistair stumbled and nearly fell off the coffee table, but he caught himself. Kallie clung to the couch, looking annoyed.
Charlie lifted his hands, and an illusion formed in the middle of the room. A stage with a stripper pole in the center appeared, and a multi-colored disco ball emerged from the ceiling. Confettirained down on us. I reached up to pull a piece of shimmering gold confetti from my hair. Charlie’s illusion magic was gettingverygood. Whatever he desired, it became real.
Charlie smirked as he stepped onto the platform. He threw his jacket aside, along with the shirt underneath. A black tie appeared around his neck from his illusion magic. Fuck, I was getting all hot and bothered already. Those abs were to die for, and that tie was killing me. He danced so arrogantly, and it turned me the fuck on.
My husband knew exactly what I wanted, and he was so thrilled with the work we’d done that he was willing to give itallto me. That’s what I loved about Charlie. He knew me so well.
“Nowthisis a party!” I cheered. “Give it all to me, baby!”
“Where are the dollar bills?” Ez cracked.
Along the edge of the stage, stacks of cash appeared. Ez and Opal each grabbed a stack and started tossing the bills at Charlie, laughing it up. Tahoma hooked an antler under a stack of cash, then tossed it in the air. Abigail blushed and averted her eyes.
