“Well, at least your mom has done her hair for the occasion,” I point out. I do have to agree with everyone else; she does look unhinged, but not one strand of hair is out of place—though that could be from the blood that’s slicked it back from her face.
She walks to the edge and bends down slightly.
“Here you go, Reaper.” She smiles as she drops the menses dicks and looks at Levi. “Could I get the Fall season, line four?”
Within seconds, the red that’s covering her is gone, and in its place are bark-colored pants that are as wide as Chester and me combined. Her cream top is sleeveless, yet a dark blue sweater lies over her shoulder, her long, wavy hair flowing across it, and her dark brown heels are spotless.
“Thank you, Leviathan.” She blows a kiss to Levi before looking up at everyone as if she’s just now noticed us.
“Ah, well, hello. I’m Lilith, and I get the pleasure of telling you about our meet-and-greet that will take place shortly after I’m done speaking. This year will be a little different since we have such a variety of obstacles that you will be facing; you have the opportunity to seek outside help.”Outside help? Oh! Now that’s pretty cool. I’m gonna ask Matthew what all we’re going to be up against. He’ll tell me everything.“Granted, there are some of us that are forbidden to do so, for example, those of us that created this year’s Gauntlet,” Lilith says, looking directly at us.
Fudge Brass Knuckles. This isn’t fair!!
“During the meet-and-greet, you will see and meet influential beings who can gift you items that could help you throughout your journey. Keep in mind, if you disappoint them,they could also gift your enemy or do worse. So, make sure you mingle, talk to other students, make alliances, find out who you can trust, and who you should watch out for, because tomorrow will be the only day you can prepare. You have an hour to dress to impress; see you all at the ballroom!” Lilith gives a savage smile before turning and walking off the platform, and Delvin and the rest of the Leaders follow her.
“You okay, Moni?” Knox asks, leaning over Chester. His wide eyes look ridiculous right now.
“Yeah… why do you ask?” I say in a daze.
“Because you look like a disco ball,” he tells me.
“Why does a ball have a bunch of discs? That makes no sense,” Knots asks, standing up and aiming for Reaper.
“You look like a prune all scrunched up like that,” I chuckle at Knots, and he frowns.
“I’m done. Chester, she’s yours. I’m unadopting her as a sister,” Knox growls, but gives me a wink to lessen the blow.
Knots grabs Reaper off the floor and rips one of the dicks from him, throwing it down behind him.
“Did he just touch a dick?” Lynx asks.
“Shut up, furball,” Knots growls. “Else, my next task is making boots for this meet-and-greet.”
“Oh, that reminds me,” I say, turning to Rez and grabbing her arm. “What are you going to wear? Something long and elegant? Short and scandalous? Pink and poufy?” I ask giddily.
I can wear anything I want, the sky, and even beyond that is limitless. I need to make a good impression on all the bigwigs that will be at this thing. I don’t know who will be there, but at least I want the chance to wear a gown and impress people.
“I don’t know about you, Moni, but I’m wearing something I can weaponize,” Rez answers, causing me to pout.
“Well, that doesn’t sound like fun,” I pout.
“Then we definitely have different views of fun.” Ryker grins as he slings his arm over my shoulder. “Come on, Moni, let’s raise some Hell,” he laughs.
An hour later, we’re all dressed to the nines and meeting at the base of the stairs, walking up the steps of City Hall in Nova. The ballroom is on the second floor of the west wing, and since the guys went to their room while Chester, JP, Knots, Lynx, Rez, and I went to ours to get ready, we decided to meet here so we could walk in as a team.
The building is dimly lit, but floating candles are dotted throughout, giving a warm atmosphere as we head for the ballroom staircase. I honestly feel like a fairy princess going to her first coming-of-age ball.
I decided to wear a gorgeous dark green and gold dress that wraps around my bodice and drapes down to my waist, leaving floating tendrils of light, almost sheer green fabric that spiral and drift around me with an airy, weightless quality. No one will ever guess that the gold is armor woven into my gown.
When Chestie took one look at me, his jaw dropped, he called me a fairy princess, and rushed back to the room to change his clothes. He’s the perfect mate because he insisted that we match, so he’s wearing a darker green suit with a gold pocket square to match me.He’s so dreamy.
JP has a dark blue suit with a black tie to match his hair, and when he moves, a metallic sheen can be seen. Zeke’s dressed down with black dress pants and a green dress shirt that brings out his eyes, but I don’t miss the bling of his scythe rings.Astaroth would be so proud.
My big broody brother, Knox, is keeping it simple, saying this tactical gear is good enough because he doesn’t need to impress anyone. I mean, he has a point, and by the looks some girls give him as they head towards the ballroom, if they could, he wouldn’t be in that uniform for long. Too bad for them, my bestie would kill them before they got close.
Ryker could give Knox a run for his money in the outfit department, though. His casual shirt is left unbuttoned to his mid-chest with needle-like medal chains crisscrossing where ties or buttons would normally be, which looks like decoration, but knowing him, it’s more functional. He has his sleeves rolled up, giving off his laid-back demeanor, and I don’t know why, but when girls walk by, some try to touch his arms.Are arms supposed to be sexy?I personally like Chester’s tail, that’s his best feature—in all of his forms.
Levi is the most shocking. Gone is the robotic prude in his typical stiff suits. The fact that he’s attending this ho up…wait, is this a down ho?—says he’s changed from the person he used to be. The old Levi would pass on this and have his head in a book somewhere. Anyway, he’s wearing a black long-sleeve shirt, a black tie with gold embellishments, and a black corset with brown fasteners and gold bones crossing his back where his ties would be.I think he will break so many necks that we won’t have any competition.
