"Are you sure that's what you want to wear?" Caspian asked with a disgusted scowl on his face as he looked me up and down. If I was a complete asshole like him I would've made fun of his poor choice in clothing tonight but fortunately for him, I wasn't.
I rolled my eyes and looked back at the mirror. "I see nothing wrong with what I'm wearing."
"Oof. Okay babe," he said as he turned to leave.
Suddenly I began to second guess my outfit and I grabbed his arm to turn him back to me. With a smirk on his face, he looked between my grip on his arm and my lips.
"What's wrong with my outfit?" I asked.
"It should be on the floor."
I smiled and let go of his arm. It didn't take me long after living with him and Cleo this past year to realize that he was insatiable.
"Sirs!" Cleo yelled from the restroom. "This is not the time for sex! We have like five minutes."
Caspian groaned and waved his hand away. "Yeah, yeah, fine."
I walked into the restroom to see Cleo putting on her earrings. She smiled at me through the mirror and I wrapped my arms around her waist.
"Hey boo," she said with a large smile.
"Hey cutie pie," I teased.
"Oh yuck," Caspian said as he walked in and shook his head. "You both are so gross."
"Aww, do you want a nickname?" I asked.
"Nope. Daddy is fine," he said.
I cackled and Cleo held her hand over her mouth to stop from laughing.
"Pfft, who's gonna tell him?" She joked.
"Do we need to watch our video as a reminder?" He asked with a smug smile as he leaned against the door frame.
"We were drunk," Cleo said with a pout.
"Drunk or not there is video evidence, my sweet little pumpkin pies," Caspian mocked as he walked towards us and pinched our cheeks.
"Yeah, okay. Moment over," I said as I swat his hand away. "I'm going to go check on Queen."
I walked out of the restroom and out of the room into the dimly lit hall of Hell's grand palace. After Queen became the ruler of the Underworld, she moved here. I couldn't stand to see her be in such a large and gloomy place alone so I came with her. Then Mia moved in, obviously, Cain followed her, and then Cleo and Cas were the most recent residents.
When we first moved here, the palace was dark, abandoned, and dusty. But after a bunch of restless nights and deep cleaning, we transformed it. It still wasn't as "happy" as the one in Jeradua, but it felt right.
The long walk to Queen's room was almost torturous but these days she chose to be a social recluse. She threw herself into Hell's politics and work more than anything. It took us weeks to even convince her to have this ball tonight.
I already heard the palace filling with underworld creatures and music flowing from all around. All that was needed to get the party truly started was the Queen.
I slowed as I reached her bedroom and the two statuesque guards remained unmoving in front of her door.
"Hi," I said nervously. "I'm just going to-," I attempted to move between them but they silently stepped in front of me. "Excuse me, you all know who I am."
"The Queen is occupied," one of them said flatly.
I leaned on the opposite wall and shook my head. "Doing what?"
They remained silent and I rolled my eyes. I opened my mouth to ask another question when suddenly the door opened. The man I had grown to despise after these few months stepped out and I silently gagged.
Dimitri Russo
He was the leader of the vampire district in the underworld but he disgusted me. Maybe it was because I didn't like seeing anyone with Queen but Syn. It wasn't fair to her and that was something I needed to stop doing but I couldn't help it.
"Xavier," he said brightly. "Sorry to hold you up. We didn't know you were here."
"It's a coincidence that your vampire hearing seems to not work when I'm around," I replied in a cheery voice.
He laughed and plastered one of his award-winning smiles that seemed to capture everyone's hearts. I didn't get the fascination but everyone seemed to be in love with the man.
According to magazines in the underworld, he'd been single for years before Queen. But then she came along and changed everything. Their love story was popular down here and everyone kept up with them all over social media. They were the perfect pair.
Except, I knew Queen better than that.
"My apologies, Xavier," he said as he walked away from the doors. "I'll be seeing you both downstairs."
"Mhmm," I hummed as I walked past the guards into the now open bedroom. Queen looked up at me as she slipped on her heels and I shook my head. "I fucking hate your boyfriend, no offense."
"You hate every guy I even talk to," she said lowly.
"I mean sure, but he especially grinds my gears."
"He's good for me, Xavier," she said sadly as she looked up at me.
I sighed. "You don't even seem like you love him," I pointed out honestly.
"I don't need love, I need stability. He brings that." She stood up and adjusted her dress and I looked at her. "What?"
"Syn would've wanted you to be with someone that made you happy."
She momentarily froze at the mention of his name and I gave her a sad smile. I watched as a flash of sadness passed her features but it was immediately alleviated as she took a deep breath. I knew she was still heartbroken over him. The fact that Heaven repeatedly sent look-a-likes to mess with her feelings didn't help either.
"I have to go downstairs with Dimitri. The leaders of the other districts are here. Please don't mention Syn tonight," she said sternly as she walked out of the room.
꧁꧂
Author's Note Tiny sneak peek hehehe
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