They Rise at Dusk (Book #1) ✔️

Chapter 29: Floating Weightless

"Are you threatening me?" I asked on impulse. "Do you want me dead?"

Dorian chuckled and leaned against the seat, "Not exactly."

I clutched the box and tried to keep my voice from trembling, "Then what? You can't just hand out blood rubies, Darascu."

Dorian crossed his legs and took in a breath.

"I had it made ten years ago. When you had me banished from NYC and shipped to Romania."

My heart skipped a beat, "Dorian-"

"I'm talking." His voice cut through my words and his gaze through my eyes. "I wanted to send it to you then, to let you know I was out to get you, but I never have."

I kept my mouth shut, but my body spoke enough: cold sweat washed over me, my fingertips turned warm, my blood burned.

"It took me ten years to figure out why I had never sent that ruby." Dorian looked ahead.

I managed a whisper, "Why?"

Dorian reached for the fridge and took out the bottle of Dom.

"Because I don't consider you my enemy." He grabbed two glasses. "Never have, never will."

A trap, my mind shouted. Fuck, my heart answered.

"That blood ruby-" Dorian poured us the champagne. "Is an offer of truce."

"You propose a truce?" I repeated. "Why?"

"Because we want the same thing." Dorian looked at me, two glasses in hand. "We want Edmond off the Council and, to add in a bit of wishful thinking, behind bars. On our own, we're vulnerable. But together, we might pull it off."

Hearing him say those words felt like having a knife pulled out of my back. A warm wave of relief flooded me and drowned out the thoughts roaming through my head. Yes. Please. Please, let's be on the same side. Together, we could pull it off. Still, a shred of a doubt appeared, and I knew I shouldn't just outright trust him.

"What do you propose?" I asked, but reached for one of the champagne glasses.

"We go to the ball together." Dorian said. "And we make it known that there's some competition for the throne in NYC."

My entire body began to burn: ears, temples, fingertips. He would let me talk to my father, he'd let me sit on the Council. He would help me take down Edmond. Dorian Darascu I knew was still there somewhere. There was a part of him that was still my friend.

A different sort of nausea washed over me; the bubbly, nervous kind.

"Okay." I heard myself whisper, suddenly drunk on all the whiskey, sleepless nights, and relief. "Okay, Dorian."

His expression changed, his throat bobbed, and he raised his glass quickly. I clinked against it with my glass and we took a much needed sip.

"Good." He shifted in his seat. "That's good."

Trying to keep my hands from shaking, I put the necklace on, the ruby pedant cold against my skin.

And immediately, like magic, something else had sneaked between us, something much heavier and more visible than it used to be. Like a barrier had been taken down, and thoughts and memories I'd rather ignore popped up.

"Now that we're friends." My shoulders slumped. "How the fuck am I going to stand before my family tonight?"

Dorian chuckled, "Well, considering you're still technically not allowed to talk to them, you can just have some fun for once. They'll be pissed either way."