Queen of Nothing

2. Queen of Karma

I stood outside a pair of wrought iron gates to a sprawling white manor, more nervous than I had ever been in a long time. In one hand I clutched a small velvet box wrapped in silver ribbon. In the other was an invitation to Alexis Sinclair's birthday party.

Unlike most vampires, King Sheridan Sinclair kept his living relatives quite close. Anyone who could trace their lineage to him was considered royalty. Alexis was one such relative, and tonight she was turning eighteen. James pulled some strings to secure me an invitation. Not an especially hard feat, as Sheridan was always trying to get in his good graces with the hopes that Virginia would defect to the South.

The guard at the gate cleared his throat and held a hand out. I gave him my invitation and he scrutinized it for a moment before letting me go inside.

A boisterous crowd had gathered on the immaculately manicured lawn. Dance music blared and spotlights swirled around the white exterior of the house, bathing it in colorful hues. Servers waded through the sea of bodies, carrying drinks and appetizers.

I took a deep breath to calm myself. I was no stranger to parties. But I was a stranger to not being important. No heads turned in my direction, nobody whispered about who I was. I couldn't wait for people to come up and try to impress me, I'd have to be the one trying to impress them. And I wasn't exactly sure how to do that.

I smoothed down the front of my green brocade dress and fixed the black beaded mask that rested on my face. For reasons unknown to me, Alexis decided to make her party a masquerade. It made no difference to me; I didn't know anyone to begin with. But it would still be helpful to remember some faces for future reference.

Clutching the box containing Alexis's present — a platinum chain inlaid with diamonds — I squared my shoulder and sauntered further in. I paused to scan the crowd for Alexis, and after failing to see where she might be, I decided to ask.

A tall boy in a white mask stood awkwardly by the buffet table, looking awfully fascinated by the chocolate fountain. Shrugging inwardly, I made my way over to him.

"Hi, have you seen Alexis?" I asked.

The boy froze and stared at me. Up close I could tell he wasn't that bad looking. He had silky black hair, a chiseled jawline, and he filled his black tux out quite nicely. Strange for a guy like that to be hanging around the buffet table like some wallflower. Unless his mask hid some hideous deformity that I didn't know about.

Finally having composed himself, the boy cleared his throat and pointing to somewhere behind me. "She's the one in the cat mask," he said hoarsely.

I turned to see where he was pointing and saw a crowd of obviously drunk girls sprawled over a pair of benches. The one in the aforementioned cat mask was a petite blonde wearing a tacky dress of silver sequins and tulle. Just as atrocious was her haircut — an asymmetrical gold monstrosity with bangs that looked like she cut them herself while inebriated. Given her current behavior, she actually might have.

Shortly after I laid eyes on her, Alexis crawled into the lap of the girl next to her and began to sway her hips seductively. So she was that kind of drunk. Granted it was her birthday, but still.

I thanked the boy, who waved at me awkwardly. I probably made his night by talking to him. And people said I wasn't charitable.

A crow cawed overhead. I looked up to see one perched on a lamp post, looking down at me with it's head cocked to the side. Its eyes were milky white. Was it blind? How did a blind crow survive out in the wild?

Shrugging the unusual sight off, I turned my attention back to Alexis. She stopped her gyrating, wrapped her arms around the other girls' neck, and began kissing her. Well, more like sloppily licking around the general vicinity of her mouth. The sight didn't faze me. I've been to my share of wild parties. But I'd figured a royal like her would have a bit more... decorum.