(Sorry for the wait! I don't have a lot of free time lately, and I'm working on another story simultaneously. I stayed up late to finish this chapter. Don't mind the errors and stuff, too tired to think about editing now. Thanks as always for the support!)
Kray's chest throbbed as he climbed into the jet with the golden Meta symbol. Gritting his teeth, he squeezed into the backseat next to Alex and watched the two Meta guards get into the front. It was close to seven hours since he woke up in the infirmary. He wore a crisp Calsin Foundation uniform that someone had brought in for him about two hours ago. An agonizing shower in the infirmary—the liquefied bandage they used to bind his wound and help it heal faster held under the pounding water—a quick change of clothes, and no one would ever think he'd been stabbed less than twenty-four hours ago.
Except him. He felt like absolute crap.
He fidgeted on the leather seat and stared ahead at the back of the pilot's chair. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Alex rub her thigh, her thumb moving in gentle circles. When his eyes flicked to her leg, she stilled and then rested her fist in her lap.
It didn't look like an unconscious move, something any normal person would do out of nervousness or restlessness. It seemed deliberate. Like she was working out a kink or something. An injury maybe?
The jet thrummed when the pilot turned it on. It lifted vertically into the air, hovering as the pilot maneuvered it toward the east, and then it zoomed off so fast Kray was pressed into the seat. He'd never been on a jet before. Trains, hovercars, even a helicopter once when he went with Alex and her mother to some solstice festive in Macot. But that was over five years ago and the helicopter hadn't been going as fast as this jet.
After a while, when he became more accustomed to the dizzying speed, Alex asked him, "How are you feeling?"
"Like I just got shot," he muttered.
"It's really bad timing."
"I'm sorry if my getting shot inconveniences you."
"That's not what I meant," she said in a clipped tone. "I'm saying it's too bad you don't have time to rest after such an ordeal. And before you blame that on me, too, just know that I have absolutely no control over what happens today. That's entirely my father's department."
Kray remembered General Drasse well. The man had towered over him on every occasion they'd crossed paths, his shrewd eyes pinning him down like a winged insect to a display board. If there was one thing he didn't doubt about Alex, it was that her relationship with her father wasn't built on love and trust. He knew how much she revered him. Feared him. Maybe even hated him, if she were honest with herself.
But no matter her feelings, she was more loyal to him than any Meta soldier. And if General Drasse wanted Kray walking around on his feet hours after major surgery, Alexandra Drasse would make sure her father got his wish no matter what the cost.
"Why did you lie to me about Sydney?" Kray asked her.
"What?"
"She came to see me a couple hours ago. We talked about what happened in the woods. And what happened after that. She said all you did was comfort her. Why'd you make me think you were trying to hurt her?"
Alex's hand drifted back to her thigh. She kneaded the muscle again. "You already believe the worst about me. I was just making it easier for you."
"So you manipulated me to get your way. Again."
She snorted a laugh. "Yeah. That's exactly it. I am evil incarnate, after all."
He didn't say another word to her the rest of the flight.
#
When Kray and his companions reached Saranth Province, the sun was dipping lower into the sky. They dismounted the cockpit at a hangar bustling with Metas and departing and arriving jets, and then took a sleek black hovcar to the Drasse mansion, where the gala would be held. The mansion was as spectacular as it was years ago, but tonight it looked like something out of a fairy tale.
Cars lined the long white-paved driveway that curled around a glittering water fountain near the entrance. The valet staff rushed from one hovcar to the next, keeping the line of vehicles moving as more guests arrived. Men and women dressed in elegant suits and beautiful evening gowns made their way to the grand oak doors, where butlers and servants ushered them inside.
Alex had changed into her dress back at the hangar while Kray and the guards waited in the air-conditioned lobby of the main office. It was a floor-length silky dress that complemented her olive complexion, forest-green, a solid color that suited Alex's grounded nature, but the crisscross of straps over her bare back and the way the dress hugged her hips and flowed gently down to her high heels made her more like an ethereal creature than an earthy girl.
Kray had no idea when she'd had time to get someone to doll up her face and twist her hair up into a fancy ponytail with ringlets framing her smooth cheekbones, but he'd done a double-take when she'd walked into the lobby earlier. She looked older, more sophisticated, nothing like the girl he'd hated for almost half as long as he'd known her. And when she gave him a soft smile, he'd stared, his head feeling fuzzy.
She was a backstabber, sure. But he couldn't deny she was one stunning backstabber.
He'd had an hour to get used to seeing her like this, so when they pulled up near the front steps and got out of the car, he didn't even glance at her. He didn't even look at the guests milling around the entranceway with sparkling glasses of champagne in their hands. He kept his eyes trained straight ahead, pretending not to notice the whispers that reached his ears.
One of those Sanser recruits.
He looks more like a thug than an aspiring soldier, doesn't he?
Alexandra Drasse would do well to avoid becoming associated with him.
As though in answer, she linked her arm through his, leaning into him in a familiar manner. She moved in to speak to him, and he caught a whiff of some exotic flowery scent. "Don't mind them. They have nothing better to do with their time than to gossip."
"I don't care about their words," Kray said. It was true. Sly, disgusted looks and derisive words didn't bother him any longer. "But you should watch yourself, warden, or next thing you know they'll be gossiping about you, too."
She looked up at him and gave him a lopsided smile. "They already do."
"If it isn't the youngest member of the Drasse clan!" a voice boomed on the other side of the marble hallway. General Hanson of Calsin Province. The giant man with the reddish-brown hair and a big beard of the same vivid shade came bounding toward them, his thick arms straining to burst free from the sleeves of his charcoal-gray jacket.
Alex, ever the solder-in-training, snapped to attention and gave him a salute. "At ease," Hanson said, taking a long gulp from his wineglass. His large hand made it seem like he was holding something from a little girl's teatime playset. "How are you liking Calsin Foundation? Still better than those other foundations you were thinking about, yes? I've been meaning to speak to you about the Concordance Policy, but your father has done all he can to evade my requests to meet with you. Perhaps we'll get a chance later this evening?"
"I'll make it my primary objective to keep my schedule clear for you," Alex said politely. "Though I won't be able to tell you much, to be frank, sir. It's much too soon in the program to see dynamic changes within the foundation. I'll be a contributing speaker at the Delegations Summit on the twenty-first of December. I'm sure I'll be better equipped to address your concerns then."
Displeasure lines the space between Hanson's thick eyebrows. "That is, if the program continues on for that long. I've heard that there have been some issues already. Noise complaints, for one. Vandalism. It seems the Sansers can't keep their primitive ways in check. And there have been some physical altercations. Why, my own protégé was attacked by a Sanser, though he won't tell me who did it. I have a feeling he's too embarrassed to speak of it."
"I'm sure Stan Aries can take care of himself, sir."
Kray had been hanging in the back, wondering if he could merge with the crowd and ditch both Alex and Hanson, but his attention snapped back to the giant the second Alex said the name. Aries was this man's so-called protégé? No wonder his skin had prickled with distaste from the moment Hanson walked over to them. They were cut from the same filthy cloth.
"That he can," Hanson agreed, toasting Alex with his now-empty wineglass. He looked down at it and seemed to regret that he didn't have more wine to drink. "Well, you had better make your rounds, young Drasse." His eyes lifted and finally found Kray, before they moved dismissively back to Alex. "And lose this one. You're not his babysitter, are you?"
"No, sir," Alex answered. "I'm his date."
The stunned look on Hanson's face was worth her lie. The man's face reddened like an overripe tomato. "Don't get cheeky with me, girl."
She bowed her head slightly. "I apologize if I've insulted you, sir. That wasn't my intention."
He harrumphed again and marched away. Alex began to walk down the hallway again, but not before Kray caught the triumphant smile on her face. So she took pleasure in defying General Hanson, huh? And by using her status as General Drasse's daughter as her shield. He couldn't blame her. He wished he could've gotten away with mocking the overgrown idiot too without getting smashed headfirst into the nearest wall.
They reached the ballroom a minute later. If he'd thought there were too many people in the entranceway and the corridors, this was ten times worse. A live band played ballroom music on stage. Hundreds of people danced under golden chandeliers, dresses twirling and laughter tinkling forth like expensive champagne. Others lounged around round tables decorated with white and gold centerpieces. Even more of them spilled out onto the veranda visible through the sliding glass doors. The air was so thick and cloying with perfumes and the decadence of spoiled human Mainlanders that Kray couldn't breathe.
He tugged at his tie, wishing he could turn right back around and walk for miles until he left this place behind. But before he could make his escape, a random man in the audience spotted them and came rushing over to introduce himself to Alex—and, surprisingly, to Kray.
He asked questions about everything that'd happened to them over the course of the week. How did Kray feel going to a foundation? What made him decide to accept the invitation? Did he think the food at the foundation was better than anything he could have had in the Skads? What was it like knowing he had the future of a nation hinging on his success?
A reporter. That explained the fact that he shoved his handheld in their faces and the hungry gleam in his eyes. Kray's head whirled dizzyingly and he barely knew what he was saying, but Alex kept her head like a pro. She answered what she could and when the man asked personal questions, like whether she and her boyfriend, Robert Nourse, were ever planning on living together, she gave noncommittal answers while dazzling the reporter with her perfect white smile and her oozing confidence.
The man finally left, only to be replaced by another. Then another. Even the guests chimed in, whirling around Alex like a tornado of chiffon and tailcoats, drawn in by her charm and her high status while equally repelled from Kray and his neon-red Sanser tie.
And when one of the young and handsome boys asked her to dance, Kray realized that, no matter how miserable it made him feel being forced to spend time with her, he felt even worse being alone in a crowd of people who hated him. Especially when he searched the packed ballroom for a familiar face and found several he'd rather not see.
Including Stan Aries' ugly mug. The Meta boy was watching him and when their eyes met, he gave him a smile. A hard smile that made him realize their fight was far from over. He didn't know how Alex could be so sure this jerk hadn't sent the goons who stabbed him. Every fiber of his being told him that Stan Aries was pure evil.
As the tornado dispersed, he grabbed a champagne glass from a passing server and downed it in a couple of gulps. Then he grabbed a second, a third, a fourth, and with each glass the buzz in his head grew until he could barely hold on to his thoughts.
He used to drink what he could get his hands on in the Wasteland, especially on days when he received his worst beatings. And on days when he just wanted to get drunk off his mind so he wouldn't have to be reminded of how awful his life was. Just like now. He might be standing in a fancy ballroom surrounded by beautiful things he'd never own or snobby people who'd never respect him, but he was still drowning in misery.
He didn't belong here. Or anywhere, for that matter.
He was debating another glass of champagne when someone said, "Kray?"
He turned to face the speaker and nearly dropped his latest wineglass. Leah Morrison. Alex's old friend and the girl he'd made out with in the art room once. Talk about a blast from his past. She was still petite, but she was beautiful in her creamy, strapless dress and her curly hair hanging in waves down her back. Her smoky hazel eyes twinkled up at him, and he remembered why he'd kissed her in the first place.
He also remembered why he'd never done it again.
"Wow, it's so good to see you!" she gushed. "Oh my God. You're so much bigger now. You literally grew a foot since the last time I saw you."
I'm doing great, thanks for asking, Leah, he wanted to say, but he didn't want to go there. She was a familiar face he could tolerate. So he smiled at her and said, "You look the same. Beautiful as ever."
She giggled. "And I see you're still such a charmer. Hey, you want to dance? Not my kind of music, but it beats standing around watching old geezers get their rocks off. Or we could ditch and find someplace quiet to hang out."
"I can't dance," he said, his head foggy from the alcohol. "I got hurt . . . while training."
He'd almost forgotten he wasn't allowed to discuss the stabbing with anyone outside of Calsin Foundation. The detective who'd gotten his statement after Alex left said it could interfere with the investigation. Or maybe that was just the ANEF's way of keeping this scandal under wraps. Wouldn't want people thinking Sansers could be victims, too.
Leah took his wineglass and placed it on a nearby table. Then she grabbed his hand and pulled him toward the sliding doors. "Come on. The garden is absolutely gorgeous and there's a beautiful full moon tonight. Plus I think I'm going to pass out if I don't get some fresh air. I'm seriously getting high off the fumes coming from some of these chicks' hairspray."
Kray looked at their linked hands, surprised. During one of the last times he'd spoken to Leah, she'd made it clear that being in public with him was embarrassing. "You sure you want to be seen sneaking off with me?" he asked, his words coming out slower than he'd intended.
She veered behind a couple of elderly women in frilly dresses and avoided colliding with a server carrying a tray of wineglasses. Then she tossed a sexy smile back at him. "Why, because you're a big bad Sanser?"
She threw back her head and laughed, and nearly missed the small step as they went on the veranda. He steadied her with a hand around her waist. She leaned into his chest, smiling up at him like he was the most fascinating person she'd ever met, and he barely felt his throbbing injury. All he knew was this delicious buzz. It felt good to have a girl look at him like that. So what if Leah had hurt him, too? She'd always been honest with him about her true intentions. As long as she didn't start trying to get in his mind and force choices on him, they were good.
Leah spun away from him without breaking her hold on his hand. She led him across the wood planks of the veranda and down a set of steps and then into a garden enclosed by a boxwood hedge. Moonlight washed over the marble statues of half-naked men with rippling abs and equally scantily-clad warrior women. Anyone would be able to see them if they came this way, but he didn't care. They owed him this much. The ANEF, Alex, the whole greedy world.
Leah's hands were in his hair before her lips touched his. She tugged him down toward her, opening her mouth against his in a hungry kiss. He felt a ripple of want and building urgency, fueled by alcohol. How long had it been since he'd been this close to a girl? Way too long, judging by his reaction. And it made this all the more sweet knowing he was desecrating the ANEF's precious gala by making out with one of their human girls.
"What's so funny?" Leah asked when he pulled back to laugh.
"You. We haven't seen each other in two years and the first thing you do is kiss me?"
She tightened her arms around his neck and pressed her lips to his jaw. "We do have some unfinished business."
"I don't know. I feel like you just want me for my body."
"Is that so wrong?" she asked, batting her eyelashes up at him.
They grinned at each other. He bent down to kiss her again when he heard a man clear his throat. His arms dropped like anchors. Three Metas stood on the pathway cutting through the garden. Well, one Meta and two trainees. Alex, her father, and Stan Aries.
"Told you I saw him going this way, sir," Stan Aries said, barely masking his gloating voice behind a pretense at subordination. "But I didn't know he'd snuck off with one of your esteemed guests. I thought he had more respect than that."
Leah's face paled as she stepped away from Kray. "General Drasse—Alex—I'm sorry, I didn't know you two were involved."
"Involved?" Kray asked, the word weird in his foggy brain.
She raced off before he could ask again. "Warden Aries," General Drasse said stiffly. "You're also dismissed."
"Yes, sir."
Aries turned to leave, but not before he gave Kray a shark-grin. It finally sank in. No wonder Leah had come on to him so strong and so fast. This was all a setup. He should have seen it coming. He would have, if he hadn't been such an idiot by drinking so much champagne. And if he hadn't let his miserable loneliness get the best of him.
General Drasse looked Kray over with scrutinizing golden eyes. Disgust flickered across his stony features. "I invite you to my home for one of the most important events of your life and mine, and what do you do? You get drunk on champagne and embarrass yourself with a girl cheap enough to be bought off by Stan Aries and his masters."
"Uh," Kray began, but he didn't know what to say.
"Father—"
Drasse cut his daughter off by lifting a hand in her direction. "Get him cleaned up before the rest of the generals get here. They'll want to meet with him, too. Hopefully he will hold himself together for the rest of the evening."
General Drasse left the garden.
"You can freshen up in one of the guest bedrooms," Alex said softly.
She didn't meet his gaze as she spoke, and he was glad for that. He didn't think he could look her in the eye when he was weighed down with so much shame and humiliation. As they walked back to the veranda, Kray looked up at the cloudless sky, ignoring the way his head spun.
Leah had been honest about one thing. The full moon was beautiful tonight.