After Kai has run his third red light, and I scold him for it, we eventually arrive at the venue. It's a building of gothic grandeur, with high, charcoal coloured columns framing the entrance. I can hear classical music playing, and women and men in extravagantly formal attire hang around the foyer and outside the doors. The high, mahogany doors are wide open and two largely built men in impeccably tailored suits stand at the door.
Kai steps out of the car and shuts his door before coming along to my side. He opens the door and gestures for me to step out. As I take the arm he's offered me, he mutters into my ear. "Listen closely," he says as we walk up the stairs towards the door. "Don't go far from me, don't try and go home with anyone. And that means anyone. Not even if it's your type — a handsome psychopath. Don't tell anyone your name unless they ask, and be as tolerable as you can. No petty behaviour."
"Any other rules, Kai?" I ask impatiently.
He ignores me. Instead he turns to one of the bouncers outside the ball and says, "Malachai Parker. Plus one."
The bouncer checks his list before giving Kai a nod to go through. Kai half-smiles before stepping in. The ball is of a grand calibre, with high ceilings, a fancy interior complete with chandeliers and columns. Oh, God, I think to myself. I don't belong here at all.
A waiter at the door offers Kai and I champagne. I take a glass, murmuring a quick thank you.
"Shall we sit?" Kai asks.
"Uh, yeah, sure," I stammer, finding it difficult to take in the scale of the event. "Whatever you want."
He takes a seat on a deep black velvet couch and gestures for me to sit down too. "What do you think?" he asks.
I raise my eyebrows. "Huh?"
"The ball," he says. "What do you think of the ball?"
I shrug, trying to downplay my excitement. "It's nice."
His lips raise into a small smile. "Arden, can I ask you something?"
He's being awfully serious tonight. I shift in my seat. "Of course."
He bites his lip, eyebrows furrowed. "Why do you want to find Theo so badly?"
"Because I love him," I say matter of factly. "And I know for a fact if he was in my position right now, he would be trying to resurrect me, too."
He plays with his beard cluelessly. "Do you really think that?" he asks, eyebrows raised. It's strange. He doesn't say it in a sarcastic or teasing way. He says it as if he's genuinely asking.
"Yes," I say. "That's the end of it, Kai. We love each other."
"Whatever you say," he says, seemingly clicking back into his careless, wickedly joking personality. "May I have this dance, Mrs Raeken?" he asks in an overly proper manner. He holds out his hand.
I grin and take his hand. "One dance, Kai."
"I'll take it," he says. He pulls me up and I almost trip over my dress as he pulls me into the centre of the dance floor. He places a hand gingerly on my back and I place one on his shoulder. There are couples all around, and I feel a pang of sadness. Will I get Theo back?
"You okay?" Kai asks, eyebrows furrowed. "You know, I'm sort of worried you're going to snap and kill someone in all your widow-ly woe."
"What did you mean when you asked if I really thought Theo would be doing the same?" I ask, biting my lip.
He chuckles, and I'm unsure whether I said something funny or if he's just being cruel. "You're delirious," he says. The latter, then.
"You, Kai Parker, are a bitch." I drop my hand and start a beeline away from him.
"Wait, wait," he says. He latches onto my hand. "Please. I'm not trying to be mean."
"Really now?"
"Answer me truthfully." He pulls me back towards him, and then we're dancing again, albeit with tension between us. "Are you sure you want to do this?"
"I'm sure, Kai. Let it go. Nobody's forcing me to do anything, I'm doing this on my own accord."
He raises his eyebrows. "Fair enough," he declares. "You're doing it on your own accord, I get that. But why? Why are you willing to go through hell for him, Arden?"
"Because I love him," I murmur.
"Why?"
"What do you mean why?" I snap. "Have you never been in love before, Kai?"
"Not that I recall, no," he answers. "But I know enough about people to know that you're lying to yourself, Arden."
"You know, Kai, I'm pretty sure I know my own emotions better than you do."
"And you actually actually think that Theo would go through all this bullshit for you? Tell me, Arden, has Theo ever done anything for you? Anything at all?"
My mouth is dry. "He loved me," I say. "He taught me to be fearless, to have faith in myself."
"Did he, Arden?"
I run my tongue over my lip. "You know what happened, Kai. I couldn't have done it on my own."
He pulls me closer to him, his hand tightening around my waist tensely. It's not a romantic embrace, no, it's meant to make me feel vulnerable and give me nowhere to avoid him. "Couldn't you, Arden?" he whispers. A tight, uncomfortable whisper. "You destroyed the Vinceret pack pretty well on your own." He raises his voice a little. "Think about it Arden. Do you really think Theo would go through hell for you? If it was his life on the line to resurrect you, would he do it?
"The answer is no, Arden. Don't you see that?" My breath hitches in my throat as he continues. "If you died, you really think that Theo wouldn't have forgotten about it maybe a month or two later? He wouldn't have moved one within maybe a little longer than that? That he would even think about going through hell to find you."
I smile, taking the time to wither down his high walls. "Kai, have you ever been in love?"
"With myself? Yes, Arden. With power? Yes."
"Have you ever loved anyone, Kai?" I tighten my hand on his. I lean in, so that I can whisper in his ear. "I know you haven't," I say softly, a sly grin on my face. "You're a sociopath. How could anyone fall in love with someone who murdered his own family? How could you ever fall in love with someone when everyone was too scared to even come near you?"
He bites his lip, grinning slightly. "I don't need love. Nor do I want it."
I pause. "Are you going to help me or not, Kai?"
"Do you want me to help you?"
"Of course I do," I sigh. "As much as you annoy the hell out of me, I need your help."
He ponders about this for a second, before releasing me. "Go sit down, behave yourself and don't annoy any guests. Especially none that bite. I'm not promising anything, but I so very much miss that lovely smile on your face." He taps me on the nose, all while sporting an over excited, but slightly devious smile.
"Wait, Kai," I say. I grab him by the forearm. "You have to promise me you'll offer the witch anything and everything."
He sighs. "I'll try, Arden. I will." He disappears into the sea of people.
I sit down upon an expensively furnished couch and take a sweeping look across the room. Twelve months ago, I wouldn't have even thought I would be sitting in a ballroom watching supernatural creatures dancing with each other. The prospect should scare me more than it does, I think. A lady with fangs dances with a man with golden eyes. This is my life now. It's unconventional, but I've gotten used to it to the point that little scares or perplexes me.
A man with caramel skin and broad shoulders sits down next to me, taking me out of my reverie. "Can I buy you a drink?" he says, flashing his perfectly aligned teeth.
"Uh, yeah," I say. "Sure."
"What's your name?"
"My name? Uh, Arden."
"You don't seem sure about that," he laughs. "What do you want, Arden?"
"A red wine?"
"You don't seem so sure about that, either," he chuckles. "Anyway, care to come to the bar with me?"
I raise my eyebrows. "Sure." At this stage, nothing about him seems odd. He doesn't even have any physical characteristics of a supernatural creature. Once we sit down at the bar and he buys the drink, I make a point of asking him why. "What are you?" I ask.
"Excuse me?"
"Obviously you wouldn't be here if you were a human," I say.
"A witch," he says nonchalantly. "You're friends with Malachai Parker aren't you?"
"Well, yeah —"
"I saw you with him before he disappeared somewhere around there," he explains, pointing directly to a door on the second level of the hall. I shift my eyes towards it. I hope he's okay.
I lift my glass to my lips. "A siren, huh?" he says, smiling a little bit. "I'm sure you haven't found it hard to live up to your brother's name."
I feel dizzy at this point, black and green spots appearing in my vision. "Um, I don't feel too good," I stammer. "I think I'm going to go out for some air."
"I'll help you out," he says quickly. "Make sure you don't pass out on anyone."
I stand up and stumble towards the door. The guy's hand is on my back and I realise I never even got his name. By the time I'm clambering down the stairs, my vision begins to flash black. My vision blurs, and by the time I feel my knees folding, I have no time to grab something to steady myself.
I knew it was going too good for too long, I think dryly. I feel two arms around me before everything goes to darkness.
***
I groan, rolling my neck. My eyes flitter open. My neck aches, my back aches, and overall I feel pretty crap. The room around me is meticulously clean and modern, with an industrial feel to it and leather couches lining the walls.
"Nice room," I say to the man before me. It's the same witch from the ball. If he even is a witch, that is. "Motherfucker."
"Thank you, Arden," he says. He has a level, calm, collected voice. "Do you know why you're here?"
"No," I groan. "But I have a few guesses."
"Please," he coos. "Do tell."
"Let's see," I say. "Someone who Theo pissed off? One of Lucien's cohorts?" I know form his expression I hit the nail on the head with the latter.
"I don't know your brother, personally," he explains, "but your brother does have quite a price for anyone who brings him your head."
"I will kick you in the balls, mister," I say.
"You're tied to a chair."
"I'll get out."
"Your boyfriend's in hell, Miss Caraway," he says. "Who will help you now?"
"Myself?" I state. "Sexist scum."
"Your powers don't work on me," he declares. "I'm a witch."
"I know," I say. "You supernatural creatures always reminding other that you're above them. Well, you may have the upper hand power-wise but you forget about stuff like stamina and intelligence."
"Too bad you have none," a voice says. A man walks from around the corner. The familiar face of Kai comes into focus. Gotta love those witchy powers.
Before the witch has a chance to respond, Kai snaps his neck with a twist of his wrist. "Kai," I sigh. "I had it under control."
"Honey," he says mockingly affectionate, undoing the ties. "You destroyed the Vinceret pack in one go. You don't need to prove yourself."
"I do, though," I say. "I didn't need your help."
"I know, Arden. You're now a Theo-less, strong, independent woman. You've proved that to just about everyone who's ever heard your name. Sometimes you don't have things under control," he says. "It's not your fault."
"You're sounding oddly sentimental."
"That's because soon I won't be able to or else Theo will kill me," he laughs. "The witch agreed to help you get him back, Arden. You're getting Theo back."
***
YOOOOO I've been so excited to get back on track with writing and I also want to do a lil something I'm gonna call Wattmas (like vlogmas ya know) where I update one of my books everyday (or try to) leading up to Christmas!! Hope you've all enjoyed this chapter and Happy Holidays everyone!!
Xx Georgina