Marked By Masks and Secrets (Everlasting Possession #1)

31

EVIE

I should’ve been gleeful that the monster who’d ruined my life no longer wanted anything to do with me, but I felt something rather pathetic instead.

Heartbroken.

Not only had he abandoned me after burrowing inside me deeper than anyone else ever had— literally —but he’d also completely disappeared for five days.

It wasn’t as if there’d never been gaps in our communication before, but I thought… I didn’t know what I thought.

Other than, my feelings were, once again, painfully naive. Either he was busy being a wannabe criminal warlord, or he was ghosting me the same as Jacob did in lieu of an actual breakup.

This ghosting was a far more brutal blow.

Maybe because he’d promised to protect me and care for me, and those vows hurt the worst when broken. Idris and I had learned that lesson long ago.

Inside the main house, Mena was running around, frazzled and waving her arms with an increasingly dramatic flair.

Idris laughed, shrugging off his backpack as we watched Mena direct festivity planners and decorators.

She was hosting a soiree, inviting her vast and eclectic network of friends and colleagues for an evening of revelry and stimulating conversations.

Unlike the Whitfield’s parties, Mena’s were not ones to Valentin hello . Valentin goodbyes, however, were not only permitted, but enthusiastically encouraged.

Idris and I locked eyes, and he offered a hesitant smile. “Hi, Evie.”

“Hi, Idris.”

We both burst into laughter at the stilted, awkward formality. The break in tension was welcome, and my heart warmed.

He followed me into the kitchen, where I made us soothing chamomile tea amid Mena’s chaotic storm of preparations.

“I’m glad you came,” I said. “I’m sure it’s a busy night for parties on campus.”

Idris waved a hand dismissively. “Those parties are all the same. Mena’s are one of a kind.”

I snorted. “Do you remember when she invited that hypnotist?”

Idris laughed again, perching on a barstool as I heated the kettle. “Oh, gods, yes. The one who literally tried to rob everyone.”

“But failed, because Mena couldn’t stop asking questions to save her life and foiled his plans,” I added through fits of laughter.

We composed ourselves just in time for another classic Mena story to rise to the surface, only to lose ourselves all over again.

“Or the time those weirdos showed up to the murder mystery party in robes and animal masks because they thought it was a sex party,” Idris said with a guffaw.

I anchored myself to his crinkled features, his sparkling brown eyes. When Idris was happy, my soul was lighter.

His dirty blond hair was a touch shorter than when I’d last seen him, his shirt a soft blue.

Mena swept into the bright kitchen, her hair messily thrown back into a hair clip, her glasses low on her nose as she eyed us.

“There’s no need for judgment, children. Those dearest friends weren’t weirdos; they were merely confused. Happens to the best of us.” She shook a scolding finger.

“Apologies,” Idris said, biting back more laughter. “I assume that tonight’s soiree is not, in fact, a sex party?”

Mena sighed dramatically. “If it were one of my sex parties, neither of you would know about it.”

Idris and I exchanged a look.

Mena threw her hands up. “Oh, gods, I forgot about my sunshine cake.”

“The hell is a sunshine cake?” Idris asked.

“A cake for happiness and sunshine, you silly egg!” Mena exclaimed, as if we were the strange ones for asking questions.

Idris tapped his head and made a faux look of realization. “Oh, duh, of course.”

I giggled. “It’s like you don’t even understand tonight’s theme.”

Mena nodded enthusiastically before rubbing Idris’s hair and then turning on her heel. Her fluffy black slippers click-clacked loudly against the wood floors.

Idris smoothed down his hair with an eye roll. “Hate when she does that.” He paused. “What in the realm is tonight’s theme?”

I smiled bashfully, knowing that all this fuss was for me—though Mena would never admit it aloud. Which was yet another act of kindness.

I passed Idris a mug of chamomile. “Hope.”

The soiree was just getting started, with music, dancing, and drinking on one side of the vast house, and conversation, food, and games on the other.

Idris and I were mingling in the dining room, picking at the eclectic sweets and traditional snacks from every region of Ravenia. Neither of us had spoken of our conversation in the courtyard, and I preferred it that way. After all, I’d guaranteed his safety. There was no reason to stir up more conflict. We both needed this return to normalcy for a while.

Mena was a genius in the art of socializing, creating the most enticing environments for people to be their most authentic selves. It was a quality I greatly admired, as someone who generally felt clunky and out of place. I’d never once felt that way at one of her parties; she would never allow it.

Mena could make friends with anyone, though there were, of course, those she avoided by choice, like the Whitfields. She fed from the energy of others—their minds, their gifts, their dreams and fears. Instead of an art history professor, she could’ve easily been a private investigator with her ability to read people and pull out their darkest secrets with ease.

“Is there elixir somewhere, Mena?” an older gentleman asked as Mena waltzed into the space.

Mena’s floor-length cherry red gown matched her lipstick and circular glasses. She took a bite of a chocolate-covered strawberry as she casually swept her attention to the man. “No, darling. You don’t need to be drugged to enjoy my company. I can assure you tonight will be more than intriguing and mystifying stone cold sober.” She lifted her hands and let her fingers dance like flickering stars.

The man smiled sheepishly. Idris and I exchanged an amused grin, enjoying watching Mena in full form.

“Alcohol can be found, but it is optional,” she added before finding more chocolate to concern herself with. After a bite of a truffle, she suddenly paused. Her eyes found mine. “Silly me, I nearly forgot why I came in here!”

That was when I felt it—the hot sear on the back of my neck, the unmistakable hum of power somewhere close.

Mena grinned mischievously. “Your boyfriend has arrived, Evie.”

Idris groaned from next to me. “Seriously?” he whispered low to my ear. “I thought you and Jacob broke up. Better yet, I thought he was halfway across the kingdom.”

A presence behind me made me straighten my spine. A hand skated across my lower back.

“Oh good, you found her,” Mena said. Her eyes sparkled, very noticeably scanning the man by my side up and down.

I, on the other hand, merely glared up at the tall vampire in a human disguise. His jacket and pants were black, but his shirt was a midnight blue.

Idris lifted a brow. “That was quick,” he said under his breath, taking a step away so he could face both of us.

“Hi, I’m Kylo.” Kylo extended a hand to Idris.

The moment their hands met, I saw red. Rage flooded my system, and the lights flickered. As soon as Idris shot me a look of concern, I squashed the emotion.

This was no place to unleash my poisonous magick. I took deep breath after breath, fear of harming the surrounding mortals forcing me to calm down.

“I took a look around,” Kylo said, regarding Mena. “And I have to say that you have the loveliest taste. In décor, art, food, and, most importantly, in people. I’ve been to many events over the years, and this one feels unlike any before.” His hand gripped my waist. “The energy is magnetic. You should be so proud.”

I waited for Mena to put Kylo on trial like she did with any unfamiliar man, to show him prickliness or coldness to see how he stood up.

Instead, her smile was genuine, her eyes alight. She clutched her heart and batted her eyelashes. “You are a most charming young man!”

What? Fucking what?

I stared at Mena incredulously, the most famously anti-man woman I knew.

Then I looked to Idris, scanning his face for the derision and contempt he wore for Jacob. Not that Jacob ever noticed, far too concerned with himself.

But Idris’s features were mostly curious, only slightly distrustful. “Where did you two meet?”

Most of the room was now watching us as they nibbled on their food and pretended to still be talking to each other. The older gentleman who’d asked about elixir had stopped mid-conversation to give Kylo a once-over. His eyes swam with the same lust that shone in the eyes of the woman next to him.

You’ve got to be kidding me .

“In a library,” Kylo said, as I made no move to answer Idris’s question. “She was slow to return my affections. But I’m a man of patience.”

Idris snorted. “Perfect. Evie needs plenty of it.”

“Hey!” I said, narrowing my eyes.

Idris smiled. “Just fulfilling my brotherly duties.”

“I’m glad she has someone to look out for her,” Kylo said. “She speaks so highly of you.”

Idris stood a little taller, his face relaxing an inch. “She’s said absolutely nothing about you .”

Kylo grinned. When his eyes met mine, even my own body betrayed me, my stomach fluttering and my mind scrambling.

“That’s okay,” Kylo said. “I’m still winning her over. She has every right to be cautious.”

Idris nodded. “Good answer.”

I opened my mouth to correct the narrative that Kylo was in any way, shape, or form my boyfriend, but Mena spoke first.

“Much better, Evie,” Mena said with a wink. “Much better.”

My cheeks heated—with embarrassment or fury, I wasn’t sure.

“Kylo, can we speak alone for a moment?” I said, faking every single note of softness in my voice.

He tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. “Of course.”

“We’ll be right back,” I assured Idris apologetically.

He merely shrugged, filling his plate with more food as one of Mena’s retired professor friends asked him about his studies.

As soon as we left the room, I swatted Kylo’s hand away.

“Deep breaths, angel,” he said softly, an irritating amount of humor in his tone.

I was going to commit murder. I was genuinely about to kill the leader of the Masked Order and bury him in my fucking flower garden.

The lights above flickered. I forced smiles as friendly faces greeted me, serving them my usual hostess lines and promising to chat later.

I led Kylo all the way through the back door and into my gardens, where we could be alone. The grounds were off-limits to guests to protect the gardens, my magickal workings, and my privacy.

When I spun on Kylo, the expression on his face was disarming. He’d removed his smirk, as if picking up on my intentions to bludgeon him to death with a shovel.

Instead, he looked at me with care. And it took only two seconds for that show of pure devotion to make me even angrier than I was before.

“You have some nerve,” I said, the familiar lump in my throat back with a vengeance. “You just left me there, and then you didn’t speak to me for five days.”

I hated that stupid look on his face. The downturn of his lips, the brows drawn together, the eyes filled with emotion that appeared raw and real .

“I’m sorry, Evie.” He sighed. “This isn’t easy for me to admit. But I was beginning to lose control.”

The immediate apology was so unlike what I was used to that I was disoriented. I’d expected him to be angry with me for expressing my emotions, to make excuses or shift the blame. My nervous system was primed for conflict and disappointment, adrenaline making it hard to stay focused and logical.

I processed his words slowly, averting my eyes in confusion. “Control of what?”

“Control of my desire for your…” He trailed off, his gaze on my neck.

Oh. I frowned. He’d basically said as much before he left, but I hadn’t connected it to his absence. All I knew was that I felt used and abandoned.

At the sound of laughter inside, I remembered the real reason we were out here—the reason my poison yearned to leap from my skin and suck the life out of him.

I shook my head. “How dare you!” My voice quivered as I held his gaze. “How dare you show up here without my permission. How dare you insert yourself into their lives.”

Kylo didn’t back down, only held my glare as his features hardened slightly. “I was already a part of their lives, because I am a part of yours.”

“Not by choice,” I spat.

His eyes sparked with anger. “I thought we were finished with the distasteful lies.”

I gestured behind him, toward my home. “They are all I have, Kylo,” I said, my lip wobbling as emotion roared in my veins. “You said you wouldn’t take them away from me. Leave them alone .”

Kylo sighed. “Evie, you need to calm down.”

Power swelled somewhere deep inside me, clawing and scraping against the bars of its psychic cage.

My lip curled. “Fuck. You.”

Kylo’s eyes narrowed. He took a step forward.

“You are not my boyfriend,” I hissed. “You’ve crossed the line by endangering my family.” Red—that was the color behind my eyelids, stirring up the darkness that yearned to break free. I heard the faintest of whispers as my heart began to pound.

“Angel,” Kylo said with a cool, detached authority. “You are the only one putting that house full of humans in danger right now.”

At a sudden knock on the glass door behind us, I jolted. Idris had a grin on his face and a drink in his hand.

And for a moment, I saw that rosy-cheeked boy, starved for love and a calm, peaceful place to call home.

I buried my anger. I locked back the cage where my power dwelled. I stepped into the role I needed to play. The role that Idris needed. His needs came first, always.

All the while, Kylo was studying me as if working a puzzle.

When he reached for my hand, I didn’t flinch.

“I’m not going anywhere,” Kylo whispered. “You’re safe.”

Idris opened the door. “Sorry to interrupt, but I knew you wouldn’t want to miss Mena playing charades.” He laughed.

I smiled. Kylo’s hand snaked around my waist.

As we walked with Idris into the main drawing room, I grinned and talked as if nothing had happened. As if everything was as it appeared to be.

Kylo stayed glued to my side, part of him always touching me in some way—soothing and consistent. In another world, I would’ve melted at these shows of affection, at the way he was charming everyone in my life, the way he spoke of me with such tenderness and pride.

I played along on the surface, but underneath, carefully tucked away, my rage was only festering, multiplying.

Kylo had no fucking idea what awaited him once all the guests had pulled their Valentin goodbyes.