The Frayed Strings (The Kings Of Mayhem #5)

Chapter 1

Chapter One

LIVIANNA/LILY

Now

Shiny Dreams & Golden Delights

Some celebrations are just countdowns dressed in champagne and string lights.

“Livianna.” Quinn gestures to Jaxon and Andrew, following her down the steps from the balcony to the engagement celebration we’re having on the patio. “Look who I found trying to sneak out.”

“Why would you leave now?” I join them at the bottom of the staircase with Callum by my side. “The party is just getting started.”

Andrew glances at Jaxon. They exchange a strange look, and then Andrew answers me.

He shows me a kind smile. “We just thought we might be crashing something that was meant to be more personal.”

“Don’t be silly.” I squeeze Callum. “We want all our friends here, and you two are my friends.”

“We are.” Jaxon steps up to Callum and me. “Congratulations on the engagement.”

“Thanks.” I press my palm flat to Callum’s chest as I float in euphoria. His heartbeat is steady and sure, just as sure as I am.

“Thanks, Jaxon.” Callum’s stance softens. “We’d like it if you two would stay.”

Andrew tips his chin toward Quinn. “In that case, show me to the bar.”

“Now you’re seeing things correctly.” She leads Jaxon and Andrew away.

This night is everything I’ve wanted since I was fifteen. That’s one thing I’m sure about—Callum’s love for me, and I want to experience it every day for the rest of my life.

Callum stands with his arm around me like there was never any question this was how the night was going to end. And there was never any doubt.

My dad materializes from the crowd with two fresh glasses of champagne and the grin of a man who has been waiting years to wear that particular expression.

“There’s my darling.” He presses a kiss to my forehead. “I don’t think I've seen your mother cry this much since your brother’s first Grammy.”

“She told me she was happy-crying.” I lean into my dad. “She said it twice, like she needed to clarify.”

“She’s just excited and thrilled for our baby.” He winks and holds out a glass. “I want to toast.”

Callum takes a non-alcoholic bubbly and settles his free hand low on my back. His touch is warm and grounding. Bren materializes from somewhere to my left, already raising his glass.

“To my sister,” Bren announces, loud enough that a few nearby guests turn. “Who’s ready to take the plunge and make an honest man out of Cash?”

“I’ve been waiting for this day since I was sixteen.” Callum’s eyes shine down on me. “Lily’s the one who’s made me wait.”

Bren tips his glass. “Welcome to the family. For real this time.”

We drink. The champagne is cold and perfect, just like tonight. The whole backyard is gold from the overhead bulbs, and I let myself sink into every single second of it.

I’ve earned this, we’ve earned this, and nothing about this moment is anything other than exactly right. Every broken, impossible mile that led us here was worth it for exactly this, even if I can’t remember most of it.

My dad sets his glass down on the nearest table and turns to Callum. “So, have you two talked about timing?”

Callum glances down at me, something warm and certain moving through his expression. “Livianna had no idea this was going to happen, but if she has a date in mind, I’m open to hearing about it.”

“Well, don’t wait too long.” My dad claps him on the shoulder. “Life moves fast.”

“Agreed.” Callum’s arm tightens around me. “Sooner the better, as far as I’m concerned.”

My breath catches. The words land in the center of my heart and detonate there, quiet and absolute.

Bren makes a sound that’s somewhere between a laugh and a choke. My mom, who has drifted close enough to overhear, covers her mouth with both hands, her eyes going bright all over again.

And I tip my head back and stare up at this man who has loved me through everything we’ve been through. For a breath, the whole party blurs at the edges.

“The sooner the better,” I repeat under my breath.

Callum peers down at me. There’s nothing complicated in his expression, nothing guarded or held back. It’s just him, all of him, steady, certain, and mine.

“Yeah, Lily.” He kisses my temple. “If you wanted, I’d marry you tomorrow.”

The grin that takes over my face is embarrassing, and I don’t even care. My mom loops her arm through my dad’s and releases both a sigh and a sob. Bren tips his glass back and finishes his champagne in one long victory drink.

Cooper’s voice carries from behind us. “Cash, I need two minutes. Come over here when you get a chance.”

Callum exhales. “Stay here. I’ll be right back.”

“Take a minute to celebrate with the band. I’ll be here.” I reach up and kiss his cheek.

He strides toward Cooper, shaking his head. “This better be good, Coop.”

I turn away and drift toward the edge of the yard with my champagne, riding the warmth of the evening. I find myself a few feet from Jaxon, near the garden wall.

Andrew has disappeared somewhere. Quinn’s deep in conversation with my mom. Jaxon holds a glass of whiskey and peers out at the crowd.

I come up beside him. “Hey.”

His expression arranges itself into a pleasant one. “Congratulations again, Livianna.”

“Thank you.” I turn my flute between my fingers. “Can I ask you something?”

“Anything.”

“Before we came down here, you called me ‘firecracker.’ Did you call me that to remind me of where I stand with you?”

A beat passes. He doesn’t shift, but something behind his eyes does. It’s a quiet, almost imperceptible movement, like a door pulling shut before anyone can see what’s behind it.

“Where you stand with me?” He half laughs, a tinge of sadness buried in the tone. “I think that has been well established.”

“Has it?”

He runs his hand over his mouth and studies me. “What are you asking, Livianna?”

“I’ve been thinking about it.” I shrug, genuinely curious rather than accusatory.

“What about it?”

“The first time you said it to me was when we had that argument. You told me I wasn’t the atomic bomb I wanted people to think I was. You said I was just a little firecracker. Not quite the big explosion I believed myself to be.”

The glass in Jaxon’s hand goes completely still. He stares at me with an expression of…disbelief or shock, maybe. It’s something deeper and more fractured than either. It’s as though I’ve just described something precious to him and gotten everything about it wrong.

“Is that what you think it means?” His voice comes out quieter than before.

“I don’t know. That’s why I’m asking.”

Jaxon opens his mouth and closes it just as fast. His jaw tightens.

“What, Jaxon? If you feel that way about me, please tell me.”

“That’s not what I meant by it.” His shoulders lower. “It was a playful endearment I would say when I was trying to get you to smile.”

“Oh. I guess I was completely off base.” I take a sip of my champagne with a niggle in my gut that I’ve said something that hurt him. But why?

“Livianna, I wouldn’t say something to put you down. I think you’re an atomic bomb. You’re a woman who can and does command a room. You’re the one no one can take their eyes off.”

My cheeks heat. “Now you’re just going overboard.”

He says nothing. He just tilts his head and keeps his warm brown eyes connected to mine.

I glance down and then back. “Well, now that we have that cleared up, can we go back to my dream?”

“What dream?”

“The dream I was asking you about. The one that woke me up in a cold sweat.”

“Of course.” He shifts from one leg to the other. “What would you like to know?”

“This is embarrassing, so if I’m wrong, please forget I ever had a dream about you.”

“Done.”

“It’s going to sound stupid.”

“Livianna, I’m sure it won’t.”

I peek over at Callum. He’s speaking with his bandmate, laughing and joking with them.

“Here goes nothing.” I give my attention back to Jaxon. “Were we ever together in a haunted house?”

“What?” His face screws up. “Why would you think that?”

“See, I told you it was stupid.”

“Sorry. That wasn’t a supportive answer.” He gives me direct eye contact. “What made you think we were in a haunted house?”

I giggle like a nervous little girl, and immediately want to slap myself until I can act more poised. “I’ll tell you if you promise not to make fun of me.”

“On everything I own, I would never make fun of you.” There’s a weighted moment between us as his gaze stays locked with mine.

I’m not sure what it means, but it seems significant.

“In that case, I’ll share. In my dream, I was walking down a dark hallway. You were beside me, guiding me. My heart was pounding. I was frozen and not moving, and you took my hand and told me not to worry. You told me you would always keep me safe.”

Jaxon remains quiet. His eyes, never off mine, doing something careful and complex I can’t name.

He takes one step closer. “What was at the end of the hallway?”

The question catches me off guard, and I pull back. “I don’t know. I woke up with my heart racing.”

A flicker of knowingness moves through his expression. “And I was guiding you the entire time?”

“Yes, but why are you asking it that way?”

“What way?”

“Like you already know the answers.”

He brings his glass to his lips but doesn’t drink. “I’m just listening carefully.”

“You’re asking very specific questions for someone who’s just listening.” I angle toward him. “What’s going on, Jaxon?”

“Nothing is going on.” A certainty floats in his twinkling gaze. “Tell me something else. What did my voice sound like when I told you not to worry?”

“Your voice?”

“Yes.”

The dream comes back to me in fragments. “Low and strong, like you already decided nothing in that place was going to hurt me.”

“Were you scared or excited?” He studies me. “It’s a fine line, but there’s a huge difference.”

My stomach spins, and I know I misunderstood my dream, so I lie. “I’m not sure.”

“Would it surprise you if I told you we were in a place like that?”

I blink a few times, trying to make the connection. “Were we?”

“We were.” Those two words land with an unexpected heaviness.