Chapter 12 #4
Her gown rippled, butterfly wings flapping as Cyrus spun her. Their lips moved, though Lucien knew they were using their intimate position to speak with Rhyden, who was cataloging the Academy’s interior with infrared sensors.
Sabine and Talor were currently absent. When Lucien had entered before Vesperin, they’d been there, and he had met their eyes with an unwavering stare, nodding in acknowledgment.
Shortly after, they disappeared. If Rhyden’s tech was accurate, they were a few floors below.
Heat signatures in the belly of the Academy—an area not marked on the schematics—had confirmed it.
"Almost," Rhyden said sharply, as if sensing Lucien’s thoughts.
Lucien brought the empty glass to his lips, hiding his mouth as he spoke. "You have the blueprint model?"
"I fucking said almost, didn’t I? Shit," Rhyden cursed. "Daryk is hacking into the Academy’s maintenance database. The firewall is less fortified than the main security databases. If there are reports of a back way into the lower levels, he’ll find it.
Just hold on." He paused, and Lucien placed the glass on the table. "Not going to steal a dance?"
Lucien huffed, turning his head to the side. "It is too dangerous. She has Cyrus. To all the world, only he is her Soulbond."
And the world was nothing.
Rhyden went silent.
Lucien couldn’t take his eyes off Vesperin, the way the holograms of Stars rippled over her gown and white hair, shimmering as they shattered on the gilded floor in thousands of projected parts.
"Trying to escape the masses?" a feminine voice purred.
Lucien looked up, finger tapping his knee. A woman stood before him. He didn’t recognize her, but by the opulence of her diamond necklace and silver gown that clung to her voluptuous curves, he assumed she must be a socialite, invited to the gala to secure donations.
"Something like that," Lucien said coolly. She shifted until she blocked his view of the dance floor, making ire swell within him. He looked at her fully. "May I help you?"
"A man who knows what he wants. I can appreciate that. I’m Jessa." She held out a manicured hand. "Jessa Nixo."
Lucien hummed.
"And I know who you are, Lucien Quenlan. I’ve seen your face in medical magazines—the youngest, most affluent doctor in Solar City. This gala is the most esteemed event of the year. Yet, instead of mingling with the other power-hungry guests, you’re over here all alone. Why is that?"
Her words drew his full attention.
"Why do you approach me? I’m not looking for a dance partner." No, his forever dance partner was currently in the arms of another.
Jessa Nixo laughed, tendrils of her sleek red hair falling over her shoulders.
"I am not looking for a dance partner. My card is full.
" She gestured to the empty chair at his side, a question in her eyes.
Lucien nodded, and she sat primly, reaching into a small clutch and pulling something free.
Her words were low as she leaned close to him.
"I have a proposal for you—another card.
" She slid a small black card across the tablecloth to him. His eyes dropped, and he saw a phone number on it. "I am here tonight in appearance as the daughter of one of the generous benefactors of the Hunter’s Guild Academy, but in truth, I’m working on a story. "
Lucien arched a brow. "A story? You are a reporter?"
"Yes, and I’m working on a story on Blackfall Industries and the Hunter’s Guild. With everything that has come out in the news on Blackfall Industries, I have it on good authority that their dealings with Tarz are only the tip of the iceberg."
Lucien kept a tight hold of his composure. Maybe they could leave, let someone else deal with this all, and he could keep Vesperin far from danger. "Why tell me this?"
"Because I felt for some reason you could be trusted." A holographic Star fell over the tablecloth. "Perhaps it was the Stars who led me to you." Jessa stood, leaving the card on the table. "Call me if you ever wish to dance."
Atlas had seen many different variations of this night, and with the emergence of the reporter, Jessa Nixo, the Celestial knew this night would be ending in only one way. For there was only one thread of fate in which she approached Lucien and spoke to him.
Leading the chosen informant from Tarz had been a tiring ordeal.
Atlas had spun that thread for months, sowing seeds of doubt in the informant’s mind, before planting the perfect opportunity before him—a cargo ship, where he slipped on board and hid, finding an illegal forger to produce false documents while he sought refuge on Earth.
Then, Atlas had led him to Jessa Nixo. She had been the reporter to break the story.
Now, her life on this Earth would end because her curiosity had drawn attention from the wrong people.
Cyrus spun Vesperin around with grace, watching as the hem of her gown fluttered around her pretty legs, hidden by the ruffled fabric and stitched butterflies; though, he knew their shape intimately. His mouth watered with desire for her.
They were dancing in a world alone. The other guests had been pushed to the edges of the dance floor, as if unsettled by Cyrus’s very presence. He loved it.
"You have, um, gloss on your lips," Vesperin said sheepishly.
Cyrus only grinned. "I know." He licked his lips.
"Tastes good, like you." Her cheeks, dusted with a soft blush to match her lips, darkened.
She reached up, hand stalling midair, then her delicate brows lowered with determination as she surged forward, fingers hovering over his lips as she made to wipe it off.
Cyrus moved his head away. "Leave it," he purred.
As he spun her out again, then brought her back into his arms, she made a soft oof.
Her wide grey eyes skirted about the room like a frightened cat. "They’re all looking at you."
Cyrus shook his head, an artfully styled strand of red hair falling over his brow.
"No, they’re all looking at you—us together.
Do you know what they’re thinking?" When she softly shook her head, he continued, "They’re wondering which one of us they’d rather be—or if they want to be in the middle.
They’re wondering what sounds you make when I’m inside you, and what our naked bodies look like, coated in sweat and slipping against each other in a bed with silken sheets. "
Vesperin shivered in his arms, and his fingers skimmed down her spine until they rested over the swell of her hips.
Their rotations made her face the shadows, where he knew Lucien sat and watched.
Vesperin stilled. "There’s a woman over there. With Lucien."
Cyrus surreptitiously scanned the Starlit shadows, gaze pausing on the woman with dark hair who sat beside the doctor. They looked terribly close.
"What do you think they’re talking about?" Vesperin kept staring at Lucien, her words almost a growl.
Cyrus tapped her chin to draw her attention back to him. "Remember yourself, doll. Appearances," he reminded. "Are you jealous?" Vesperin nodded jerkily. "Well, let’s return the favor then." Due to her heels, he didn’t have to bend far. Cyrus leaned down slightly, kissing her.
She sighed against him, and the crowd was hushed—even more so than it had been.
As they pulled apart, Vesperin’s head turned to a side door, hidden by fluttering golden silks to keep it from sight. There stood—
"Sabine and Talor," Vesperin breathed, face going ashen. "They’re here."