Chapter Forty-six
Brynn
I was excited about the masquerade ball when Aiden first told me about it.
After he bought my dress and shoes, I went online and ordered this cute little purse just for the event. It’s small with a silver handle and trim, but the exterior of the bag is satin twisted and bunched to look like roses covering it.
It’s perfect.
And I’ll need a purse so I can take emergency money and my keys, the lipstick I’m wearing tonight in case I need touch-ups.
My excitement has ebbed, though. It has mostly turned to sludgy dread that settles in my gut and makes me feel terrible while I’m waiting for Aiden to pick me up.
And then the moment comes.
I grab my phone and purse. I still keep my phone out for now in case it’s a kidnapping, though Addison assured me the ball itself isn’t a decoy and there really is a Blue Blood Ball.
She agrees that I definitely should not be going to it, though.
When I get my first sight of Aiden, I can admit he looks very handsome.
His black hair is slicked back and he’s wearing a well-tailored blood red velvet tuxedo jacket with a black shirt underneath. He’s wearing black slacks and loafers, and even his cuff links are onyx.
“You look very nice,” I tell him politely.
He cracks a smile as he looks me over. “And you look absolutely perfect.”
When I was getting ready, something about the dress reminded me of Christine Daaé. Maybe the off-the-shoulder piece. Since I dressed as her the night we all met and this is my personal farewell to the entire Blue Blood scene, I thought it poetic to style my hair the way she did during Don Juan Triumphant—the point of no return. I pinned back a bit of hair on the left side and secured it with a red rose clip. Having a rose in my hair matches my bag, and though I typically don’t, I went with a red lip, too.
I feel ready for a masquerade.
A bit of excitement comes back when we first leave, but it mingles with dread. I know Killian will be there, and I know he’ll be there with her.
Aiden said there would be plenty of people, so we would be able to blend into the crowd easily, but I can’t shake thoughts of Killian spotting me.
Aiden bought the masks, and I’ve seen mine—a beautiful, intricate black lace mask to match my dress—but my mouth and jawline will still be visible, and what if that’s enough for Killian to recognize me?
Glancing over at Aiden, I say, “You brought the masks, right?”
“Of course,” he answers idly, his gaze fixed out the front windshield.
Unease ripples through me.
I swallow, touching my phone to light it up and seeing I have no service.
My stomach bottoms out, and I look over at him again.
He keeps his eyes on the road.
“Um, how much longer?” I ask, hating that my uncertainty is very much detectible.
A faint smirk tugs at his mouth and he looks over at me, his dark eyes glinting with mild enjoyment over my clear discomfort. “Not too much farther.”
I look around at my surroundings and realize I’ve been so anxious about the ball, I haven’t been watching landmarks this time. We’re nowhere near campus based on how long we’ve been in the car and the trees lining both sides of the street.
“If you kidnap or murder me, Aiden, I am going to be so pissed.”
He laughs, glancing over at me. “Noted.”
His mirth doesn’t seem overly evil, so I decide to take that as a sign not to jump out of the car, but I begin to doubt my decision when he takes a left into…
Well, into what appears to be a path in the woods.
He’s going to kill me.
He didn’t get to that night, and I guess it was still on his bucket list, so he needed to find a way to put a strike through it.
“The ball is in the woods?” I demand. “Who hosts a ball in the woods?”
“The Blue Bloods do. It’s off the beaten path on private property, probably owned by an old Blue Blood’s family. I don’t know the history of this particular location. I’m not in the club yet, and you can’t exactly google it.” Seeing I don’t believe him, he says, “It’s a secret society, Brynn. Did you think they’d host their event at a fucking Hilton?”
I guess it makes sense they wouldn’t choose a traditional venue, but I’m still not convinced.
“I’m not going to murder you.” He looks over at me, a little more forcefully this time. “Do not jump out of this car. I’m not chasing you through the woods again.”
Since I’m still at least forty percent sure he’s going to kill me, I cross my arms and don’t bother to hide my attitude. “You couldn’t catch me anyway,” I mutter.
He cocks an eyebrow at my audacity to taunt him when he has me in such a remote place, and I guess it is a little ballsy, but fuck it. If I’m getting murdered tonight, he’s getting taunted.
At least I wore a low heel, I guess. I’d rather not run in heels at all, but at least low heels give me a chance. If I’d worn Addison’s stilettos, I wouldn’t even attempt an escape. Hell, if I did, he wouldn’t have to murder me; I’d fall and kill myself.
I knew Aiden was shifty. I should have worn sneakers.
I pout, thoroughly annoyed with myself and every decision I’ve made that led me to this point, but since it’s too late to do much about it, I decide to spend a few more minutes doing what Aiden told me I’d have to do—trust him and see how it pans out.
And a couple minutes later, a building comes into sight.
I sit up a little straighter, looking at all the cars parked in the clearing around it.
Oh, thank God.
Aiden glances over at me with a raised eyebrow as if to say, “See?”
“Fine, you really brought me to the ball. But my suspicion was justified.”
He smirks and shakes his head wordlessly, then he finds us a parking spot in the grassy clearing with all the rest of them.
It seems a little like we’re the last to arrive. There are a lot of cars parked on this side of the building, and I don’t see anyone else going in.
I didn’t bring a coat because I wasn’t sure there would be anywhere to store it and I figured we wouldn’t be outside for long, so I’m instantly cold when I step outside.
Aiden waits behind the car, then walks with me toward the entrance. He has our masks in one hand and the invitation in the other.
“Can I have my mask, please?”
He passes it to me. “Since you said please.”
I ignore him and carefully fit the mask over my head, adjusting the strap around my rose clip. Then I draw my compact out of my little bag to make sure I didn’t mess it up.
I look pretty. I feel pretty.
I also feel a little burst of nervous excitement anticipating what a Blue Blood masquerade ball might look like. It’s hard to tell from out here when the building looks nondescript, like a barn nobody uses because they accidentally built it in the middle of nowhere.
Aiden slips on his mask just before we approach the door because someone is standing outside checking invitations.
He hands ours over for inspection, and the security guard shines a light on it until a stamp shows up—invisible without the light, but I guess that’s how they can tell it’s an authentic invitation given out by a Blue Blood.
The man turns off the light and grabs two black bags. “Phones.”
I blink. “Excuse me?”
“This is a phone-free area. No pictures allowed. You can pick it up as you’re leaving.”
“Oh.” I’m uneasy about handing off my phone to a stranger, but Aiden hands his over, so I do, too.
The man hands both of us numbered tickets like a valet would, then he says, “You’re good,” before setting the invitation in a black lock box beside him.
Damn. I was hoping I could keep the invitation, but I guess it makes sense that we can’t.
While I’m wandering inside and storing my phone ticket in my purse, Aiden grabs my waist, startling me, and I look over at him.
Then my heart drops when I see his mask.
It’s a white half-skull mask that covers his eyes and nose, leaving his full lips and firm jaw visible like mine. But looking at him in his red suit and that white skull mask, I realize…
He’s dressed as The Phantom of the Opera. In his Red Death look, no less.
“Oh, no.” I shake my head, my steps slowing.
His grip on my waist tightens, and he reaches over to grab my arm, too, as if I might run.
And I might.
Because I’m realizing what we look like together, and without even being told to, I dressed like dark Christine.
“You brought me here to taunt him. You have no intention of hiding in the crowd.”
He sighs, his grip on my arm tightening until it hurts. “Be a good little pawn and keep walking. We can’t make a scene yet. We’ve only just arrived.”
“I want to leave. This was a mistake.”
“You’re not going anywhere. I’ll drag you down these steps if I have to, so I suggest you walk.”
“You said you weren’t going to kidnap or kill me.”
“Technically, I only said I wasn’t going to kill you. I’m perfectly open to a little necessary kidnapping.”
“Let go of me.”
“Why don’t you stop worrying and enjoy the moment?” he suggests. “The outcome will be the same either way.”
I look around anxiously as he holds me in a tight grip. I’m his captive, but the way we’re positioned, one hand tightly holding my waist, the other on my arm to keep me close… it could look intimate.
I turn my gaze toward the party so I can sweep the room and search for Killian, but my thoughts are momentarily taken off course by the grandeur of it all. When he said Met Gala but darker, he wasn’t kidding. The outside of this building looks so ordinary, but the inside is anything but.
Pillars line the edges of the room, parallel to the wall with a walking space between them. It puts me in the mind of a castle courtyard since it stretches all the way around the middle section, which is where everything else is. There’s a large fountain as the centerpiece of the room, decorated with twisting vines and black roses so it looks old or enchanted when it’s obviously truly well cared for. It’s uplit with blue lights tonight, but just about everything else in the room is black. Tables lit by candlelight with black tablecloths and tall, fancy floral centerpieces blossoming with black masquerade-style feathers and stiff lace.
Beyond the fountain there’s a dance floor with spotlights pointed in that direction to light the area better. There’s a DJ in front of the dance floor, and the building hums with the beat of the music playing, so I can hardly hear my heels clicking against the polished concrete floor as I approach the stairs.
The castle courtyard is sunken, with a staircase down to its level, so the vaulted ceilings will look even higher from down there. Red carpet covers the stairs, so our descent is quiet, but my heart is beating so loudly, I can hear it thrumming in my ears.
It’s magnificent, just like their other building I was taken to, but we shouldn’t be here.
Most of the men are wearing black or dark blue tuxedos, so Aiden stands out.
I’m sure that was his intention.
I let him drag me down the stairs because he doesn’t give me much choice, but as soon as we enter the courtyard where the bulk of the people seem to be either sitting at their tables or out on the dance floor, I pull left so we can at least get some coverage and walk the outer path along the grand room.
I search for Killian in the crowd, but now that we’re on the same level instead of above them, there are a lot more obstructions in my line of sight.
The only good thing is, it would also be harder for him to spot us. If he didn’t see us entering and coming down the staircase, then we may be able to escape unnoticed.
Of course, our evidently late arrival makes it more likely that he would have noticed our entrance.
This is terrible.
I know it’s senseless trying to convince Aiden to leave when he clearly brought me here for a distinct purpose, but if I can get out of here on my own, I can walk back to the road and call myself an Uber or something.
Man, I really wish I would have brought a coat. I’m going to freeze my ass off, and I had no service on the road before we got here, so I don’t even know if I’ll be able to summon an Uber to pick me up.
As the thought passes through my mind, a man comes up behind me, locking an arm around my shoulders and pulling me back against him. My heart drops as he leans in, sliding his other hand around my throat and tightening his grip.
“If it isn’t my favorite troublemaker.”
A strange mix of relief and dread trickles through me.
I know that voice, and thankfully, it isn’t Killian.
It’s Hex.
With the memory of last time he was this close to me still pretty potent, I feel claustrophobic being trapped against him like this, but I swallow, my throat working beneath his hand as I try to suppress the panic creeping up on me.
Part of his costume brushes my arm as he pulls me even tighter against his hard body.
“Look at you, terrified and not even fighting me,” he murmurs, close enough that his breath hits my ear. “What a good girl. I could have so much fun with you.”
I think he has been drinking.
Aiden released me when Hex first grabbed me to let him have control, but now he slides Hex a look. “Don’t you have your own date to torment tonight?”
“I have one running around here somewhere, but she’s boring. I like yours better.”
I wait for him to release me without fighting him, which seems to be the right move, because he lets go and begins to move around me.
I regard him warily as he circles me like a hungry lion cornering its intended dinner. Behind those cool blue eyes lie secrets and motives I can’t even begin to guess at, but as his gaze drifts to my bare shoulders with unveiled interest, all I want is for something to make him look away.
“I love when a woman wears a dress that looks like it’s falling off her. Makes me want to finish the job.”
“Hello, Hex,” I say, my tone guarded but not unfriendly. I don’t like him, but I have no desire to get on his bad side, either.
Once he’s finished looking me over, his devious gaze meets mine. “Christine,” he says, his tone lightly mocking.
“I’m not Christine,” I mutter. “The hair was a mistake, I didn’t know his costume would be…”
He doesn’t care and he isn’t interested in my self-defense, so his gaze shifts to Aiden. “And you. Totally aware that Killian is the only barrier to your acceptance, and you bring her as your date to the ball. Interesting strategy.”
“Have a little faith,” Aiden says. “There’s always a method to my madness.”
“I look forward to seeing evidence of it,” Hex says blandly, but Aiden just smirks despite his casual skepticism.
“I like your costume,” I tell Hex, stealing his attention back to me. “Very kingly.”
He isn’t wearing a crown since it would likely be too much on top of his exquisitely detailed black and silver masquerade mask, but he is wearing a fur-lined mantle. The outside is black velvet embroidered with details designed in silver threading, and there’s soft black and white fur inside. It’s the soft thing that touched my arm when he was holding me captive.
“It looks warm,” I add, smiling up at him.
His eyes narrow suspiciously. “It is,” he says, waiting to see what I’m aiming for.
“Does it detach?” I ask innocently.
“It does.”
“May I borrow it?”
“You miss my smell that much?” he asks idly. “I can just hold you close and choke you again. Perhaps with fewer items of clothing between us this time.”
My tummy tumbles since I know he’s legitimately dangerous, but I act like it doesn’t faze me. “Actually, I’m cold,” I tell him. “I didn’t wear a coat, and… well, you see what I’m wearing.”
His cool gaze skims my bare shoulders, and a chill passes over me. Convenient timing, I suppose, because without another word, Hex unfastens his mantle and drapes it around my shoulders instead.
As he fastens it, he looks down at me. “Never let it be said I can’t be a gentleman.”
I smile up at him, a warm, authentic smile. “Thank you, Hex.”
He runs his hands over my shoulders and down my arms, now covered in his big warm cloak, then he leans in to lift my mask and press an intimate kiss against my cheek. “You’re welcome, Brynn.”
All the blood seems to drain out of my body as I look past his broad shoulder and see a man in a black tux and mask stopped dead, facing us.
But the mask doesn’t matter. I’d recognize that jawline anywhere.
Killian.
My heart squeezes, but I don’t wait around another second.
Warmth secured, I turn away from Hex and Aiden, pick up my skirt so I don’t trip, and take off up the staircase we just came down.
I hurry through the doorway but stop at the security guard. “Hi,” I say quickly. “I just got here, but I can’t stay. May I have my phone back, please?”
“Ticket.”
Seriously?
“I was literally just here,” I say, opening my purse. “You can’t just…?”
“No.”
Sighing, I open the purse wider, trying to see inside with just the light of the moon. Paranoid, I look back over my shoulder to make sure I’m not being followed, and I see I am—by Killian.
My heart sinks and I snap my purse shut. “Never mind,” I say, then I pick up my skirt and take off running.
This time, into the woods.