Chapter 8 #2
"Same difference."
Behind us, Luce cleared her throat awkwardly.
"I'm just going to... head downstairs." Neither of us acknowledged her as she slipped past, leaving us locked in our silent battle of wills. The tension between us crackled like electricity, dangerous and alluring all at once.
"You look beautiful, Cadence," Logan said, his voice softer now but no less intense.
His eyes never left mine as he reached out to touch a strand of my hair, twisting it around his finger.
"Red suits you." I hated how my body responded to him, how even his simplest touch sent shivers racing down my spine.
"Thanks," I managed, the word coming out more breathless than I intended. "You clean up okay yourself." His laugh was low and dark.
"Just okay?"
"Don't fish for compliments," I retorted, finding my footing again in our familiar verbal sparring. "Your ego is big enough already."
Logan's hand moved from my hair to cup my cheek, his thumb brushing over my lower lip in a touch so gentle it seemed at odds with his usual harshness.
"My ego isn't the only big thing about me, Princess." Heat flooded my face, and I stepped back, needing distance from the overwhelming presence of him.
"You're disgusting."
"And yet you're blushing." His smirk was infuriating. He stepped closer again, backing me against the doorframe. "Admit it, Princess You want me."
"I want you to move so we can go downstairs," I said, pressing my hands against his chest to push him away. The solid warmth of him beneath my palms only made things worse.
"Liar," he whispered, his lips inches from mine. For a terrifying, exhilarating moment, I thought he might kiss me. Instead, he stepped back abruptly, creating space between us that felt both relieving and disappointing. The conflicting emotions left me dizzy.
"Cole and Ryder are waiting," Logan said, his voice suddenly businesslike as he gestured toward the stairs. "After you, Consort." With a deep breath, I stepped past Logan and headed for the stairs, feeling his eyes burning into my back with every step.
The grand staircase of Covenant House stretched before me, each step bringing me closer to the waiting Regents below.
I paused at the top step, momentarily stunned by the sight before me.
Cole and Ryder stood side by side in the foyer, their matching black suits and red skull masks creating an unsettling symmetry.
Behind them, a line of Covenant House men stood at attention, each dressed in formal black with stark white skull masks already in place.
The effect was both beautiful and terrifying, like some macabre royal court waiting for their queen.
Ryder spotted me first, his eyes visibly widening behind his mask. Even with his face partly obscured, I could feel the heat of his gaze as it travelled slowly up my body, lingering on the high slit revealing my thigh.
"Poison," he breathed, the single word carrying a weight of possession that made my skin prickle with unwanted awareness.
Cole remained silent, but his eyes narrowed behind his mask, drinking me in with an intensity that left me feeling exposed despite being fully clothed.
I made my way down the stairs carefully, one hand on the polished banister, painfully aware of every pair of eyes tracking my descent.
As I reached the bottom, Ryder turned sharply to one of the housemen, Max I think, not that it was easy to tell with the masks, his posture suddenly rigid with authority.
"You're with Luce tonight," he said, his voice uncharacteristically hard. "You don't leave her side. Not for a second." Max nodded, his expression unreadable behind the white mask.
"Yes, Regent."
"I mean it," Ryder continued, stepping closer to Max until they were nearly chest to chest. "If anything happens to her, anything at all, I happen to you. Are we clear?"
"Crystal clear, sir," Max replied, a slight tremor in his voice betraying his nervousness. Luce rolled her eyes at her cousin's display.
"Ryder, for god's sake—"
"Not now, Lucinda," Ryder cut her off without even looking at her, his focus still locked on Max.
"This isn't up for discussion." I watched as Luce's face flushed with irritation at being dismissed so easily.
She caught my eye and gave me a small, resigned shrug before allowing Max to escort her toward the front door, followed by several other masked housemen.
"I'll see you there, Cade," she called over her shoulder, giving me a small wave.
I raised my hand to return the gesture, but Logan's fingers suddenly wrapped around my wrist, pulling my arm back down to my side.
The casual display of control sent a ripple of anger through me, but I bit back my protest when I saw the warning in his eyes.
"Tonight is important, Princess," he murmured close to my ear. "The Halloween Ball is as much a tradition as any of the other events here. There will be important people there, watching not just you, but us too."
"God forbid I embarrass the almighty Regents," I muttered, unable to completely suppress my defiance despite the mounting tension. Cole stepped forward, adjusting the cuffs of his shirt with meticulous precision.
"It's not about embarrassment, Pet. It's about survival." His mismatched eyes met mine with unusual gravity. "There are people who would love nothing more than to see us all fail."
"Or dead," Ryder added cheerfully, though his smile didn't reach his eyes. A chill ran down my spine at the casual way they discussed threats to their lives.
"What's going on?" I asked quietly, searching their faces for clues. "You're all acting strange. Or strange for you at least."
"Nothing for you to worry about, Poison," Ryder said, stepping forward to take my hand from Logan's grasp. He brought my knuckles to his lips, pressing a kiss there that lingered just long enough to make my pulse jump. "Tonight is about making an impression."
"A statement," Cole corrected, his gaze sweeping over me with calculated assessment.
"A warning," Logan finished, his voice hard as steel as he placed his red skull mask over his face, transforming into something otherworldly and dangerous.
Ryder's grip on my hand tightened as he pulled me toward him, his other hand producing a length of black fabric that I immediately recognised as one of the cloaks. My breath caught in my throat as memories of the Hunt flashed through my mind. I wanted to refuse to wear it but I knew it was no good. From what I gathered all the Consorts would be in some form of cloak and mask tonight. Yet again another symbol of the Regent’s power over us.
Ryder passed the cloak to Logan. Logan placed the cloak on my shoulders, his fingers brushed against the nape of my neck as he settled it in place, the simple touch sending unwanted sparks dancing across my skin.
I closed my eyes briefly, fighting against the conflicting emotions warring inside me, resentment and fear tangled with an attraction I couldn't seem to extinguish no matter how hard I tried.
When I opened my eyes again, I found all three Regents watching me intensely.
"Perfect," Logan murmured, his gaze travelling from the top of my head to the tips of my heels.
The remaining housemen fell into formation behind us as Logan offered me his arm.
I hesitated for only a moment before placing my hand in the crook of his elbow, feeling the solid strength of him beneath the expensive fabric of his suit.
"Ready, Consort?" he asked, though it wasn't really a question. I lifted my chin, drawing strength from the anonymity the mask provided.
"As I'll ever be." With Cole on my left and Ryder trailing just behind, we stepped out into the cool October night, the weight of the cloak heavy on my shoulders, a constant reminder that the men surrounding me controlled my fate.