Chapter 8 #3
“Stay with us.” Audrey wrapped her fingers around my bicep. Fergus gave us a conspiratorial look before he sauntered toward whoever had just entered his party. Low whispers of partygoers started to erupt around us, and among them I recognized words like “siren” and “prince.”
Oh. Interesting.
I leaned around a particularly tall woman to see Fergus spread his arms out in a welcoming gesture.
“To what do I owe the pleasure?” Fergus sounded jolly, friendly, which was the complete opposite energy that everyone else in the room was giving off. Another shift in attendees revealed the newcomers, because everyone was giving them a wide berth.
Standing there, with his hands in his pockets, was the red-haired man I had seen on TV my first day in this realm. Drustan Shaw. The Mad Siren Prince of Lyndoruun. The son of the man who had a personal vendetta against Audrey.
And he was…utterly dashing.
His thick, dark red hair was half pulled back out of his face.
He wore a plain cream tunic and dark pants, not nearly as dressed up as everyone else.
The only gold jewelry he wore was a few hoops in his pointed ears.
Fergus stepped forward to shake his hand, which he returned absentmindedly as the siren prince’s gold eyes scanned the party around him.
“His eyes are…Wow,” I whispered to Audrey. Drustan’s gaze continued to glance around, even checking over his shoulder, as Audrey whispered back.
“The gold irises of a siren. It’s the one feature sirens can’t shapeshift out of.”
Fergus reached over and shook the hand of the blonde woman on the siren prince’s arm.
Something pinched in my chest at the sight of them. I rubbed at it, above my exposed cleavage. A familiar melody filled my mind at the same time Drustan turned to mutter something low to Fergus.
I knew better than to ask if Audrey heard the music again. I knew she didn’t. Part of me wondered if this mental melody was a defense mechanism. If it was my brain trying to protect my mind from the stress of being in the magical realm, interacting with friendly but dangerous creatures.
Or if it was just the result of being in a land where sirens, fae, and nereids exist.
“I was feeling a bit left out, Fergus.” Drustan turned and gave the nereid a condescending smile, adjusting his arm, which his blonde date gripped tighter.
She wore a similar outfit to the rest of the women.
Cream corset with cream skirts. Her nails were painted gold to match the several necklaces that hung low over her exposed navel.
“Did he truly expect an invitation?” Liam whispered to us in annoyance.
“I apologize.” Fergus placed a hand over his heart. “Had I known the siren prince’s feelings were so delicate, I would have delivered an invite to you myself.”
I pressed my lips together, loving Fergus a little bit more after that line.
Drustan’s lips tipped up in the corners, not as offended as I’d assume a Mad Siren Prince to be, before he scanned the crowd again. His gaze was about to land where we stood, but someone in the crowd shifted, concealing us while he searched for…something.
I rubbed my chest again.
Drustan said something to Fergus in return, but I didn’t catch what it was because Audrey tightened her grip on my bicep. Then released it. Her voice distracted me from the tune playing in the background of my consciousness.
“This might get weird,” Audrey whispered low, her lips near my hair. “We might need to bail quickly.” She threw a glance toward Liam at her other side, who stood tall with his arms crossed. A fuming expression pinched his face.
I nodded. “Got it.”
Clapping made us turn our heads toward Fergus and Drustan, now released from the beautiful siren woman’s hold on his arm. Fergus looped an arm around Drustan’s shoulders while waving a server over to deliver a drink.
Once the cup was in Drustan’s hands, Fergus smiled at the audience they held, while murmuring something in Drustan’s ear. Drustan didn’t react at all; he kept his eyes on the attendees while taking a small sip of whatever drink Fergus gave him.
“Come, enjoy!” Fergus bellowed, nodding toward the band to continue the music they had paused playing for the spectacle.
I turned around and walked toward the food table. Audrey and Liam followed, both looking over their shoulders toward Fergus, guiding Drustan and his date through the party.
“Hungry?” Audrey asked me with a smile as she focused back on me while I loaded up my plate.
“The fruits here are so much sweeter, if we need to, you know—” I jerked my head behind me in a general “skedaddle” gesture. “I want to enjoy this as much as I can first.”
“Good idea,” Audrey said, snagging a few grapes off my plate and biting into them.
A moment later, Fergus came back to us, smiling and greeting his guests as he did so. He clapped his hands on the backs of Audrey and Liam, positioning himself between the two as he lowered his head and murmured for only us to hear.
“This just got a lot more interesting.”
“You can’t get rid of him?” Liam asked, full volume. Clearly not giving a shit if Drustan heard him.
“Now, Liam…” Fergus lifted a dark brow with his words. “You know as well as I do that it would be in poor taste to publicly refuse the siren prince’s presence at a peaceful celebration of my birth.”
“We just won’t talk to him.” Audrey lifted a shoulder and plopped another grape in her mouth. “I doubt he really wants to talk to us, anyway. We do, however, need to speak with you in private, Ferg.”
Fergus looked intrigued at her words. Then a tap on my shoulder made me jump. My friends halted their conversation as we all turned to see who was tapping me.
A young nereid man smiled down at me. Nerves coated his features as he cleared his throat; pink blossomed on his cheeks from all our direct attention to him. Standing tall, he placed both of his hands behind his back and addressed me.
“Would you be interested in a dance—when you’re finished, that is?” He nodded toward the fruits on my plate.
I grinned as I replied, “Sure,” and finished my bites. The young nereid man beamed as he patiently waited for me to clean my fingers off with a napkin before holding his hand out for me to take.
Fergus winked at me as the nereid man pulled me into the crowd of couples dancing.
It only took about three seconds for me to realize, based on the hungry gaze the young nereid man kept giving me as he led us through the steps, that this may have been a bad idea.
My gut was reminding me that nothing about his demeanor felt predatory, but the way his eyes kept dropping to my lips made me picture hearts in his eyes.
I didn’t want to lead anyone on. I wasn’t looking for a life partner or mate in this realm.
I was just here to dance, eat delicious food, and become musically inspired by a melody that kept humming in the back of my mind.
I went out of my way to keep a couple inches of space between our bodies at all times.
After dancing with the nereid, a fae man approached, tapping me on the shoulder, asking if he could have a dance, too.
I hesitantly obliged, feeling more eyes on me as I realized the men at this party seemed to be taking a direct interest in me.
Perhaps it was because I was the only full human in attendance.
Perhaps it was because they genuinely found me attractive.
But I knew I wasn’t mistaking the attention itself.
Everywhere I looked, eager eyes watched.
A third man approached, tapping me on the shoulder, politely asking for a dance, and I accepted.
This would be the last time I accepted an invitation to dance, though.
My feet were getting tired, and it was becoming increasingly difficult to keep track of where Audrey, Liam, and Fergus were in the large ballroom.
Last I saw, they were standing close together in between some drapes near an open window, haloed by the sunset.
Their conversation seemed hushed and intense, but then the man I was dancing with pulled me out for a spin, and when I looked back, they weren’t there anymore.
I knew Audrey wouldn’t abandon me, but Fergus’s party was a full one. For the first time in my adult life, I was experiencing just how difficult it was to find people when everyone else was either the same height or a head taller than me.
Instead of another tap on my shoulder, a throat cleared behind us. I held back a sigh of annoyance.
The nereid I was dancing with, who was in the middle of asking me about my interests, almost stumbled when he saw who approached. Thankfully, he caught himself, but I didn’t miss the way he gripped my hand and waist a little tighter.
Our steps slowed so that I could turn to see who startled him.
There he was.
Drustan stood about a foot taller than me.
I had to crane my neck to look up and meet his golden gaze.
He stood so closely that I was able to inhale a deep breath of his spicy, masculine scent through my nose.
His musk was delicious, but I couldn’t tell if it was a cologne or just what he naturally smelled like.
His tunic was opened low, low enough for me to admire his defined pectorals and abdomen.
Lower than it was when he first entered the party.
My mind immediately went to a cheese-grater joke, but I kept the thought to myself.
When he lifted his arm to hold his palm face-up for me to take, I noted how snug the fabric bunched on his biceps.
This man was the definition of big and tall.
Drustan dipped his chin once at us, his lips in a line. No smile. No grin. Just a straight face as he lifted his eyes to address the nereid holding me tight.
“May I cut in?”