Chapter 9 Ongoing Theme
After Sin left with Miss Bitchface, Cecil had followed Benji and Roth back to the rec room. Unfortunately, they hadn’t stayed there for long. They had barely sat down when one of the men from earlier had popped his head in and announced that dinner was ready.
Surprisingly, the dining room had only been two doors and a long hallway away. But the minute Cecil had gotten to the door at the end…well, the opening of said door had led to his current state of bafflement.
Staring into the dining room in horror, Cecil’s right eye twitched. A big welcome sign hung from the ceiling, along with various other decorations. There were presents piled up in every corner, that Cecil suspected were for him. And yet again, he was being stared at by an entire room.
But, to be honest, that wasn’t really why he was staring in horror.
It was less the dining room and more of the loud “Welcome, Cecil” that about forty or so random strangers had just screamed at him, while confetti had flown everywhere and streamers hit him in the face.
So he remained frozen in his spot, completely unsure of what to do…
If he moved, would they? If he ran, would they follow?
Sipping slowly from his wine glass, Sin savored the sweet substance on his tongue. He couldn’t help but appreciate the ambience of the restaurant.
The ceiling lights were set low, so most of the illumination came from the lit candles at each table. Large windows framed the night sky, its twinkling stars a beauty that was not easy to ignore. It was calming. Sin would love to gaze into it for hours.
A soft symphony rang out, perfectly in tune as bows glided across tight strings. Part of him wanted to close his eyes and let the music carry him away.
He was seconds away from taking another sip of wine when whatever calm he had felt was ruined by Clarissa.
“I must say, while nothing is ever out of place, the suit you are wearing now makes you look downright edible,” she purred.
Sin barely held back his grimace at the woman’s attempt at seduction. It sounded like something was caught in her throat.
“It was made by the clothing designer Yuna Sterling. He is a rather impressive young man. I can proudly say I was one of his first customers. Since then, his business has taken off, so much so that requests must be made months in advance. It has become a habit of mine to put in an order each time I’m in Bram.
” Sin chuckled. “Even if I happen to be hours away from his shop. I believe you have purchased from him before.”
She appeared slightly put out that he had not reciprocated her advance. Considering Sin was planning to end things tonight, he thought doing so would be wrong. He felt no urge to anyway.
Now that Sin thought about it, he had never felt the urge, which only highlighted that he should have ended this relationship far sooner than tonight.
“Yes, he is…talented,” she said, her words almost a grumble. “So what kept you so busy today?”
Sitting his glass down, he stated, “I’m afraid, I am not at liberty to say.”
“I see. Well, I would have thought you would trust me more by now. I’m not one for gossip.”
“Clarissa, whether I trust you or not has nothing to do with my duty to my position or to the kings.” In all honesty, Sin did not trust her at all.
“King,” Clarissa corrected, a look of disgust crossing her face.
“It shouldn’t be forgotten that the man King Adrian married is…
just a consort, thankfully. Can you imagine if the council had actually given him the title?
Ridiculous, really. There should be a law that our king shouldn’t be able to risk the throne falling into the hands of another species. ”
Opinions held only by fools, Sin thought with irritation. The disdain that accompanied her words had him feeling better about how he planned to end the evening.
“And what would you suggest they do?” Sin asked tightly.
She blinked, no doubt picking up on his tone.
It, apparently, was not enough to deter the ignorance that came out of her mouth next.
“Well, I mean, I’m not against other species mating.
But in such a case of keeping the bloodlines pure, no one can deny that it is a bad practice.
King Adrian should have thought more of his position.
We are fortunate that the offspring was born a vampire.
Of course, we now have to worry that whatever child the prince has in the future will be other. ”
“Clarissa…”
“Well, nothing we can do now, I suppose. Though a push for a new law to prevent such things in the future should be considered.” She flicked her right hand, as if to wave her words away. “But enough about that, who was…that boy earlier?”
“Boy?”
“The white-haired one. He was rather rude. A stray? Sin, rumor has it, you tend to pick up quite a few. You really must think more before doing such things. People are starting to talk.”
Feeling his anger rise, he crossed his arms to prevent himself from clawing at the table. He wondered what the woman would think if she really knew him. The thought caused him to shudder, as a flash of darkness ran through his mind.
“Judgment from those I do not know has no hold over my actions.”
“Yes, I suppose that is how it should be,” Clarissa murmured, as if she understood.
“However, you really should think about your reputation, and how being seen with someone like that boy will affect it. Cecil…was it? No matter, he is below you. It sends the wrong message to those in society. And that man, Roth.”
“My second-in-command,” Sin reminded her sharply.
“Yes…about that. It is rather odd having more than one, let alone three. I suppose you do have three main branches, but that in itself is unusual. You stand out, dear, and not in a way that most would consider good.” She clucked her tongue.
“But if you think about it, if you let him go, you would still have two. Such a rude behemoth, really, manners must have been nonexistent in his home growing up. An uncivilized beast like him should never be in such a position. Not to mention his age. Second-in-command in the Zaytari, at only six hundred, why…it’s unheard of. ”
Beast, ha. Clarissa had no clue as to the meaning of that word if she thought Roth was one. He doubted she had ever faced anything so horrifying.
Closing his eyes, Sin took a deep breath. When he opened them, he made sure his anger was hidden. “Clarissa, I believe it is time for us to part ways. You are obviously not someone I want to be associated with.”
She gasped. “What?”
When playing by the rules of ‘high-class’ society, there were many other ways to express your displeasure and disdain that didn’t involve screaming or violence.
Pulling his napkin from his lap, he tossed it onto the table and stood. “I am sure you, with your vast knowledge of society, understand my reasons. Being seen with someone with such little class…well, people talk. Rumors and all that, very bad for my reputation,” Sin explained gleefully.
Clarissa made a rather unflattering squawk, and her hand went to her throat.
“I have to say, that is the first intelligent thing you have said this evening, my dear. Well, that and your compliments on my suit.” Sin pulled on his long overcoat. “Now, before my reputation sinks lower, I will take my leave. But don’t worry, as I am a gentleman, I will pay the bill.”
Grabbing the billfold, he was about to storm out, when she sputtered, “You can’t…you…why?”
“You would not understand even if I told you. But I suppose I will explain in the vain hope that you will evolve into a better person.” He let his anger show just a bit, and said sternly, “No species is pure. We all have our downfalls, we all have our misdeeds, our acts of cruelty. We are all equal, for the simple fact that we are not perfect. It is truly a shame that KING Xavier has been denied what is truly his right due to individuals such as yourself. He is a good man.” With his hands on the table, he leaned in toward Clarissa.
“And my ‘strays’ have more kindness than you will ever be capable of. Considering your personal convictions, you have no right to judge anyone’s character. ”
“You…”
“Furthermore, the way I run my group, that is something you also will never understand, for the simple fact that you have nothing that you would die for. As for Roth, he may be rough around the edges, but he is a better judge of character than even I am at times. And his age is inconsequential. There are older immortals who do not understand the hardships of life, and young ones who have experienced too much. Oh, not to mention, he is only about three hundred years younger than I was when I was given my position.”
When he finished, Clarissa was gaping like a fish. Sin walked away without another word.
In one form or another, all eyes were on him—so many sideways glances. Cecil had never felt so awkward, or so annoyed, in his entire life.
He was full, so somehow, he had managed to swallow enough food during the disaster that was the last few hours. It was surprising, considering the constant attempts by the forty or so people in the room to try to talk to him.
Despite being placed between Benji and Roth, he now knew more than he cared to about Jack and George. Jack was sitting on the other side of Benji, and George was beside Roth.
George was about six foot two and muscular, with long pointed ears, white-blue hair, tan skin, and two curly black horns.
And he was an ice demon, who was married to a lovely fire demon named Jill.
But the two had recently decided they needed more in their relationship and were looking for a third.
While a woman would be okay, they would prefer if the person had a dick.