20. Chapter Twenty - Leigh
From across the room, Ravi fixes me with an unwavering, deliberate gaze.
Seeing I’m alone, he approaches.
I watch him through slitted lids.
He told me about Tanith yet conveniently left out the fact that she was dead.
It’s almost as if he’s deliberately trying to stir up trouble, but to what end?
Is it to give Alden and me a reason to fight, creating an opportunity for the wolves to invade, or are his motives far more selfish and personal?
Just as Ravi is about to reach me, Bennett appears, his face paling as he takes in the drunken revelry surrounding us.
Alden’s entourage howls with delight, laughter bouncing off the walls as they recklessly dance on tables.
It’s not just Alden’s crew acting foolishly.
The few Council members I invited are falling prey to the intoxicating atmosphere.
For some, it’s the first time here, and it shows.
They succumb to the Allure just as I did back in October.
The Allure ambushed me like a thief, immediately stealing my inhibitions when I stepped through the club’s giant steel door.
My plans to find Vane and discuss the letters evaporated instantly, replaced by the carnal hunger burning inside me.
All I wanted was to shed my clothes, and Wilder’s as well.
“Fucking finally,” I say when Bennett sits beside me, the cushions barely sinking under his weight.
Ravi’s expression tightens suddenly, and he retreats to his corner.
“How was the luncheon? Did you speak to Janus?”
“She was pissed you weren’t there,” he says, loosening his tie.
“That doesn’t surprise me. What else did she say?”
“Nothing.” He watches the redheaded server saunter over.
I frown.
“Did you not ask her about the black?—”
“Hi, handsome,” the redhead vampire working alongside Desiree purrs in a voice resembling a lullaby.
Bennett’s pupils dilate.
“Can I get you anything to drink?”
“Bennett,” he answers with a slight slur.
The pretty redhead laughs.
“I’m sorry?”
He shakes his head, as if trying to clear the fog from his mind.
“My name is Bennett.”
Oh, no.
“Misty.” The vampire places a hand on her chest.
“Now, do you want anything?”
He nods.
“You.”
Misty cackles.
“I’m not on the menu.”
I roll my eyes, leaning into Bennett.
“Tone it down. Don’t you have a girlfriend?”
Bennett’s gaze meets mine.
His eyes are unfocused.
“N-no?”
“No?” I ask, thinking of Corvina.
If they aren’t dating, why are they texting?
He blinks again.
“Well?” Misty flips her hair.
The cherry strands tumble like yards of silk.
“It’s the Allure,” I say, grabbing Bennett’s arm.
His pupils are already twice their normal size.
“The vampires are seducing you with it, but if you focus, you can snap out of it. Breathe through your nose.”
Bennett leans closer, his lips parting slightly.
“Like this?”
I nod, even as I scoot back.
The faux leather of the couch creaks.
Bennett has not made any advances toward me since I turned down his proposal, but he isn’t himself, so I had better make this fast.
“What did Janus say when you asked about the blackout?” I ask.
“Other than how terrible it is? Nothing,” Bennett says.
To Misty, he says, “I’ll have a glass of whatever this is.” Bennett moves to pour himself a drink, but Misty playfully slaps his hand away.
“Allow me.” The vampire winks.
Bennett smiles, his eyes following her every move.
The vampire maintains heavy eye contact with Bennett as she pours him a fresh glass of sparkling wine.
The bubbles fizz and pop between them.
Their fingers brush when she hands it to him.
Bennett shivers from the contact, a bead of sweat trickling down his temple.
“You have a beautiful smile,” he tells her.
I groan.
Can he stop thinking with his dick and remember he has a brain?
I’m dealing with espionage, and he’s flirting.
“Misty, will you give us a minute?” I ask.
Annoyance drips from my tone.
Misty cowers before slinking off.
Then Desiree returns to the room, a scowl on her face.
Bennett pouts, his lower lip jutting out.
I roll my eyes, my fingers drumming against my thigh.
“I liked her. She was nice and pretty, and?—”
“Did you ask Janus about Stellan Navis or his articles?” I ask.
Bennett sinks into the cushions, rolling up his sleeves as he bobs his head to the beat, ignoring me.
His lashes cast shadows on his cheeks.
I sit up straighter.
Is he for real?
As the seconds tick by and Bennett continues to avoid my gaze, my patience wears thin.
With a sharp snap of my fingers inches from his face, I finally break through his dream-like haze.
His eyes flutter open, a flicker of annoyance dancing in their depths.
“Well?” I prompt.
“Janus said she was dealing with a personal matter during the blackout when Stellan’s latest story broke,” Bennett says with a sigh.
“Did you ask her what kind of personal matter?” I ask through gritted teeth.
What’s more important than your city and most of your country experiencing a blackout?
Parts of Corona are still without power, and the darkness lingers like a suffocating mask.
Bennett peers over the back of the couch.
Misty waves at him, her fingers wiggling in a coy gesture.
“When something is personal, usually that person doesn’t want to talk about it, but if you must know, she mentioned something about Hebe.”
I frown.
Why did Janus bring up the hospital?
“Is she sick?”
“She seemed well enough to me,” Bennett replies, still gazing at Misty.
“Did Janus seem surprised about Stellan running for mayor?”
Bennett’s head lulls to the side, his glasses slipping down his nose.
“No.”
I jostle Bennett’s shoulder.
No, because she already knew what Stellan wrote because they are working together, or no because of some other reason?
“Bennett?—”
“Excuse me.” Bennett leaves me gaping after him as he stumbles over to Misty.
I want to scream.
“Leigh, can we talk?” Ravi appears like some apparition, and I nearly jump out of my skin.
My patience snaps.
“Now?”
“I need to speak to you.”
I rise to my feet.
Ravi’s intentions are unclear, and now isn’t the time to clear the air.
“Not now,” I say firmly, meeting his gaze head-on.
I leave, fishing for my phone from my tiny purse, to call Pallas to check-in.
My fingers shake slightly as I dial, and I pray he has news that will help me decide who to trust and who not to trust among my Council.
Pallas answers as I lock myself inside the black-and-red-veined marble bathroom attached to our private room, the door clicking shut behind me.
“Funny, I was just about to message you,” Pallas says.
“How’s Little Death?”
“A total snoozefest,” I say, my fingers absentmindedly running along my sleek, smooth ponytail.
It felt strange getting all dolled up for tonight’s outing, especially with the chaos and uncertainty plaguing my kingdom.
But in these turbulent times, my appearance is one of the few things I can still control.
As I stare at my reflection in the mirror, I barely recognize the hardened woman staring back at me.
My gaze is sharper than a blade, cold and unyielding as stone.
The distrust radiating from my eyes serves as a silent warning to anyone who dares to cross me.
I cut straight to the point.
“What did you find out?”
There’s shuffling on the other line, a dinging like he’s inside a car, with the engine rumbling in the background.
Then he says, “I sat outside Janus’s house all day and didn’t see anything suspicious. Unless you count the insane number of shopping bags Daphne Dyer had on her when she came home this afternoon suspicious.”
I tap my nails on the countertop.
“So, there’s nothing to link Janus to Stellan?”
“Not yet, but I did find something that links her to Beatrix Marx.”
My heart skips a beat.
“Janus and Beatrix know each other? That seems highly questionable, given Janus’s position as the president and Beatrix’s anti-monarchist stance. Is Beatrix here for Janus?”
“She and Janus were friends in Icarus before Janus’s parents died, and she moved here, eventually inheriting her uncle’s Council seat. But until I hear the president speak to Beatrix directly, I can’t say exactly what Beatrix’s intentions are and if they have something to do with Janus.”
“The timing of her arrival is suspicious.”
Pallas sighs, the sound crackling through the speaker.
“It is, but she’s the only member of her group here, which rules out a political protest.”
“Do you think Janus invited Beatrix here?”
“For what purpose?”
“Maybe they are more than old friends. Maybe Janus believes in her cause?”
“Now, before you jump to conclusions,” Pallas starts, “let’s wait to see if Janus calls Beatrix back. As I said, there’s no call history showing that Janus reached out to Beatrix first.”
My teeth clench as a thought crosses my mind.
“Could she have used Daphne’s phone? Keep looking into it.”
“Leigh,” Pallas says.
“Perhaps you should just talk to Janus. Clear the air.”
“That’s like inviting the devil to tea,” I reply.
Pallas laughs, but I am not being funny.
“Keep an eye on them. Let me know the second Janus makes contact.”
“On it.”
I frown.
If Janus, the leader of our democratic nation, is conspiring with known anti-monarchists, where does that leave us?
Where does it leave me?
“Oh, and Pallas,” I say.
“Maybe see if Beatrix and Stellan are friends.”
“Sure.”
“Be discreet.”
I hear the smile in his voice as he says, “I always am.”
“What have you uncovered about Bennett?” I ask, my mind drifting to his cold and detached person in the other room.
We were once close, so close that I trusted him with my life.
But now?
I barely recognize the man he’s become.
Pallas’s voice pulls me back to the present.
“Nothing much, but I honestly haven’t had a lot of time to conduct a thorough search. Janus has been taking up most of my time.”
“I appreciate all your help, Pallas.”
“I like being useful. It keeps me from dwelling on thoughts of Dad and the others.”
His words have the effect of being hit with several rounds of artillery.
Pallas’s confession played a crucial role in the Council’s success in putting away most of the members of Nyx.
But Nyx was his home, where he grew up, and now he’s left with no one.
His loneliness resonates with me, as familiar as the sound of my own voice.
Pallas, Wilder, and I share a common bond—we all have family in Kratos.
Once I leave the bathroom, the door hasn’t even swung shut behind me before I run into Bennett.
He looks left and right, his head swiveling on his neck as if it isn’t attached to his body.
“Have you seen Alden?” he asks.
I shake my head.
“No.”
“He’s missing.”
My attention darts around the room, searching for any sign of Desiree, but she’s nowhere to be found.
A sinking feeling settles in the pit of my stomach.
What if Alden went after her?
He claims to want friendship with the vampires, but his actions speak louder than his words.
How he used Desiree to provoke Vane tells a different story.
Alden’s true motives remain in mystery, and I can’t shake the nagging suspicion that his pursuit of Desiree is just another move in his twisted game.
“Fuck. If Alden does something to upset the vampires and ruin our progress with them, I’ll neuter him.”
“Where are we going?” Bennett asks.
“To find?—”
“Does this belong to you?” Vane barrels into the room.
He has a snarling Alden by the scruff.
“Let me go! I was only trying to find the bathroom,” Alden shouts.
“Where did you find him?” I ask Vane.
Vane releases Alden, causing the wolf to stumble into Bennett.
It’s the most off-kilter I’ve seen him since his arrival.
Despite his unsteady footing, his eyes remain sharp and focused, revealing that he isn’t drunk.
Vane’s actions have clearly rattled him.
Vane’s lip curls.
“In one of the tunnels leading to the Nest. I smelled his canine stench and dragged him back here.”
My gaze narrows.
Why was Alden in the tunnels?
“Like I said,” Alden spits, “I was looking for the bathroom. Ours was occupied.”
Vane snarls, his teeth bared, but I step between the towering royals, my hands raised in a placating gesture.
I’m not interested in having either cause irreparable damage to my realm by going to blows.
“Look, I’m sorry about the misunderstanding. Thank you for your hospitality,” I say to Vane before glaring at Alden.
“Let’s go. We’ve overstayed our welcome.”
“See that this one goes straight home,” Vane commands when Desi peeks at Alden from behind Vane.
“I will,” I mutter, wishing I could send Alden packing.
Alden claims to seek an alliance, but the wolf is more trouble than he’s worth.
While there’s a slim chance he’s telling the truth about getting lost on his way to the bathroom, it seems like a hastily crafted excuse.
My gaze shifts to Ravi, and a thought takes shape in my mind.
I could turn the tables on him and use his own tactics against him to extract information about Alden.
I can uncover the truth beneath the surface by pretending to be his friend.