Chapter 9 #2
"Dominic Blake is here," he said, his voice tight. I resisted the urge to look around for the bastard, but couldn’t suppress the shudder down my spine. "And he's not alone. There's at least half a dozen Trivium alumni. What the fuck, they never come to the Halloween event."
"Something's happening, I have a feeling it has too much to do with the rumours around our issue with our Consort.
" Logan muttered, scanning the room with renewed intensity.
"They're circling like fucking sharks." I followed his gaze, noting the strategic positions of the older men throughout the ballroom.
They weren't obviously watching us, but there was a palpable sense of surveillance, of waiting.
My instincts, honed by years of navigating the dangerous waters of privilege and power, even from the position I was in, were screaming that we were being tested.
"Where's Cade?" I asked suddenly, realising I'd lost sight of her in the crowd. Ryder frowned, his blue eyes scanning the room.
"She was with Silvia and Luce a minute ago."
"Luce and Silvia are over there," Logan said as he pointed towards the other side of the hall, his voice tight with concern. “Cadence isn’t with them.” A cold knot of dread formed in my stomach.
"I'll find her," I said, already moving toward the last place I'd seen her.
The crowd seemed to close in around me as I navigated through bodies draped in various costumes, faces hidden behind masks.
The anonymity that had seemed theatrical earlier now felt menacing, and set me on edge.
I pushed past a group of giggling first year girls, ignoring their indignant protests as I scanned the room for any sign of Cadence's red dress.
Nothing.
Fuck.
I made my way to the edge of the ballroom, slipping through a side door into a quieter corridor that led toward the administrative offices.
The sounds of the party faded as I moved deeper into the building, my footsteps echoing on the polished marble floor.
The hallway was dimly lit, shadows pooling in the corners and doorways.
I was about to turn back when I heard the soft sound of hurried footsteps and whispered voices coming from around the corner ahead.
I slowed my pace, moving silently now as I approached the corner.
As I rounded the corner, I caught a flash of red, Cadence emerging from one of the darkened alcoves that lined the hallway.
She started when she saw me, her eyes widening behind her mask.
"Cole," she said, her voice pitched higher than normal. "What are you doing here?"
"Looking for you," I replied, studying her carefully. Her cheeks were flushed, her breathing slightly elevated. She looked guilty as fuck. "The question is, what are you doing here?"
"I needed some air," she said, the lie obvious in the way she wouldn't quite meet my eyes. "It's hot in the ballroom." I stepped closer, noting how she tensed at my approach.
"Try again, Pet. And this time, make it believable." Her chin lifted in that defiant gesture I'd come to know so well.
"I don't owe you an explanation for every move I make."
"Actually, you do," I said, my voice hardening. "That’s the point of the contract, pet." Something flashed in her eyes, anger, fear, or maybe both.
"Fuck the contract. And fuck you." I moved past her toward the alcove she'd emerged from, suspicion burning in my gut. She grabbed my arm, her fingers digging into my sleeve.
"Cole, don't-" I shook her off and stepped around the corner, my eyes adjusting to the deeper darkness.
The alcove was empty, but I swore I saw a movement at the other end of the hallway.
Someone had been here with her, someone who'd fled the moment they heard me coming.
I turned back to Cadence, anger and something that felt uncomfortably like jealousy surging through me.
"Who the fuck was that?" Her face had gone pale beneath her mask.
"No one."
"Bullshit," I growled, closing the distance between us in two quick strides. "Who were you talking to, Cadence?"
"I told you, no one!" She tried to step around me, but I blocked her path, my body forming a barrier between her and escape.
"Was it Damien?" The thought of that fucking shithead with his hands on her made my blood boil.
"Don't be ridiculous," she spat, her eyes flashing with genuine anger now. "I’m not stupid, not after what you did to me last time." A wave of anger hit me again, what I did to her, more like what she made us do to her.
"Then who was it? Because someone was just here with you, and they took off running the moment I showed up." She crossed her arms over her chest, her posture rigid with defiance.
"Maybe I just wanted five minutes away from you three and your suffocating control. Did that ever occur to you?"
"Don't turn this around, Pet," I warned, leaning in close enough that I could see the flecks of darker blue in her eyes. "You're hiding something. Or someone. Explain yourself now."
"I don't have to explain shit to you," she said, her voice trembling with anger. "Now get out of my way."
"Not until you tell me who you were meeting."
"Fuck off, Cole!" she shouted, shoving hard against my chest. The unexpected force of it made me step back, and she seized the opportunity to push past me, her cloak billowing behind her as she stormed down the hallway toward the ballroom.