Chapter Fourteen #2
Her face slackened, arm stiff and unable to move, despite how her mind screamed at her.
Not fucking here. Not fucking now. Eli’s voice was low and commanding.
She couldn’t believe it. Eli was possessing her mind. Release me before I do the same to you as I will do to him.
Revenge is a dish best served cold, Elara. And you need to prioritize who exactly deserves your revenge imminently.
Elara was trembling from head to toe with anger as Merissa looked at her, wide-eyed, shaking her head minutely.
Merissa has just told me to tell you she’s fine, he added, glancing at Merissa and nodding.
Elara forced herself to breathe, the black anger coating her vision clearing as Eli slowly loosened his hold on her mind.
‘What’s wrong with her?’ The doorman frowned, nodding to Elara.
‘Stage fright.’ Eli smirked, gripping her arm hard. ‘Enjoy your night, Markus.’
Merissa swished her hips as she walked in front, Elara following suit, though every muscle was tense and seized from the interaction she’d witnessed. They ached, too, from trying to fight against Eli’s control, and a sharp pain had begun to pound in her head.
Just how powerful was Eli?
The cavernous room they were led into was teeming with people, but it was the decor that caught her attention.
Thick poles stretched from the ground to the ceiling, made of—gods—actual emeralds, the shining green gems glinting in the sultry candlelight.
And twining around them were the dancers.
A beautiful woman, Kaosian by the look of her tanned skin and red hair, was performing elaborate twists on a green pole as she moved sensuously, a crowd of men and women beneath her throwing coins at her feet as they watched.
A quick glance around the room showed her Leo reclining upon the velvet seats as dancers walked past, their hands trailing, hips snaking. Leo was nursing a drink, assessing the room, on high alert even with his Castorian disguise.
The minute he saw them, that tension only grew, and when he noticed Merissa, to Elara’s satisfaction, he sat up straighter.
‘To the bar, ladies,’ Eli said, pushing them forwards.
Trays were placed in both of their hands, cups filled with lurid green liquid, and they separated, making their way around the room.
Elara grinned, batting her eyelashes as she passed drinks to the punters, though she managed to skirt around them, never too close.
She made her way along one edge of the room, Merissa taking the other side until they both met in the middle, by Leo. Merissa began handing out drinks to a table of customers nearby, while Elara hovered close to the general.
‘Everything all right?’ he asked.
Elara leaned over him, acting the seductress for the crowd as she murmured into his ear, ‘The doorman groped Merissa.’
Leo stiffened beneath her.
‘What’s his name?’
‘Markus,’ she replied.
She stepped away, and Leo’s entire face had transformed. Before her stood the King’s Thunderbolt. ‘I’ll be right back,’ he said quietly, leaving his seat.
‘Where’s he going?’ Merissa asked, sidling up beside her.
Elara shrugged. ‘I think he needed the bathroom.’
She continued to survey the room, her entire body tense as she tried to sway to the rhythm of the music, to play her part.
Merissa was a little pale, and Elara passed her a glass off her own tray.
‘Drink,’ she ordered. ‘You look as stiff as a board, and it’s you who needs to catch Ariete’s eye tonight.’
Merissa winced as she knocked it back, and Elara laughed, brushing a knuckle down her arm.
‘You’ll be all right. You can do this.’
Leo reappeared, taking his seat once more. He gave a quick, reassuring smile to Elara as he took a drink, leaning close to speak to Merissa.
Elara heard a whistle in her mind and turned.
Eli was shooting a death glare at her.
Relax, she heard, and knew it came from the god.
Leo had been looking at him too, and in a swift move yanked Merissa on to his lap. She bit back a yelp, but Leo stroked her arm again.
‘Act the part with me,’ he murmured. ‘Pretend I’m someone else.’
Elara watched as Merissa took a cup from her tray and tentatively pressed it against Leo’s lips. He kept his eyes on her as he drank, and her lips tugged up a little.
‘That’s more like it,’ he said. ‘Show me that pretty smile.’
His next words were drowned out by screams and cheers as the crowd around them began to part.
Elara felt it instantly.
Ariete’s charm.
It was so powerful that it took over every instinct in her, demanding she kneel and serve. Red starlight shone from the entrance, and her eyes flew to Merissa, who was now standing, every part of her body bracketed with tension.
She watched, breath held, as Ariete swaggered through, hands raised as onlookers fawned over him before he was led to a small booth tucked away against the wall, Eli’s arm slung around him. The two gods settled down, beautiful women clambering to get to them.
Merissa looked at Elara. Elara nodded. Merissa took up her tray once more and began to saunter over to the King of Stars.
Elara subtly began to weave illusions around herself, slipping into that other fabric of reality, sticking to the edges and shadows of the room.
She followed Merissa at a distance, keeping an eye on her friend as she sashayed around the room, flirting with and seducing anyone she looked at.
Merissa paused at the bar to swap her tray for one with goblets of ambrosia upon it, just as they’d planned, then slinked towards the booth where the Stars lounged.
She watched as Eli leaned forwards, saying something to the demi-Star as he wrapped a curl of her hair around his finger.
Impossibly, the air shimmered, and Elara almost saw through the second skin that Merissa had donned, the magick that enveloped her. It truly was a wonder to behold: her prim and reserved friend transformed into a vixen right before her eyes.
Ariete reclined on the opposite curve of the seat to Eli, his red eyes boring into Merissa, and Elara fought every instinct to intervene.
Now was the moment when they’d find out if Ariete could see through this glamour too, or if it was only when Merissa had disguised herself as Elara that he’d seen through it.
But he only raised his glass to her before taking a drink.
Eli said something else, playing his part uncomfortably well as Merissa draped herself over him. His hands skimmed up and down her waist, and that, Elara didn’t like either.
Merissa then plucked a cherry from the drink between them, and did something that Elara couldn’t see.
Whatever it was, it had Ariete leaning forwards and crooking his finger at Merissa.
To Elara’s disgust, she crawled across the curve of the booth to him, remaining on all fours as she held something out for him between bared teeth. A tied cherry stem, if Elara had to guess.
Ariete leaned further forwards, an inked hand plucking it from her mouth. He inspected it before chuckling.
Elara couldn’t stand any more of it, and she knew that before long Ariete would be asking for a private audience with Merissa. So she turned, disappearing through the crowd and into the sumptuous back rooms.