Chapter 17 #2
After hours of dancing to music I’d never heard before, I realized I had no idea where Aish and Hiro were—the only thing that mattered was moving my body until I couldn’t anymore.
At one point, my eyes welled up with emotion, because this was the most fun I’d ever had in my life, and I felt like a child at an amusement park for the first time.
“Are you enjoying yourself?” Breno asked, his mouth pressed to my ear.
His warm breath sent shivers through me, and he pulled back just enough to look me in the eyes.
“Very much.” I mouthed the words, since we were close enough that he’d understand.
“See?! I told you it would be fun. You should accept more of my invitations.”
“I know I should, but you know me—I don’t trust other people.” I gestured at the crowd around us.
“What about me? Do you trust me?” His eyes fixed on my mouth, and an indescribable tension spread through my chest.
“You’re my best friend. Of course I trust you.”
He held my gaze for a few seconds, then raised a hand to touch a lock of my hair. His fingers stroked it gently before he leaned toward my ear again.
“What if, as a friend, I wanted to give you a different kind of experience?”
I bit my lower lip, considering his words. Breno was my friend—actually, more than that. He was my rock, someone I loved deeply. I didn’t want to ruin our relationship, but I couldn’t help thinking that if he were my partner, things would be easier.
The truth was, I’d spent so many days thinking it would be easy to love Breno, with his fun, easygoing nature.
It would be simple to be with a guy who was clearly attracted to me, someone who didn’t play games and was always by my side through good times and bad.
He was handsome—and not just physically.
Breno was a golden boy, the kind every mother dreams of her daughter marrying.
It would be so easy to love him. But for some reason, fate had bound me to Zion, and that couldn’t be undone.
He stared at me, his sapphire eyes assessing my expression, searching for any sign of recognition.
“What happens here, stays here,” he repeated.
I should pull away, should run far from here, because I knew it was wrong to feel euphoric about what he was offering.
But I was a teenage faerie with hormones raging through me, and I wanted that experience badly.
I’d turned twenty-two and, despite knowing male anatomy like the back of my hand, I still had no intimate experience with it.
I wanted to kiss, to do all the stupid stuff teenagers do: make out in a dark corner of the hall, find out what it felt like to be pressed against a wall during a kiss.
“This doesn’t have to mean anything, Kay.
It can just be an experience.” While I thought it over, Breno touched my cheek affectionately.
His eyes shifted between tender and hungry.
“And if you want to pretend nothing happened tomorrow, I can do that, but let me give you something. Let me show you everything he’s making you miss. ”
I sighed under the weight of his intense gaze and realized that if it were anyone else, I could do this.
I could let myself experience a kiss without expectations, maybe even go further.
But the boy in front of me was Breno, my friend.
My only friend. Who, no matter how hard I tried to push him away, still had feelings for me.
It wasn’t fair, and I couldn’t do this to him, couldn’t let him get his hopes up.
I had a partner, and no matter how hard Breno tried, he could never have my heart that way.
That hopelessly sentimental organ was tied to someone else by the damned bond.
I opened my mouth to explain, but someone bumped into us, shattering the moment. My friend caught me before I lost my balance, and I looked away, turning to see who the klutz was.
We came face to face with Adele, and the first thing I noticed was that she was completely wasted.
“Look who’s here!” she shouted, struggling to stay on her feet. A male faerie held her up so she wouldn’t fall. “The general’s little slut!”
Breno moved to my side, putting an arm around my shoulder. I glared at the blonde with hatred. I knew a good part of it came from her childish behavior, but maybe the alcohol was making my feelings even stronger. I wanted to strangle her right there.
“Let’s get out of here, Kay,” my friend shouted, and with his hand on the small of my back, he started leading me away.
“If I were you, I’d be careful, Lutieve,” Adele warned. Her eyes were glazed and her breath reeked of pure alcohol. Breno stopped mid-step and turned to Adele. He seemed to be losing his patience too.
“Why should I be careful?”
He walked up to her, and the male beside her pulled Adele behind him, shielding her. She tilted her head to the side, looking Breno in the eyes.
“You don’t know, do you?” she asked, pointing a limp finger at him. A sinister, alcohol-fueled smile spread across her face.
My heart started beating faster. What didn’t he know? Adele’s eyes mocked me.
“Don’t know what, Adele? That you’re a horrible person, or that you’re jealous of Kyller because you’re not even half the medic she is?” he shot back, pulling me behind him.
Adele’s smile didn’t waver.
“Breno, I think we’d better get out of here.” I tugged at his hand, but he didn’t budge, his eyes still fixed on the out-of-control Adele.
“Oh, Breno, you really don’t know! You’ve been following her around like an eager little puppy for about four years now.” She laughed, throwing her head back, and nearly fell over.
I was so desperate I couldn’t even hear the music anymore. The only thing Breno didn’t know about me was that I had a partner, but there was no way Adele could know about the bond.
She steadied herself against the man and looked me in the eyes.
“She’s Zion’s partner.” Her eyes turned to Breno, who seemed frozen. “You’re just making a huge fool of yourself.”
My heart sank, and Breno slowly turned to face me. Time seemed to slow as his strong, determined expression began to fade, giving way to confusion.
“Tell him, Kyller! I bet he wants to know more.” Adele nearly toppled over, and the man scooped her up, heading toward the stairway.
I didn’t just want to punch Adele—I wanted to kill her and tear her apart limb by limb.
But right then, my top priority was the confused, pained look Breno was giving me.
“Is that true?” he asked, seeming distant. He was probably trying to process the information. I couldn’t answer—I was still trying to get my thoughts together. I had told Breno about the marriage, and he knew nothing could happen between us. So why did I feel like I’d done something terribly wrong?
“Is that true, Kyller?” Breno asked again, his voice colder this time. I had no choice but to answer before things got worse.
“Yes,” I murmured sadly. “We’re partners, but we didn’t lock the bond, and that…”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” he shouted over the music, looking lost. “Gods, I’m a complete idiot. How did I not see this before?”
The music I’d been loving before had now become a problem. I wouldn’t be able to explain anything with the sound this loud.
“Can we talk outside?” I tugged his hand toward the stairs, but he jerked away from my touch. A simple act, but one that made everything painfully clear.
“Not now, Kyller.” He ran his hands through his hair, disheveling the golden strands. “I need...” He paused for a few seconds before forcing out the rest, as if it were all he could manage. “...time to process.”
Breno started walking away from me. I stepped toward him, trying to grab his arm. My head buzzed with thoughts scrambled by the music and muddled by the alcohol.
“Wait!” I needed to explain, needed him to understand that the bond with Zion was so complicated I simply pretended it didn't exist. “Zion and I, we denied the bond. It's not important, and that's exactly why I never mentioned it.”
“A bond isn't important?” He cut me off furiously, rolling his eyes. Then he stepped back as if afraid to get too close. “So if a partnership bond doesn't matter to you, what does that make a friendship? Less than zero on your list of priorities?”
“No! I would never think that way, Breno. Your friendship means everything to me—you're above any stupid bond!” I exclaimed, desperate for him to hear me, but Breno just shook his head.
“Then why does Adele, your enemy, know and I don't? Why did I have to find out from her instead of you?”
I didn't have an answer for that. I still hadn't figured out how she knew about the bond. My hesitation let Breno draw his own conclusions, and without giving me a single chance to say anything, he turned and disappeared into the crowd.
I stood frozen like a mummy in the middle of the dance floor, unable to feel anything, still reeling from everything that had happened.
The betrayal in his eyes was so palpable it hurt my soul.
I looked at the crowd around me, and suddenly the party had lost all its appeal.
I ran my hands through my hair in defeat.
Adrian and Naoki were watching me from across the room and raised their glasses in my direction, toasting the mess I'd gotten myself into.
Desperate for some silence and fresh air, I headed for the stairs and pulled my phone from my pocket. I was about to call a taxi when someone called out to me from a corner near the wall.
It was Hiro and Aish, dancing together. They called out to me cheerfully, waving their hands. Reluctantly, I walked over to see what they wanted.
“What happened, Kyller? You look like you just came from a funeral,” Hiro asked.
My eyes were full of tears, but I swallowed the hard lump in my throat. A funeral was exactly what had happened to my friendship with Breno.
“Problems with Breno,” I mumbled, head bowed.
The party raged on around me, but nothing made sense anymore. A bartender passed by and Aish grabbed three shots of vodka.