Chapter 40
Skye
Willow and Mia were ecstatic to help me get ready for this event.
Mostly, it was Willow bouncing around me while Mia stared at her phone from the Chain bed.
“Skye, this is hysterical.” Willow said as she searched through her makeup bag. “You would have beef with a queen. Did she really not invite you on purpose?”
I frowned as I considered that. “I don’t know,” I said slowly. “I don’t think I’m being excluded. She’s probably just thinking the rest of us aren’t ready for any official Royal events. She’s not exactly wrong.”
I stared at my reflection in the mirror, zoning in and out as Willow babbled. Mia was still on the bed, staring at her phone with a furrowed brow.
“You okay, Mia?” I called out.
Willow stopped talking mid-sentence, spinning around to face her Link. “Mia? What’s wrong?”
Mia sighed, rolling over before sitting on the edge of the bed. “Zephyr’s texting me.”
Willow’s lips twisted into a sneer, but then smoothed her expression. “That’s cool.”
“What does he want?” I asked.
“He’s just apologizing,” Mia practically whispered. “He’s promising he likes us and that he didn’t hook up with us just to fuck with Wyatt.”
Willow grimaced as she turned back to my vanity. “I…I also don’t think he was trying to fuck with Wyatt.”
That surprised me. “Really?” Mia slipped off the bed, padding into the bathroom and closing the door. I debated whether or not to go after her, but Willow sighed.
“I never say things like this because I never want to insult Mia, and I’m not…
but a lot of guys have come onto us. Well, me.
I think Zephyr’s one of the first guys Mia’s ever been interested in, so she’s taking this pretty hard.
She doesn’t think he was trying to mess with Wyatt, she thinks he may have used her to get to me. ”
“That’s not true,” I said quickly.
“I know,” Willow groaned. “But also, he’s your brother. You want to believe the best of him, don’t you?”
“Interesting thing for you to say,” I said, narrowing my eyes.
Willow groaned again. “Look, my brother has sucked most of my life until recently. Your brother has been the opposite.”
“I know,” I muttered, looking down at the makeup spread across the vanity top. “I don’t want Zephyr to be a piece of shit. It bothered me that he went out all the time, but not for the reason you’d think. I…didn’t want him to meet someone and leave me.”
Willow rubbed my back. “I believe you. Do you think Wyatt was trying to plant a seed of doubt? I know you two just connected, but…if he did something–”
“No,” I cut her off with a sigh. “No, I don’t think he was scheming.
He actually seemed to regret it as soon as he told me.
I think I’m really just mad that Zephyr insulted Aiden.
They were getting along so well and then…
I can’t decide if he was trying to hurt Aiden to get to me, or insulting Aiden as a way to insult me, or–”
Willow stopped me. “‘Insult Aiden as a way to insult you’?”
“I mean, yeah. Aiden being a man-whore makes me look stupid,” I said quietly. “Like, that means he could still be a man-whore and I’m the unsuspecting Key.”
“Ah,” Willow nodded. “This is bullshit from your upbringing. Did your parents used to pit you two against one another?”
I ducked my head to hide my face.
Willow touched my shoulder. “It’s okay, Skye. My dad filled my head with all kinds of fantasies about how awesome I was compared to Wyatt, but the truth is, he’s way stronger than me. But I used to talk to him like he was barely an affinate.”
My heart clenched for Wyatt.
The final Link in my Chain.
I couldn’t stop thinking about how we connected, the passionate way we went at each other, the feeling of awe when it was all over. I was happy, but…
But something was still missing.
And I had no one to talk to about it.
“Zephyr just went in for the kill because he felt threatened,” Mia said, startling me and Willow. “I want things to go back to normal, but I don’t know how we can do that.”
“He’ll act like nothing happened if you start talking to him again,” I said, reaching for a powder puff.
Willow nodded, then slowly grinned. “Maybe we should make him work for it.”
Mia scoffed.
“Seriously,” Willow said defensively. “Why don’t we make him grovel? This could be fun.”
“Fun like when you start an argument for no reason?” Mia rolled her eyes.
“Hey! It’s not for no reason! It’s important to test how a man will react during an argument in a controlled environment.”
A soft knock at the door interrupted our giggles, and Aiden poked his head through a moment later. “You almost ready?”
“Almost,” I replied.
“Good. Also…” Aiden came into the room, shooing Willow away so he could stand closer to me. “Rafe wants you to wear those diamonds. He says he knows you still have them.”
I couldn’t help but grin. “Fine.”
“So, you’re going to change the guard out of green one day, right?” Aiden asked as we made our way through the Palace halls.
Rafe sighed. Aiden had been asking nonstop questions since we arrived, obviously trying to make me laugh. Before we left, Wyatt and Rafe had another argument about whether or not I should wear a tiara, and Aiden was pouting that we all had to wear black.
I missed the deep blue dress Rafe had me wear for the gala, but it’d been destroyed between holding up bricks and Wyatt almost bleeding out.
The only nice thing about wearing a black dress was that the diamond set Rafe had given me appeared more blue than black.
Wyatt snarked at Aiden, the two bickering as we continued up the hall, which was much cleaner than the last time we’d been here. It looked as if nothing had happened.
“My love,” Rafe murmured as he pulled me to walk against him. “I’d like to fuck you later.”
I snorted in shock, then slapped a hand over my mouth. “What?” I squeaked.
Rafe nodded. “Yes, definitely. I know the slit in that dress isn’t high enough, but that’s alright. I won’t tear it.”
I choked on a laugh, looking down at the long, glittery fabric that practically brushed across the floor. The slit only came to my knee and was hardly visible with the ruffle of the fabric. “You want to fuck here?” I hissed.
“Yes,” Rafe purred. “I’ve always wanted to sneak away from a Royal event to fuck a pretty girl. Maybe in the throne room. Wait–”
He stopped abruptly, making Aiden bump into my back.
“Yes, that’ll be perfect, actually. I’ll give you a signal when the time is right.”
“A signal,” I repeated as he pulled me along again. I switched into our minds as we drew closer to the ballroom, a different one than from the gala. A signal for when you want to fuck me in your mom’s throne room?
Ugh, Rafe replied. When you say it like that, it’s so un-sexy.
“Are you two excluding us again?” Wyatt snapped from behind.
I giggled as Aiden palmed my ass. “Nah, we’re just excluding you.”
I rolled my eyes right as we came to the ballroom doorway, and a camera flashed on cue, meaning my eye-roll would be front page news tomorrow.
I groaned out loud, but Rafe only pulled me tighter to his side, continuing to hold me as a literal herald announced all of us.
By our titles.
I cringed hearing the words again. I’d somehow managed to convince myself that I’d imagined them before, even though students liked to sneer them at me as I passed.
Heir Presumptive.
How the fuck was I an Heir?
Me. An orphan from the Gulf.
I heard that, Wyatt snapped from behind me. Who the fuck said that to you?
My entire Water Affinities class, I replied dryly.
“Are you talking to someone?” Rafe murmured against my temple.
I only grinned shyly, shaking my head as everyone stared at us. I zoned out the entire walk through the ballroom, ignoring the claps and cheers, ignoring the few faces that dared sneer at us.
They were sneering at me, mainly.
I felt like a little girl playing dress-up.
There was only one person in my group tonight that wouldn’t fall all over me if I told them I was uncomfortable, though, so I reached out to him directly.
Who’s here? I asked Isaiah. I need something to distract me.
No one from the cult that I can see, he replied smoothly, not even flinching as I entered his mind. Ms. Aria–
Isaiah, I snapped. I thought we were friends now. Why aren’t you using my name?
He was silent for a moment. Skye…Willow asked for my number.
I barely smoothed my expression in time as we approached a table. What?!
He sounded so uncomfortable, I almost laughed out loud. Yeah. I feel like I should tell you I gave it to her. My number, I mean. Was that overstepping some boundary?
No, I replied. Talk to Willow all you want, but Mia’s not going anywhere. They’re a package deal.
Understood, he replied, meeting my eye as I slid into a chair that Rafe had smoothly pulled out for me.
“You alright?” Wyatt asked as he sat next to me, making Aiden pout. Aiden rounded the table to my other side while I shrugged. “You look stunning,” he murmured. “I could eat you up.”
My skin grew warm. I turned to look at him, trying to gauge his mood. I froze when I realized he was serious, his gaze like a physical thing trailing down my body. We were so close, we could’ve kissed.
A camera flashed, and I jumped. One of Wyatt’s hands grabbed my wrists, pinning them to my waist before my affinity could react.
“Isaiah,” Aiden warned.
Wyatt’s hold on me kept me from fully turning to see what was happening, but from over my shoulder, I was able to see Isaiah with a photographer in a headlock.
“Oh, shit,” I whispered.
Wyatt’s free hand took my chin, pulling my attention back to him. “Don’t worry about it,” he said.
There were a lot of things I was worrying about right now. Willow getting Isaiah’s number. Zephyr being Zephyr. Levi’s whereabouts. River. Mainly, though, I was worried that I wanted to slip onto the floor in front of Wyatt and suck him off. What the hell was he doing to me?
“It’s fine, Skyes,” Aiden reassured from behind me, his voice barely breaking through the weird trance Wyatt had me under. “Isaiah got him.”
“He should’ve gotten him before he took the photo,” Wyatt growled, still holding my eye contact.
I gulped.