CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
‘Mister Vaspre is expecting you. Please follow me.’ A server dressed in all white collected me from the club entrance and led me up some stairs to a mezzanine that overlooked the dance floor.
The bass of the music reverberated through me so heavily that I could barely feel myself thank her. I wasn’t there to talk though, I was there to be seen.
I arrived on the glorified balcony, spotting Theo immediately. He lounged on the railing, surveying the people below. He had slim fitted trousers on, with a loose black shirt tucked into the front. The way he leaned made his shoulders flex, making the shirt fabric taut across his back.
Somehow the simple look was made better with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows and just the right amount of buttons undone, showing off a single silver chain that hung around his neck and reflected the frantic lights.
Theo looked up, noticing me right away like he had organic proximity sensors just for me. The way his corded arm flexed as he reached up to push his hair back sent my eyes trailing along him.
I’d have been flattered at his effort to look so good if it weren’t all for show. Still, it was the proof I needed to deal with my frustration problem sooner rather than later.
He looked me over, starting from my feet and dragged his eyes up my body, judging my own attempt at dressing-up. A strange sensation went up my spine. His eyes locked with mine as they reached my face, holding there.
I shouldered my way through the light crowd.
‘What, never seen a dress before? You picked it out.’ I refused to let him make me feel self-conscious when he was the one to insist I dress up for the night, all to grab the attention of sponsors.
My shoulders were feeling especially bare without clothes to cover them.
The ‘H’ dress started under my collarbones and hugged my body until my hips, where it flared out into a skirt.
Paired with the thick heeled boots that were miraculously comfortable, it looked great.
I looked great. The price tag was almost worth it.
‘Turns out even turds can shine when polished.’ He was in a good mood then. Not surprising given the night ahead was a perfect way for his ego to be stroked.
‘That’s the spirit. You look way less ugly with the new haircut.’
The length had gone from past his ears to cropped short around the sides while keeping the thick curls on top. He looked less like the teenage Theo I’d known, replaced by a sharper version. A more expensive version.
He smirked at me. He hadn’t needed that compliment, as backhanded as it was. Theo knew he looked good. He revelled in it.
He slung an arm around me. The warmth of his bare forearm took over my shoulders as he pulled me in.
‘Really though, Paldon, I can see you made an effort. You could have shown up in your keeper overalls, but you chose not to. The people you’re out to impress tonight will notice, I’m sure.
’ He was enjoying being a patronizing bastard.
‘I’ll be kind and not give you a score, as I imagine Josie’s been doing enough of that. ’
My jaw flexed. I refused to ask.
Theo’s gaze made the hair on the back of my neck stand on end. With his arm still around me I worried he was able to tell. I could feel the smugness radiating off him.
‘Just tell me—’
‘Seven.’
‘Seven?’ A few people turned to us in surprise. ‘Are you kidding me, Vaspre? I am at least a nine, minimum. My legs and tits are a seven by themselves, even without my face, ass and everything else!’
I swatted at him with the back of my hand. I wasn’t trying to hurt him, but the harmless way it bounced off his firm chest wasn’t satisfying at all. So I elbowed him in the ribs and shoved his arm away in an attempt to keep him humble.
‘Try not to get so excited, Paldon.’ He leaned on the railing again. ‘It’s me they’ll be talking about and chasing down to put in all the Volitant and gossip outlets. You’ll be there too and reap the rewards.’
‘Yeah, I know that.’ I hated to admit it, but it’s why I’d come to him for help in the first place. ‘But is lurking in the dark really the way to get attention?’
He tilted his head, gesturing to the crowd below. A few other guests were looking up at us, then leaning into each other to talk.
‘Trust me yet?’ Theo murmured into my ear, copying them. ‘They talk about me. So, now they’ll talk about you too.’
I rolled my eyes. I’d got the clothes. I’d done my good deeds. Now I needed to act like the lifestyle of a Volitant rider suited me. Easy. I could get drunk and act like a narcissist anytime.
‘Lena?’
Even with the loud music, the delighted voice managed to reach me. Colly appeared, scooping me into a bear hug. My face was assaulted by a copious amount of fabric. As he pulled away and held me by the shoulders, beaming down at me, I could see why.
Colly was wearing a matching powder-blue shirt and trousers combo. The shirt had layers of ruffles on the chest and the trousers were horrifically flared.
‘Colly!’ I yelled back to him over the music. I poked at his shirt. ‘Nice of you to wear your grandpa’s suit, I’m sure he’s very proud.’
He laughed like it was the funniest thing he’d ever heard. I smiled too. Not because of the joke, though it was funny, but because I’d become unreasonably attached to the kid during our time racing together.
‘What are you doing here?’ I was on my tiptoes trying to talk to him.
‘We’ll be flying out from here to the Sky Pillar next week! I came early with Quinn. He promised to take me on my first night out!’
Nursing a drink, away from the balcony edge, was Quinn. He was dressed in a navy blue waistcoat so dark that I could only see its true colour when the strobe lights flickered his way. His white shirt was only a shade lighter than his pale skin, but it fitted together well.
His eyes creased as he waved hello and joined us. A single lock of his red hair fell across his forehead. It didn’t have the same effect as when Theo’s curls did the same, but I’d yet to meet anyone else whose hair seemed like a paid actor.
If I was going to put the effort in to get laid soon, I wanted to find someone so hot it made me angry. Someone attractive enough that it would make even Theo insecure.
I opened my arms and gave Quinn a hug. Having him and Colly there was helpful – a solid distraction until I found someone to end the night with.
A drink appeared in front of me, Theo attached. The tendons in his wrist were taut as he handed the glass over.
‘Thanks,’ I said. Too quiet to hear, but he winked at me all the same. I took a swig, recognizing the sweet tang followed by the burn. ‘Oh, Spieners!’
I raised my glass. It was time to set the mood correctly.
‘Okay guys, gather around.’ I cleared my throat and strained to be heard over the noise of the club.
‘To Colly’s first time getting absolutely demolished.
To my yet-to-be-confirmed, but inevitable, return to Volitant.
To Quinn getting drunk enough to say more than three words at a time and …
’ I looked right at Theo. ‘To the loss of Theo’s beautiful long hair.
May it fly in the Winds with the dragons. ’
The four of us clinked our glasses together and tossed back the contents. My eyes lingered, watching Theo’s throat bob as he downed his drink. When he was finished he returned my gaze, wiping a thumb over his lips for non-existent droplets.
I was there for the good press, but I had a second goal for the evening: get laid by anyone other than Theo Vaspre.
‘All right,’ Theo said, tugging me closer so I could hear. We were on our third trip to the bar and Theo’s tab was taking it like a champ. ‘Take a look at the guy in the far corner, the one with the toupee.’
I whipped my head around, craning to see. Theo’s hand came up to my chin right away, steering me back. His thumb and finger tipped my face upwards before letting go. The ghost of the touch lingered on my skin. I rubbed at the phantom feeling.
‘It really is all or nothing with you, isn’t it? Try and be subtle, Paldon.’ A smile played on his lips. ‘That guy is the chief editor of the Season Single.’
I scoffed. ‘Does anyone actually read that crap? It’s all sensational dragonshit.’
Theo watched me, his eyes drifting down to my neck before flicking back up. ‘And how do you know that?’
‘Because it’s all over the place. You can’t go into any market without seeing the cover sheets with big stills of the latest drama—Oh!’
He nodded. ‘Mhm. That other guy next to him who’s filling his drink? That’s his accountant. You want a story in or out, he’s the one you talk to.’
‘How much?’
‘Oh, you’re asking the wrong person. I’ve never needed to pay for my press.’ He shot me one of his signature smiles, dimples on display. ‘Why? Do you want to plant a story about me, Paldon? What compromising position do you plan on putting me in?’
I narrowed my eyes at him. He’d been increasing his charm every time he had a drink, directing it right at me. Maybe because he was bored, maybe to get a rise out of me … either way I wasn’t going to react just for his entertainment.
‘I won’t be wasting money on faking a story, not when I can make it the truth for free. There’s plenty of ways I could get us into trouble tonight, Vaspre.’ I kept my voice low, forcing him to lean in to hear.
Theo’s personal life had been public, I knew what to expect from him, but he had no clue how I played the game.
I saw it in the way he swallowed, with one hand in his pocket while the other toyed with his empty glass on the bar top. Me flirting back was unexpected and it was making him scramble.
The bartender slid our drinks over: eight shot glasses filled with more Spieners. Not watered down, not mixed. Theo didn’t acknowledge him, keeping his attention solely on me.
‘Colly!’ I summoned the rookie.
He’d been wreaking havoc with his elbows on the dance floor, already slightly sweaty. Quinn was remaining as loyal as ever, staying nearby – though not too close – while Theo lectured me on networking.