Chapter 15
Chapter fifteen
The Final Drinks
Nyomi
The violin sang in bright, playful notes that shimmered like champagne bubbles. The whimsical melody danced between laughter and fantasy.
Daisuke's drink came first.
One of my beautiful helpers appeared wheeling a silver cart toward us.
The Claws parted for it. Conversations dipped. Eyes lifted.
“Alright. We have two more signature drinks before the dinner party begins.” I left Kenji and headed over to Daisuke. “Are you all ready?”
Daisuke stepped forward. “I am because I know this one has to be mine.”
One twin frowned. “Or it could be ours.”
“Yeah.” The other nodded.
“No.” Daisuke waved them away. “You two will have two drinks most likely because you’re twins.”
The twins blinked in unison and then wide smiles spread across their faces.
“Let’s just focus, everyone.” I stopped in front of the silver cart. Several small glasses were placed on top along with pitchers of alcohol and other ingredients. “I’ll be making this one in front of you.”
Daisuke looked back at the others. “Because I’m the most special.”
Kaede snorted.
From the little I’d known about Daisuke, he was the one Claw who relished in disappearing within the shadows and never being seen too much.
I’d learned his backstory from Ali’s research, understood him even more, and shed some tears.
Now it made sense how Daisuke liked to blend in and hold himself just outside of reach due to a violent father that terrorized his house and killed his baby sister.
That kind of horror didn’t only break a child. It rewired him.
I bet that he’d learned to vanish back then just to not get hit. Folding his little body into corners and shadows.
But tonight, Daisuke could not be ignored with that candy apple red hair layered to his head in waves and his long black silk dress with ostrich feathers.
That ensemble alone told me that he felt safe with the other Claws, Kenji, and even me.
My heart warmed.
“Let’s begin because yes. . .this is Daisuke’s drink.” I poured the first liquid and then the next. “Mezcal for the danger you carry. Bourbon for the hidden edge."
The pour was slow and golden, appearing like two rivers braiding into one.
Toma whispered, “So cool.”
The Claws got closer, while Reo and Kenji remained in the back.
I gestured for my second helper to come over. We’d practiced this drink before the party.
She appeared with a small brass dipper of honey-ginger and ribboned it through the amber in a single unbroken pour. The honey hung in the liquor like silk in water.
I pointed. “Honey-ginger because you are still sweet under all the danger you exude.”
“Aww.” Toma batted his lashes. “Daisuke is a lovable psycho.”
The twins chuckled.
The violin’s tune drifted higher, teasing our ears.
Then she tipped activated charcoal into the glass.
I let out a long sigh. "Activated charcoal for what you buried young."
Daisuke’s jaw tightened.
The black powder swirled and sank through the gold similar to a shadow falling through fire.
Hiro whispered, “Damn. This is just as pretty as Daisuke too.”
Everyone chuckled.
Daisuke blushed.
"Now for the highlight of this drink.” A new helper produced a glass dome and a pipe of pale hinoki wood.
Daisuke quirked his brows.
She struck a match, and the hinoki caught. Smoke poured out—thick, white, and perfumed.
Now Kenji and Reo came closer, truly intrigued with where this was going.
She capped the dome over the glass, trapping the smoke inside. Every wisp curled and held.
“Are you all ready?” I lifted a bubble wand from the cart.
“Fuck yes!” Hiro yelled. “Let’s see what you’re about to do, Tora.”
I dipped the wand in clear liquid, then held the wand above the sealed dome.
My helper cracked the dome an inch, and the smoke pooled into the wand, forming a perfect bubble.
“Oh shit.” Daisuke blinked.
I placed the bubble on the rim of the glass. It was fat, full of smoke, and the color of a storm cloud.
"And hinoki smoke." I looked down at the bubble trembling on the surface. "Sacred wood. The essence of your veil. Because you have lived behind one your whole life, yet. . .tonight you stepped through it."
My other helpers were already setting up the other glasses with their own bubble wands.
I brought the bubble topped drink to Daisuke. "The Hinoki Veil. I hope you love it."
“I love everything about this.” Daisuke stepped forward and swallowed. “Thank you.”
I handed it to him. "By the way, I love your dress."
A small smile pulled at Daisuke’s black-painted mouth. “I knew you would.”
He slowly lifted the glass.
The bubble trembled.
Every Claw stilled.
“I feel special.” Daisuke looked at the bubble for one long breath and then he began to drink.
Instantly, the bubble burst.
Smoke bloomed. It rose along his face, climbing in thick white ribbons that twisted around his throat and crawled along his jaw.
“Yes.” I clapped.
Smoke wrapped around his cheeks and even threaded through the candy red waves of his hair, making Daisuke look like he was actually covered in a smoky veil. Sheer and shifting. Hiding him for several perfect seconds and then revealing him again.
His eyes glowed within it.
Hiro grinned. “Beautiful.”
“That’s quite the magic trick!” Reo ran his fingers through his hair. “I didn’t think you could top yourself, but you have.”
“Thank you.” I bowed. “I get it from my mother who always had to throw parties for my father and the affluent people in New York. Her goal was always to have showstoppers.”
The words left my mouth before I had checked them.
Did I just say. . .I get it from my mother?
That damn sentence landed in my chest almost knocking the wind out of me.
I’d dedicated most of my adulthood to not being like her. She was a woman who obsessed over peony arrangements for my father's dinner guests just to feel like she earned his love.
I had always hated her for not knowing her own worth and staying dedicated to my father even now after all the truth about his adultery and nastiness.
Yet. . .she had known how to throw a party and even taught me which fork went where, which flower opened at night, which song to play when men needed to soften and which to play when the women needed to feel powerful.
And here I was presenting her lessons without even knowing it.
My eyes burned.
I blinked it back and cleared my throat. “Alright. Let’s drink.”
Everyone else raised their glasses. Every smoke bubble trembled as they began to drink. And soon, one by one, the bubbles burst and smoky veils settled over everyone’s face, hiding us for several seconds.
I chuckled.
Others joined me in the laughter.
The violin shifted into a mischievous rhythm with elegant, yet unpredictable notes fluttering from its strings.
My twin helpers arrived with their carts for the final drink. The identical twins wore blushing pink dresses. The silk hit them mid-calf and moved when they did. Embroidered flowers curled up their sides in sparkling silver thread—tiny chrysanthemums, spiraling roses, and blooming tulips.
Long strands of pearls dropped from their necks to their waists. Their jet-black hair was parted and finger-waved. A single pink feather sat tucked behind each of their right ears.
They were exquisite.
I checked Aki and Yuki who held the most wicked grins.
Calm down, boys.
I headed over to my twin helpers. “Now we have our final drink, which is—”
“Can we get some names?” Aki lifted his head.
Yuki followed. “I also would love to know the names of these beautiful women.”
I gestured to my helpers. “This is Katsumi and Natsumi.”
“You two are breathtaking.” Aki bowed.
“And delicious.” Yuki winked.
The women chuckled.
“Alright.” I waved my hand. “Can we focus on the drink and not my helpers?”
Aki crossed his arms over his chest. “It’s going to be hard to do that.”
“Very difficult.” Yuki nodded.
“Well. . .” I smirked. “Do your best anyway.”
Chuckling, Katsumi and Natsumi set two crystal glasses down. The ice inside each one had been cut into a sharp matching shard rather than a sphere.
The Twins stepped forward together. Aki took the left side. Yuki took the right.
Katsumi poured the whiskey into one glass, filling it halfway with golden liquid.
“Whiskey-amber for Aki.” To not piss the twins off, I pointed to Yuki instead, pretending like I couldn’t tell them apart.
Hiro snorted, seeing through my bullshit.
I cleared my throat, turned to Aki, and pretended he was his twin. “And for Yuki. . .a nice cold vodka.”
Natsumi poured.
I waited until both glasses were full and then turned to the Twins. "You two have been one creature your whole lives. I could never split your drink. It would be an insult.”
Katsumi and Natsumi poured both glasses into a larger one.
The grey settled at the base.
The amber rose to the top.
"Two bodies." I looked at the glass. "But the same heart uniting them."
Toma whispered to Kaede, "I bet they’re going to cry.”
Kaede snickered. “Like you?”
Toma frowned.
Smiling, Katsumi reached for a small crystal vial and tipped a measured pour of high-proof shochu and then sprinkled pale blue dust over the surface.
Natsumi did the same on her side, but the dust was rose-gold.
“Ash of cherry blossom for Aki.” I gestured to the powders. "Ash of plum blossom for Yuki. Two trees that bloom back-to-back."
Both powders sat on the surface barely touching each other.
Daisuke leaned forward.
Aki's mouth had gone soft.
Yuki was staring at the glass like it had spoken to him.
Katsumi picked up the long match. I nodded. She struck it. Natsumi struck one beside her. Two flames lit at the exact same second.
"Aki and Yuki, you both have two burning spirits.” I smiled. "That’s why this drink is called, Twin Flames."
Katsumi lowered her match to Aki's surface.
The shochu caught.
A flame rose, but it did not burn ordinary gold. It bloomed blue. Cobalt at the base, climbing into a paler ice-blue at the rim, with tiny bright sparks lifting off the surface like fireflies.
“Wow.” Aki stepped back.
Then, the cherry blossom dust caught the heat and threw it back as glittering specks of pale violet.
Aki gasped at once. “That’s fucking amazing.”
Natsumi lowered her match to Yuki's surface.
Yuki's flame appeared as rose-gold. Pink at the base, climbing into a deep blush at the rim and sparking with flecks of true gold that lifted, danced, and disappeared.
Next, the plum blossom dust caught and threw warmth around Yuki's face in shimmering drifts of soft red.
“Twin flames.” I held out my hands. “Cobalt and rose. Ice and warmth.”
Sparks rose on both sides. And between them a slow drifting cloud of colored ash mingled in the air.
Hiro whispered, "Holy fuck. That’s impressive."
My other helpers rushed over to make drinks for the others. Once they were done, we all picked up our flaming glasses.
“Now for this one.” I watched the two flames swaying and twisting on my drink. “You do not want to drink through the flame.”
Aki frowned. “I want to drink through mine.”
“Don’t. You must blow them out. These could cause damage.” I swallowed. “Alright. Let’s all blow ours out together. One. Two. Three.”
A collective breath pulled through the room. Then, air rushed forward.
Flames bent, shuddered, and vanished.
A soft whoof rippled across the glasses as cobalt died into smoke and rose-gold collapsed into glowing embers before fading completely. For a heartbeat, nothing remained but thin ribbons of heat curling upward, twisting together, dissolving into the air.
We drank together and it was a harmony of flavor on my tongue sweet, burning floral yumminess mixed with cherry and plum. So lush and intoxicating all at once, just how I saw the twins.
Everyone paused for a few seconds taking in the drink’s details.
Aki loudly laughed. “I knew our drink would be the best of the evening.”
Yuki tilted his glass. “Even beating the Dragon’s.”
Kenji sneered.
The twins cleared their throats.
I smirked. “I would say that everyone’s drink is the best. No one’s drink is better than the other—”
“Except the Lollipop which dominates all.” Hiro gestured to one of my helpers. “I would like one of those by the way.”
She bobbed her head and hurried off.
“I will say this. . .” Toma clutched his chest. “That drink might have been the strongest. I just saw my ancestors and they were judging me.”
Kaede snorted. “I saw your ancestors too and you are right. They were definitely judging you.”
Laughter rose and the Claws began to brag about their drinks.
Behind it all, the violin shifted and the melody lifted into even more playful notes.
“Alright.” I headed back over to Kenji. “It’s time for dinner. Ladies, please let the Fangs and our other guests in.”
“Oh no.” Hiro frowned. “Do we really have to?”
“Behave.” I sucked my teeth. “Oh and my slave—”
“He’ll be fine.” Kenji took my hand. “She can continue to watch him.”
I sighed and lowered my voice. “Must you be so possessive?”
“I’m a dragon, Tora. We hoard.”
I rolled my eyes and looked at the woman in charge of my slave. “Bring him near the table, so he can see me, please. Oh, and let him know he can eat.”
Kenji groaned and guided me away.
Okay. This event is almost done. We just have the dinner, contest, and a little karaoke and then I’m cuddling in bed with my man.
As we approached the table, everyone took their seats.
Hiro sat on my right and Kenji lowered on the chair to my left.
Meanwhile, the Claws took their chairs throughout the table leaving spaces here and there.
And to my surprise the twins had invited Katsumi and Natsumi to come along, allowing the women to sit across from them.
Seconds later, the dragon-shadow uncoiled from Kenji's shoulders and rose. It was still massive, a good thirty feet of shimmering wispy scales and black shadowed smoke.
Intrigued, I watched as the beast stretched up and narrowed its golden eyes at the giant dragon claw breaching the ceiling above us. It tilted its head. Then it floated upward and circled the claw once, slow, sniffing along the gold talons.
The violinist finished her solo and the jazz band took over, jumping right into a fun beat.
Then, the doors opened and a parade of boisterous fashion themed in sparkling black marched in, telling me that this dinner would be anything but calm.
Because the Fangs had not just entered.
They had motherfucking arrived.
Hiro loudly groaned. “We should have never invited them.”
All I could do was stare with my mouth open.
Oh my god!