Chapter 4 #2
I slide into the car, pull the door shut behind me, and stop pretending I don’t know exactly who I’m hunting for.
The party’s been going for two fucking hours, and Rowan still hasn’t shown up. Guess he wasn’t lying when he said he wasn’t coming.
Semantics.
If he hasn’t shown up in half an hour, I’ll go get him myself. Him and that mouthy friend of his. I didn’t miss the way Lucan’s attention kept drifting back to his friend earlier.
I brace a hand on the windowsill and look out at the dark, at the planets hanging low tonight, too close and too bright over Sero.
It’s the kind of night people make bad decisions. Like ignoring a direct invitation and making me come find them.
“Do I catch the big Ciaran Virel actually waiting for his date?” Lucan punches my shoulder as he comes to stand beside me.
“Fuck off,” I growl. “I’m not waiting.”
For fuck’s sake.
He just grins at me. “I don’t know. Weren’t you? I’ve gotta say, that first-year has balls if he really doesn’t show.”
“Oh, he’ll show.”
Lucan tips his head, studying me with that lazy, knowing grin that makes me want to shove him into the champagne tower. “You said that an hour ago too. When he walks in, at least pretend you weren’t counting the doors.”
“I wasn’t counting the doors.”
“Course not.” He claps my shoulder. “You were counting the minutes.”
I turn away from the window, lean a hip against the wall, and take in the party.
It’s already a mess, with bodies grinding and alcohol everywhere.
In the middle of it, Rafe is halfway up the champagne tower, slurping from the top glass, the idiot, and I shake my head. That guy will never fucking learn.
“Are you going to tell me why your dad wants you to keep an eye on… what’s his name?”
“Rowan.” I flinch at the easy way the name rolls off my tongue and snarl when Lucan chuckles, clearly hearing it too. “And I’m not telling you shit, because he hasn’t told me anything either.”
“Really? Interesting.”
A group of girls dances together nearby, bodies glued close, hips rolling as they stare at us the way you’d eye dessert.
“Interesting how?”
Lucan’s grin widens. “Maybe you care more than you think you do.”
Before I can tell him to fuck off, he’s already moving, spreading his arms as he makes his way toward the giggling girls and somehow makes the whole thing look effortless enough to be annoying.
“Oh, and three guesses who Rafe was fighting earlier in the club,” he throws over his shoulder as he lets himself be touched by his new fans. “Adrian fucking Voss.”
Of fucking course it was Adrian. The Vosses have been sticking their noses where they don’t belong for years, and it was clear in the canteen Adrian has already decided Rowan needs protecting from me.
“Still mad about the Marius thing?” I ask.
Lucan shoots me a look. “He spent an entire party following Marius around after being told no.”
“Ah.”
“Exactly.”
Apparently tonight he made the same mistake with my cousin.
Somewhere behind us, another argument is already brewing.
Then the front doors open again, and this time, Rowan walks in with his friend from the canteen. He’s dressed as if he still thinks this is a normal invitation. His shirt is buttoned nearly to his throat.
I let my gaze drag lower.
His jacket fits better than I expected, but only because he’s built too lean to disappear inside it. Every line of him looks controlled, shoulders squared, posture careful, working very hard not to take up more space than necessary.
His hair is already a little mussed from the night air outside, pale enough to catch the light the second he steps in. His green eyes move across the room with the careful focus of someone trying not to look lost.
Two girls near the entryway are already halfway wrapped around each other, laughing between kisses, everyone else in the room forgotten. Rowan’s lips part just slightly.
Well, that’s interesting.
A second later, he catches himself, lifting his chin and squaring his shoulders as though he can force himself back under control through sheer stubbornness. His fingers find the dark band at his wrist, tugging at it before dropping away, and my gaze lingers as I realize he still hasn’t noticed me.
If this was going to be too much for him, he should’ve stayed home. Instead he showed up anyway, stubborn enough to walk straight into the kind of place most people would avoid.
I think of going over there, welcoming him into the lion’s den personally, but Lucan is already moving, all charm and easy smiles as he slides in beside them, claiming the space.
It pisses me off, even though he’s doing exactly what I would’ve asked him to do.
Lucan says something to Rowan’s friend, hand lifting in invitation. I can’t hear him from here, but a second later the guy laughs and lets himself be steered toward the bar.
And just like that, Rowan is left standing there alone and easy to reach.
For a second, I almost regret letting Lucan get there first. Almost. Because he notices it too. I see it in the way he stills, his gaze flicking over the crowd as he realizes, for the first time since he walked through the door, that he’s here by himself.
One of our house guards appears at his side, murmuring something near his ear.
Rowan startles, looking immediately toward the bar where Lucan disappeared with his friend. A second later, he follows the guard toward the hallway, moving with the wariness of someone who already knows this is a bad idea.
At least he’s finally heading in the right direction.
By the time I reach the corridor, they’re disappearing down the private staircase toward the room where I had the Noctis installed earlier.