Chapter 48
KAI
The air is tense on Halloween night.
The boys and I watch for suspicious behavior while standing in line to get into Levels.
Rowan, as Zeus, has his arms crossed over his celestial white tunic.
The bronze cuffs around his wrists glint as bright as his crown of laurels and lightning bolts.
Almost every girl glances his way, but he barely acknowledges them.
Not when his attention is focused on another girl he’s waiting for.
Luke, on the other hand, smiles at every girl who looks at him. He effortlessly draws attention in his sea blue Poseidon costume. A crown of coral and seashells weave around his thick, blond hair. He leans up against the wall, his hands in his pockets, and his trident strapped across his back.
For once, no one glances over at me. As Hades, I look like I’m carved from the shadows in my dark cape, leather black chest plate, and pants.
My skull face painting hides who I am and it won’t flake off under any hand or fist. The only telltale signs of my identity are my green eyes that glow from the black and white paint.
And my hands fidgeting at my sides.
“Kai, I can feel you twitching beside me,” Rowan whispers, “do you need a second?”
Goddammit.
“No.” I clear my throat and straighten up. “I’m fine.”
Luke sighs and claps my back. “I know it’s stressful, man.” He perks up. “Just think of this like a game. You don’t know what’s gonna go down, but you can mentally prepare for it.”
“And you’re not gonna go through it alone,” Rowan reminds me.
The thought eases me up a little bit.
Until the anxiety sets in.
We’re not walking into a normal hockey game. There’s no rules keeping us in line tonight and we’re fumbling for strategies for a game we don’t know how to play.
When we move up the line, our phones buzz at the same time.
WALLACE
Checked in two guys with the Viper tattoo on their wrists. Look out for the one in the silk purple shirt and the one with fake money on his green suit.
“Fuck sakes,” Rowan mutters.
Anxiety grips my neck like a chokehold. I look up from my phone just in time to see two Vipers walk into the club. The one in purple whispers something to his friend who tosses his head back and laughs. The words “lust” and “greed” are threaded into their sleeves.
“Those costumes don’t look threatening.” Luke makes a face and shrugs. “Maybe they’re just here for a good time?”
“Costumes like that also make it easier for them to run if something happens,” Rowan warns.
Luke hums in agreement. Then, he goes still and lets out a whistle.
“Speaking of costumes…”
Luke nods at something behind me.
The air suddenly gets hot. It grows charged like a frayed wire, stirring up everything in its wake. I turn around. Car lights flash onto the sidewalk, illuminating Diana and Stella as they strut towards us. Stella is done up in shimmering gold and lightning bolts.
But all eyes are on Diana.
She’s Persephone reincarnated with her wavy dark hair and crown of wilting flowers.
My gaze traces the long slit running up Diana’s black gown.
Lace gloves cover her arms, matching the elegant mask that twines and curls around her brows and over her nose to hide her face.
But I still see her. I can see traces of the girl I know in that sly, wicked little smile that’s as red as the string of beads slinging down from her corset to circle her hips.
Like Hades, I’d breach the dark to be with her, too.
Boys stop to leer at Diana’s body.
“Damn! I’d pound that.”
My pulse spikes. Something dark and possessive overtakes me, controlling the arms that draw Diana in so close, her perfume becomes the air I breathe.
Diana gasps. “Kai, what are you—”
“Those creeps are staring at your ass.” I stand behind her and glare at every ogling boy. They back down, their eyes dropping away.
Diana’s lips quirk up. She bats her lashes at me with a challenge flashing in her eyes. “Oh, does that bother you, Kai? To have other boys look at me?”
My jaw tenses, yet my lips are soft as they brush her ear. “Careful, princess. You know what happens to that pussy when I get stressed.”
“Hm.” Diana snaps her attention back to the line. “Wonder if you’ll actually be able to follow through with what you say.”
There’s a bite to her words that makes my brows furrow.
“Tickets and ID, please.”
In front of us, Rowan steps up with Stella. He turns to her with a stern, tired look.
“Please tell me you remembered to bring your ticket.” He huffs.
“Of course I did,” Stella insists. “I’m more responsible than you realize.”
She sticks her fingers into her top and pulls out a pink cardholder to show off her ticket.
Rowan’s nostrils flare. “Are you serious?” he hisses. “You’re keeping important cards in that?”
“This cardholder is a perfectly safe and ethical place to store your things,” Stella answers matter-of-fact. “It’s made of vegan leather.”
“That’s not the point—” Rowan draws in a sharp breath and snatches the cardholder. “I’m storing this in my pocket to keep it from falling out.”
Stella gawks back at him. “B-But what if I need it?”
“You can call me if you do,” Rowan quips. “Lucky you because I saw tons of spiders inside.”
“If you didn’t have a face like that, I’d bludgeon you with that lightning bolt,” she grumbles.
With both of their tickets scanned, Wallace and Shelby check off their names on the iPad. Before Rowan heads in, he nudges Wallace close and whispers something in his ear.
Diana catches the interaction with knitted brows. She tugs on my shirt.
“What’s wrong?” she whispers. “What are they talking about?”
She’s onto us.
I force a calm smile on my face and shrug. “Rowan’s probably telling Wallace to save him before Stella makes him lose his shit tonight.”
Diana doesn’t laugh. Faint irritation crosses her face. Her worried eyes narrow in suspicion.
The urge to tell her the truth eats away at me. But I have to hold back. She shouldn’t have to worry about more people than she needs to tonight.
The tension in the air grows thicker when we step into Levels.
The cold night air dies under the smothering heat rising around the club.
Skeletons hang from the walls, cobwebs crawling with fake spiders drape around the LED-lit stair railings, and hazy smoke swirls the ceiling.
Over our heads, the mantra “bad decisions only” glows neon red in the dark.
People don’t hesitate to take that mantra seriously.
Vape smoke clouds the air in a sweet haze, the floors are sticky with spilled booze, but no one cares. They dance and sloppily make out to the DJ’s beat on the dancefloor.
Without another word, the six of us split up to get into position.
Diana turns to follow Stella up the stairs towards the lounge.
“Hey.” I gently take her hand, drawing her down a step.
Diana looks over her shoulder at me, her brows raised.
I lift my lips to her ear. “Are we okay?”
“Why wouldn’t we be?”
“You just seem—”
“Hey, Kai!” Luke beckons me over to the bar. “Let’s go!”
“Merde.” I squeeze Diana’s hand before I look back up at her. “We’ll talk after all this is over, okay?”
Diana snatches her hand away. “You might want to make sure you don’t have any outstanding assignments before you make promises like that.”
She snaps around and goes up the stairs. I watch her go, frustration and confusion riling up inside of me.
Sophia. Simon. And now an angry Diana.
The night hasn’t even started, and shit is already going down.