Chapter 30 Fury and Fallout
FURY AND FALLOUT
Irefuse to think about Kai, Holden, or the rest of the Vestra currently threatening to live rent-free in my brain.
Instead, I throw myself into the chaos of tidescast, with Gideon, Wynn, and Everett explaining the nuances of the game. I quickly understand their love for the sport. It’s fast-paced, competitive, strategic, and brutal in a surprisingly captivating way.
When the final horn blares and Thornhurst’s victory flashes across the scoreboard, the stands erupt. I’m on my feet before I realize it, cheering with strangers, caught up in something that feels dangerously close to normal.
As the crowd begins to leave, I don’t look for Holden or Kai. Instead, I fall into easy conversation with Gideon as we wait for Scarlet. He asks me more about Earth and answers my questions about Bryxton.
“Wait—you only have one moon?” His eyes grow comically wide.
His curiosity isn’t laced with hidden agendas or suspicion, but genuine interest.
“Trust me,” I tell him. “It’s one of the least shocking differences.”
Scarlet is brimming with energy when she finds us, her hair twisted into an elegant knot, wearing a cute blue dress and heels that make her legs go on for miles. She looks like victory personified. “Ready to have some fun?”
It’s the only invitation I need.
We pile into Everett’s glider, a detail that has Holden sending me half a dozen messages in the five minutes it takes us to reach Keyhouse.
The bar is louder than I expected—music thrumming through the walls, laughter and conversation spilling out every time the door swings open. Warm light shines across the wet pavement, and for a moment I stand still, savoring the mist on my face and the anticipation of going out.
Inside, it’s warm and dimly lit, the scent of citrus and spices mixing with the buzz of magic in the air.
Tables ring a central dance floor, and the long bar glows faintly from the enchanted lights overhead.
We head to the middle, where the tidescast team takes up several tables.
Laughter and inside jokes flow between them.
Scarlet steers us to one of the emptier tables and introduces me to a handful of players. Barnes, the captain, is one of the few names that I recognize. Wynn fits in like an honorary teammate.
Further down, Cassandra and Veronica sit with their heads tipped together, whispering. Only Cassandra’s on the team, but Veronica’s presence leaves me distracted, wondering if Kai’s here.
My seat at the end leaves my back exposed to half the tavern. I try to ignore the niggling reminder to watch for threats, a habit that was born in prison.
“I need a drink for this. What do you guys want?” Gideon asks Everett and me.
“Water, please.” Not only because of my lack of funds, but the last thing I need is another reason for the guys to think I’m a liability.
Everett fires off a drink before Gideon heads in the direction of the bar.
I slide my chair forward, knocking my crystal link to the floor in the process. It stops, hovering midair before slipping back onto the table with a soft gust of wind.
“I thought you were a Ground Elemental,” I say.
He raises two fingers. “Ground and Air.”
Relief unfurls in my chest. “Is it common to have multiple elements?”
“It’s not uncommon.”
“Everything feels uncommon these days,” I admit.
“You need to give yourself a break. You’ve only been here for two weeks.”
When Gideon returns with our drinks, I thank him before turning the conversation to them. “Okay, if you were brand new to a dimension you didn’t know existed, what would be the first questions you’d ask?”
“Enemies. First and foremost,” Everett says. “Then the best drink.”
Everett grins.
“But everyone insists it’s safe here.” My question is loaded, recalling Daire’s cryptic warning and the recent Veilbreaker attack.
Everett’s smile dims as he discreetly glances toward the rest of the group that’s distracted with their own conversation, before he lowers his voice. “Just because we aren’t actively at war doesn’t mean we don’t have enemies.”
“Who are our enemies?”
“Who isn’t?” Everett asks. “Currently, our biggest threat is the Unseelie, but most of them are too big of cowards to fight us.” He takes a long drink.
“I thought the Veil prevented others from reaching Bryxton?” I ask.
Everett scoffs as Gideon nods. “It’s supposed to.”
I wait for one of them to continue, but when they don’t, I prod. “What does that mean?”
Gideon glances both directions, then swallows. “The Veil doesn’t impact the Unseelie. They’re different than Gods or even The Court, two more of our enemies.”
“Have you seen an Unseelie?” I ask, matching his lowered tone.
Gideon nods, swallowing more of his drink. “A group tried to trap me a couple of years ago. Tricky sons of bitches. They can look just like us.”
I’m about to ask a million questions when I feel it—the unmistakable pull that a member of the Vestra is nearby. Holden’s standing near the bar, a bottle of alcohol in hand, his gaze on me. He tips his head in the direction of the door and heads outside without waiting to see if I’ll follow.
Excuses are exponentially harder to come by when I can’t fake a trip to the restroom. “Sorry. I think I saw someone from class, and I need to ask them about an assignment due Monday.” I push my chair back.
The rain cools my flushed skin as I step outside, heading to the right without hesitation to find Holden. Knowing where he is, is one of a million details I continue to ignore.
Holden takes a pull from the amber bottle, and the rain stops falling on me, hitting what I assume is an air shield or perhaps a charm. Once again, I don’t ask, and he doesn’t volunteer. “We talked about not taking drinks from strangers.”
“Gideon and Everett aren’t strangers.”
“You’re supposed to be sitting with Scarlet,” he continues. “And shielding.”
“I am shielding. I’ve been shielding.” It’s one of the few things I’m confident about. “Any other critiques?”
“You shouldn’t be sitting between them. If Griffin or Daire showed up, it would be a bloodbath.”
I scoff. “Oh, good. I was worried I’d miss the misogyny from Earth.”
Anger is a bolt of lightning in his gaze before he takes another drink. “Don’t mistake trivial human behaviors with the power and strength of an imprint.”
A flippant remark about him and Lochlan believing the imprint is merely a curse is a thorn on my tongue, slicing my cheek as I bite it back.
“Neither would be able to control themselves if they saw you that close to another male. It wouldn’t even be a choice.”
“Bullshit.” I nearly remind him that I watched him and Kai interact with other women all damn night. Instead, I stick to safer waters. “Kandi touches Daire and Griffin every damn chance she gets, and you never see me causing a bloodbath.”
She touches all of them.
I start to turn, but vines wrap around my bare ankles, weaving halfway up my shins.
“Are you kidding me?” I seethe. “I swear. If these are poisonous or give me a rash, so help me—”
“This isn’t Earth. You need to understand there are consequences.” He stalks closer, his dark eyes flickering between mine as a wave of sandalwood washes over me. “You hold their lives in your hands.”
“They’re in a meeting and aren’t coming tonight. So relax.”
The vines tighten. “It’s not just Daire and Griffin’s lives in your hands.”
“I guess that makes us even.” I grab one of the vines, surprised by how easily I can rip it away from my skin.
He doesn’t respond, his jaw strained.
“I’m not your enemy. Stop treating me like I am.” I pivot, and this time, he doesn’t try to stop me.
“Get your damn shields back up,” he says.
I flip him off and continue into Keyhouse.
The noise hits me like a wall—music, voices, clinking glasses. I weave through the crowd, forcing my shoulders to relax, my jaw to unclench. Holden’s warnings echo in my thoughts, tangling with my own frustration.
I didn’t ask to hold anyone’s life in my hand.
I’m not even sure it’s true.
Scarlet’s gaze meets mine the moment I reach the table. She rises to meet me, concern arching her brow. “Everything okay?”
“Just Holden being Holden.”
“Fuck him. Fuck all of them. Come on. We still have three hours left until curfew, and we’re going to take full advantage.” She links our fingers, tugging me through the crowds to the dance floor.
The beat pulses through my body as bodies sway around us, lights flashing. It’s intoxicating. My shields stay up, but slowly, my guard lowers.
The heady feeling of forgetting—of not caring—is euphoric, and I lean into it, dancing with her until my feet ache.
“I need a drink,” Scarlet says, waving in the direction of the bar.
My skin is damp with sweat as we weave through the crowd.
I nearly run into her when she stops abruptly.
“Shit.” She starts to turn, but my world narrows to one moment, one sight I can’t look away from: Kai and Veronica. She’s clutching his shirt, then lifting to her toes, pressing her lips against his.
His body is stiff, his arms loose at his sides, but he doesn’t pull away. Doesn’t push her away.
My stomach twists violently, and my breaths come in rapid, shallow gasps. I know I shouldn’t care, know this shouldn’t affect me, but the world tilts as heat crawls up my spine, chasing ice in waves as my cindrel flares to life.
My pulse pounds in my ears, drowning out the music and voices.
I should look away. I need to look away. But my body won’t obey, frozen in place as my breath is ripped from my chest.
Scarlet shifts closer. “Shit. Let’s get out of here,” she whispers urgently.
“I’m fine.”
I’m not. My blood is too hot, too sticky, my hands too cold.
I feel Holden appear next to me before he silently swears. “Brielle, what period were we discussing in the glider?” He steps closer. “Remember the Titans and the Fae? Creation? Did you get to the part about angels and demons yet?”
I can’t focus on his words, much less his questions.
“Focus. Keep your shields up and breathe.” He stands so close I could sway into him.