Rival Demons (18 page)

I trained my eyes on the cards in front of me,
concentrating on the strange demon symbols and refusing to look at
him as he entered. Which of course lasted about six seconds.

My eyes completely betrayed me, flicking toward
the door quickly, then back to my cards. But what I saw in that
split second made my heart stop in my chest. I suddenly felt like I
couldn't breathe. My face grew hot and the space around me felt
like it was closing in. All plans to act like I didn't care and
that I wasn't thinking about him flew right out the window.

I stared up at him, not understanding.

Jackson stood just inside the door to the suite
dressed from head to toe in a fancy black suit tailored perfectly
to his muscular body. Under the suit jacket, he wore a dark green
button-up shirt with the top two buttons left undone. The green
brought out his eyes, which were now looking straight at me.

My hands shook, so I laid the cards down on the
table and put them in my lap so no one would see. For a split
second, I let hope lift my heart up into the air about seven feet
above my body. Had he come to apologize to me? Maybe ask me to a
nice dinner so he could explain everything? I believed it so much
that I almost stood and walked to him, dying for that conversation.
But before I could stand or make a move, the door at the back of
the suite swung open, the sound of high heels clicking on the tiled
floor.

I turned my head to look, completely unprepared
for what I would see.

Lea walked into the room, her hands up to her
ear still adjusting an unruly earring. She was dressed in a
floor-length gown adorned with sparkling silver beads.

"Are you ready to go?" she asked Jackson. "Why
they insisted on this dinner is beyond me, but I'll be glad when
it's over."

My mouth hung open, and I had to force myself to
breathe. My eyes saw what was going on, but my brain was two steps
behind, not wanting to understand.

Under the table, Mary Anne's hand sought mine.
She squeezed hard, and I swear it was the only thing that kept me
from screaming.

"You guys have a dinner tonight?" Mary Anne
asked.

"Yes," Lea said, rolling her eyes. "Something
the council insisted on throwing for me. If they really wanted to
honor their possible future Queen, they would have let me wear my
own clothes to this stupid thing."

"You look nice," Jackson said. It was the first
thing he'd said since he walked in the door, and I wished I could
shove the words back down his throat.

Was this a date? He was obviously here to pick
her up and walk with her to this dinner. Did that mean they were
actually going there together? And flaunting it right in my
face.

Jackson's eyes met mine again, and I put all
those questions and all the hurt I was feeling into my eyes. His
jaw tensed and there was sadness and regret in his eyes, but I had
no idea what to make of it. Was he sorry he was hurting me? Or
sorry I caught him dating another woman?

My breath came in short bursts like machine gun
fire.

"Have fun," Mary Anne said.

Jackson shoved his hands in his pockets. "It's
no big deal," he said, lying through his teeth. "Hopefully it won't
last too long."

"Amen to that," Lea said. She finally got her
earring in. She put her arm through Jackson's and motioned toward
the door. "Let's get this over with."

Jackson peeled his gaze from mine, then turned
and escorted Lea from the room.

When the door closed, the suite was dead silent
except for the sound of my heart pounding out of my chest.

What the hell had just happened? He'd always
insisted there was nothing romantic between him and Lea, but that
didn't look like nothing to me.

"Harper, your turn is next," Essex said, pushing
my cards toward me.

I ignored him, knowing the game was over for me
now.

"I think Harper needs a second," Mary Anne said.
She turned toward me, concern etched on her pale face. "I'm sure
that wasn't what it looked like, you know? I mean, Lea didn't even
sound like she wanted to go."

All I could do was shake my head and stare at
the door.

"Am I not understanding something?" Essex
asked.

Mary Anne sighed. "It's complicated," she
said.

For the first time since we'd been underground,
the lack of fresh air really bothered me. When did this room get so
small and stuffy? I felt a trickle of sweat on the back of my neck.
I needed to breathe. I needed to feel wind in my hair and on my
face. I couldn't just sit here letting the walls close in on
me.

I stood up, not even knowing where I was going
to go.

"Wait," Mary Anne said, following close behind
me. "What are you doing?"

As soon as the question was voiced, I knew the
answer.

"I'm going to follow them."

"No, this is a bad idea," Mary Anne said,
tugging on my arm. "What if he sees you?"

"I'll be discreet," I said, not letting her slow
me down.

I opened the door and peered outside. They were
no longer in view down the corridor. I needed to get moving or I
would lose them.

"Harper, don't do this," she said.

"Listen, if there's really nothing to it, then
I'll go, I'll be bored for an hour, I'll come back. But if there's
more..."

What then? I didn't even know myself. The
thought of watching him kiss her or hold her close made me feel
dizzy and sick to my stomach.

"You'll just get hurt," she said. "It's not
worth it. Just wait until he gets home and talk to him about
it."

I laughed, but the sound was hollow and joyless.
"Yeah, because that's worked so well up to this point," I said.
"Jackson's such an open book."

Mary Anne had no argument there. She knew it was
true.

She also knew she wasn't going to be able to
stop me from going. "Be careful," she said. "Please."

"I will," I said, summoning my power and
disappearing down the hallway.

I caught up with them in the marketplace. They
were headed up the stairs to a hallway I'd never been down
before.

I followed from a good distance, hoping Jackson
wouldn't be able to feel me if I stayed far enough back. Lea's arm
was still entwined with his and every time he smiled at something
she said, I felt a dagger twist in my side.

We traveled past rooms that looked like standard
housing before we came to a large archway. I was careful to stay
behind other couples or just around doorways so he wouldn't see me.
Unlike a lot of the demons here, I knew Jackson could see through
glamours if he wanted to. Several dressed-up couples turned and
walked through the arched doorway, but from where I stood behind an
attractive couple in matching red outfits, I couldn't see anything.
Still, this seemed to be the place. Jackson and Lea disappeared
into the room.

I let out a silent sigh of relief. No secret
doors or strange obstacles.

Unfortunately, I almost missed the red couple
stopping mid-stride to adjust the man's collar. I nearly ran right
into them, which would have been disastrous. I narrowly missed
them, running into the wall instead. I bit my tongue to keep from
crying out. It hurt, but all I could think about was the pain I was
feeling on the inside.

I needed to know one way or the other.

Behind me, a decent line had started to form.
Demons all dressed up and waiting to get into the event of the
season, no doubt. A party for the future Queen of the Northern
Kingdom. I'm sure everyone in the Underground hadn't been invited.
There were too many people. This crowd must just be the council and
the more prominent members of the community. Essex certainly hadn't
been invited.

I did remember hearing a woman ask him to make a
dress for her for a party. She'd said it was a very important event
and that she needed an original creation. She must have really
wanted to make an impression on Princess Lazalea. Well, she'd be in
for a rude awakening when she learned that Lea preferred leather to
sequins.

When the line died down a little, I finally made
my way into the room, my eyes searching for Jackson in the crowd. I
could feel his presence somewhere toward the front of the room
where a large oval emerald served as a stage. Round tables had been
set up to surround an area that seemed to be cleared for dancing.
To me, it looked like a typical arrangement for someone's wedding
or party. I hid in the back of the room behind a glass
sculpture.

When I spotted Jackson and Lea in the crowd,
they had parted ways and were talking to different groups. Relief
lessened a tiny bit of the fear pressing on my heart, but I knew it
wasn't a definitive answer. Not yet.

I watched him talking to various groups of
demons for about half an hour before most of the guests had found
their way to their tables. When Andros took the stage, the talking
died down and everyone's eyes turned to the front of the room.

His beautiful wife, Ourelia, stood by his side
dressed in a tight-fitting white gown that glittered in the light.
Jackson and Lea took their seats at the front of the room. They sat
close, but as far as I could see from here, they weren't
touching.

I hated the speed of my heartbeat. Had I really
turned into this jealous person who was willing to sneak into a
party just to watch her somewhat ex with another woman? This wasn't
who I wanted to be. But I couldn't force myself to leave. If there
was something going on between them, I needed to know. Ever since
he'd first introduced her to me, I had felt there was so much more
between them than he was telling me. I knew in my heart I was about
to find out what that was.

Something strange was definitely going on with
him lately. He wasn't acting like himself around me.

I had that feeling in my legs like I wanted to
be ready to run at any second. As if my body understood that I was
standing in the middle of a very dangerous situation.

At first, I hardly heard a word Andros said. He
was talking about how he knew Lea, but for me, the words went in
one ear and out the other.

I struggled to hold onto my invisibility. My
emotions were all over the place, and concentration took more
effort than it should have. I stared out at all of the smiling
faces of these strangers and wondered how my life had brought me to
this moment. I didn't belong here. But did Jackson? Was this really
where he'd belonged the whole time? He certainly didn't belong in
Peachville.

And where did that leave us?

"I can't tell you how proud I am to be here
tonight honoring Princess Lazalea, the rightful heir of the
Northern Kingdom and our future Queen."

Lea and Jackson stood as the crowd clapped. All
of her earlier annoyance was gone from her face and instead she
looked exactly as you would expect a princess to look at this type
of affair. But why was Jackson standing with her?

"Our struggle against the Order of Shadows has
been a difficult one, but no two citizens have gone as far in the
fight as these two standing before us here tonight," Andros
continued. "While most of us were still too afraid to speak out
against what was happening to our people, Denaer refused to accept
that his brother was gone. Even when his own father was too scared
and defeated to go after Aerden or even beg the King for help,
Denaer was relentless in his search for his twin brother, finally
going so far as to travel across worlds. We've missed you dear
friend, and I for one am so glad you are home.

"The war, as we know, is far from over, but we
can all take inspiration from these two who both were willing to
risk everything for their kingdom and their people. Your parents
may have made some mistakes in their existence, but promising you
to each other was one of the best decisions they ever made. Here's
to Princess Lazalea and her chosen mate, the future King and Queen
of the Northern Kingdom."

The demons rose to their feet, clapping, but the
sound was muffled. In my own ears all I could hear was the sound of
those four words.
Future King and Queen.

I felt the breath knocked out of me.

Jackson and Lea were promised to each other.
They were to be married. Jackson was her future king. The truth of
it tumbled over me like a rock rolling down a steep hill.

It all made sense now. Why he had to break up
with me before we got down here. Why he couldn't be seen kissing me
or even getting too close or showing too much interest. As far as
these demons knew, he was meant for their princess.

And wasn't he?

I certainly didn't hear him denying it. In fact,
he stood there at the front of the room with her now, smiling and
playing his part. He was never planning to be with me long term.
Once his brother was saved, he was always going to come back here,
wasn't he? And why not? Who wouldn't want to marry a beautiful
woman and lead a kingdom?

My heart shattered in my chest. When he first
told me we couldn't be together down here, I think I always assumed
it was a temporary situation. Even if he planned to stay down here,
I knew I wouldn't stay. And in my heart, I felt that when I left,
he would follow me. We would be back to our old relationship
eventually. We just needed some time to get through this,
right?

But Jackson had come back here knowing he was
taking up his old place as Lea's betrothed. Her future husband.

Just thinking it made my chest tight. I saw my
hand flicker in front of me, visible for a split second.

I clasped my hand over my mouth to keep from
crying out. I was scared to even take a step, afraid I would
collapse then and there. And when Jackson took Lea in his arms and
kissed her forehead the way he'd kissed mine countless times, I
felt my knees begin to buckle.

The demons in the room took their seats again,
waiting for Lea to address her people. For one moment as the crowd
adjusted and settled, Jackson's gaze moved to the back of the room.
He looked straight at me, his eyes widening. We stared at each
other through the crowded space, the moment becoming a breaking. A
shattering. A painful awakening. A goodbye to all we'd known
together.