Shadowspell (6 page)

“Look, can we go inside now?” I said. “Before Finn catches up with us?”

“Of course! Come on, follow me.”

I noticed several things at once as Kimber led Keane and me into the club. First was that the music was so loud I felt like my eardrums might explode. Second was that it was absolutely packed with people, not all that many of whom looked like teens. Third was that the place positively reeked of roses.

To the Fae, the red rose indicates an affiliation with the Unseelie Court, and the white rose indicates an affiliation with the Seelie Court. Apparently, this was an integrated party, because red and white roses were arranged
everywhere
. There were huge centerpieces on the tables. There were garlands. There were potted roses lined up against each wall. There were even streamers of them hanging down from the ceiling.

I shot a questioning look at Kimber. She shrugged and looked unhappy.

“Three guesses who chose the decorations,” she shouted over the music.

But of course, one guess was plenty. It made me mad that Alistair was ruining Kimber’s party by making it into a political statement. It also made me realize that my dad might have been right to believe my appearance here could have political implications.

God, I hated politics! I wanted nothing whatsoever to do with all the crap that went on as the Fae candidates jockeyed for position, but being the daughter of one of those candidates dragged me into the thick of things anyway.

“Come on,” Kimber yelled, taking me by the hand and towing me through the crowd. “Let’s get you guys something to drink.”

I checked over my shoulder to make sure Keane was following. He was, but the look on his face said he already didn’t like this party. He wasn’t quite sneering, but it was close. Looking around at the partiers, I could see why.

Almost everyone was dressed in their semiformal best, and even in my quick glance around, I could tell this was a highbrow party. There were way more adults than you’d expect at a teen’s party, and most of them carried themselves with the snobby arrogance of the filthy rich. The teens in the crowd looked just as snooty, like they’d fit right in at some exclusive British boarding school. I knew Ethan and Kimber were far from poor, but neither of them put out the kind of “I’m too good for you” vibe most of these people did.

It was definitely not Keane’s crowd. Although Knights are members of the Sidhe—the aristocracy of Faerie—the rest of the Sidhe treat them like glorified servants, and I presumed that held true for sons of Knights, like Keane. The Sidhe, especially the ones who were born in Faerie, still thought racism and classism were socially acceptable. I wasn’t surprised that he wasn’t feeling entirely comfortable here.

To tell you the truth, it didn’t seem much like my crowd, either. I couldn’t help noticing that no one stopped Kimber to talk as she led us to the bar, and I wondered how many of them even knew—or cared—that she was the birthday girl.

I’d found out from my dad that the official drinking age in Avalon was eighteen, but that the law was rarely enforced. The bar at The Deep was ample proof. I spotted a girl sitting at one end of the bar who couldn’t have been more than fourteen or fifteen, drinking a bottle of beer right under the bartender’s nose.

“It’s an open bar,” Kimber said, “so order whatever you want.”

She ordered a martini—the bartender didn’t bat an eyelash—and Keane ordered a beer, but I stuck to Coke. Living with my alcoholic mom took a lot of the appeal out of alcohol for me. Kimber was the only person I’d ever told about what I considered my shameful secret, and I think she understood intuitively why I didn’t order alcohol. Keane was another matter.

“Coke?” he asked me incredulously. “Are you serious?”

I was blushing again, but it was way too dark in the club for anyone to notice. On the one hand, I didn’t want to seem like a baby. On the other hand, I wasn’t much of a conformist. Just because everyone around me was drinking themselves stupid didn’t mean
I
had to.

“You have a problem with that?” I asked, glaring up at him. My glare got a lot of practice when Keane was around.

“Leave her alone,” Kimber said, startling me by coming to my defense. “She can drink whatever she wants.”

The bartender slapped down a glass of ice with a splash of Coke in it. I picked it up and took a sip, pretending to ignore Keane.

“Quite a party you’ve got here,” Keane said, and even at the decibel level he was shouting, I could hear the disdain in his voice. “You sure they don’t mind breathing the same air as a lowly commoner like me?”

I smacked his shoulder, thinking I should have snuck out on my own. I could have handled the door-under-the-chair trick myself. Of course, that would have meant making my way to the party alone, which was a bad idea (a) because with my sense of direction, I’d have been lost in five minutes flat, and (b) because, hello, people were trying to kill me. Keane might not be a professional bodyguard like Finn, but I’d seen how good a fighter he was, and I trusted him to protect me. I figured sneaking out with him at my side might be a bit reckless, but wasn’t completely moronic like running off by myself would be.

“Could you just
try
not to be a jerk for maybe fifteen minutes in a row?” I asked him as he swigged his beer.

“It’s all right, Dana,” Kimber said with a smile. “Remember, you’ve told me all about him. I knew not to expect genteel manners.” The smile turned into a smirk very like Keane’s second-favorite expression.

“Wow, you really know how to insult a guy,” he said. I think he was trying to sound bored, but it’s hard to sound bored when you’re shouting over music.

Kimber’s eyes sparkled. “Actually, I do, but I’m trying to be a gracious hostess.”

Keane gave her a patently lewd once-over. She looked absolutely fabulous in a slinky red cocktail dress and strappy heels. Even though he was being deliberately rude about it, I couldn’t help noticing the spark of masculine appreciation in Keane’s eyes. I felt a quick stab of jealousy. He’d given me an approving look when he’d first caught sight of me in my party dress, but nothing compared to how he was looking at Kimber.

I was being a total dork about this. Keane was certainly hot, and he was occasionally a nice guy, but I wasn’t interested in him, not in that way. And Kimber was a full-blooded Fae, so
of course
she was prettier than me. I had no excuse for being jealous.

“Looks like you’ve got all the graciousness money can buy,” Keane said to Kimber. “I bet that outfit cost more than I make in a year.”

I opened my mouth to tell him to shut up, hoping Kimber would someday forgive me for bringing this asshole to her birthday party, but she’s pretty good at putting on her bitch face when necessary. Apparently, right now she thought it was necessary.

“Are you suggesting that I’m a snob?” she asked with an arch of an eyebrow. He gave her a “well, duh” look, which didn’t seem to faze her in the least. “One of us is acting snobbish right now, but it isn’t me.”

I “accidentally” stepped on Keane’s foot before he could lob another verbal grenade. “Why don’t you sit here at the bar and be broody and superior,” I told him. “Kimber and I are going to the ladies’ room.” It was the one place I could think of going where Keane and his attitude wouldn’t be able to follow. “We’ll be right back. Right, Kimber?”

She laughed and finished her martini in one big gulp. “Right-o!” she said. “Lead the way.”

Keane looked like he was about to object, but I turned away before he had the chance. Kimber took over the lead after a few feet, since I had no idea where the ladies’ room was. The music, the darkness, and the reek of roses combined to make my head throb. Maybe I should have stayed home after all.

The crowd pressed in on us, and I was jostled every other step. Most of the people here were Fae, which meant practically everyone was taller than me and I couldn’t see anything but the people directly beside and in front of me. All those bodies radiated a lot of heat—especially the Fae, whose body temperatures run higher than humans—and I was once again dripping with sweat, my hair plastered to the back of my neck. I didn’t dare look to see if my fancy silk dress showed sweat stains, because I had a feeling I already knew the answer.

Kimber and I finally broke through the crowd and slipped into the ladies’ room. I almost breathed a sigh of relief until I realized the situation had not improved. The ladies’ room was almost as crowded as the rest of the club, and though it was festooned with roses just like everywhere else, it wasn’t the scent of roses that clogged my nose. The air was so thick with smoke you could cut it with a knife.

Kimber gave a little dismayed whimper and leaned against the wall, closing her eyes. “This is not the kind of party I had in mind,” she muttered, and I knew it was true. Entitled rich kids are the same everywhere—even if they are Fae—and though Kimber had the money to fit in with that clique, it just wasn’t her style.

Trying not to cough from the smoke—cigarette and other—that filled the air, I slung my backpack off my shoulder and unzipped the front compartment.

“I brought you a present,” I told Kimber, hoping to cheer her up.

Her eyes popped open, and her jaw dropped. “You did?”

“Of course I did.” The invitation had specifically said we weren’t to bring gifts, but I figured that applied to Alistair’s cronies and their kids, not Kimber’s real friends. I pulled out a small, neatly wrapped package and handed it to her. “I hope you like it.”

“I love it already,” she assured me. Her eyes were shiny, and her lower lip quivered dangerously.

“Well, open it,” I urged.

Kimber bit her lip and picked at the tape, unwrapping the little box so carefully she could probably reuse the wrapping paper if she wanted to. She lifted the lid, and then pulled away the fuzzy cotton padding to reveal the contents.

What do you buy for your Fae best friend who you’ve only known a handful of weeks and whose father is rich enough she can mostly buy whatever she wants? I’d agonized over the question for days, poking around on eBay hoping to find something that would leap out at me.

What I’d eventually chosen was a handcrafted glass pendant. It was a gorgeous teal blue Chinese dragon hung on a black satin cord. The color had instantly reminded me of Kimber’s eyes, and the dragon had reminded me of her fiery temperament and courage.

Kimber lifted the pendant out of the cotton, and her lip was quivering again. This time, she wasn’t able to prevent a couple of tears from spilling over. I was so glad I’d decided to ignore the no-gifts thing.

“It’s beautiful,” she said breathlessly. “Here, hold this.” She shoved the box and paper at me so she could undo the clasp and put the pendant on. Then she checked it out in the mirror, her hand caressing its sleek curves. It didn’t go with the red dress at all, but she obviously didn’t mind.

For the second time that night, I found myself on the receiving end of an exuberant hug.

“Thank you so much!” she said. She let go of me and brushed away the tears. “This party was a total nightmare until you showed. And this is the best present I’ve ever gotten.”

My throat was feeling a little tight, and my eyes were stinging. But that was probably just from all the smoke. “Happy birthday.”

Her radiant smile made me glad I’d come.

chapter five

We stayed in the ladies’ room for maybe five minutes, tops, before the smoke drove us back out into the club. From where we were standing, I couldn’t see the bar, but I assumed Keane was still waiting there for us. I didn’t much feel like forging my way through the crowd again, but despite what a jerk Keane was being, I didn’t think it was fair to leave him all alone when he didn’t know anyone and clearly felt uncomfortable. He had, after all, made it possible for me to get here in the first place. Besides, he was my bodyguard for the evening, and it would probably be smart to keep my body close enough for him to guard it.

Kimber led the way once more, and I followed in her wake. My head still throbbed, and now I felt a little dizzy on top of it, probably from all that smoke. I almost tripped over my own feet, and I stopped a moment to take a couple of breaths of relatively clean air. And that was when my night went to hell.

In the few seconds I’d paused, the crowd had filled in the gap Kimber had created, and I could no longer see her. I stood on tiptoe to try to find her. A gap opened in the crowd that stood between me and the dance floor. My eyes homed in on someone with blond, shoulder-length hair just like Kimber’s. Only it wasn’t Kimber.

Ethan was out on the dance floor, swaying to the music, while a gorgeous, red-haired Fae girl did a bump and grind all around him. She wore a skimpy, glittery black cocktail dress that clung to her curvy—for a Fae—figure, and Ethan’s tongue was practically hanging out of his mouth as he stared at her. From the way she moved, I’d have guessed she held a side job as a stripper, and she kept finding excuses to brush up against Ethan’s body. He gave her what I could only describe as a bedroom smile, then slipped his arms around her waist.

Now to be fair, I’d told Ethan over and over that we weren’t dating. If we weren’t dating, then it was technically impossible for him to cheat on me. It was therefore totally okay for him to be dirty dancing with someone other than me.

My reasoning couldn’t soothe the hurt that stabbed through me when I saw him out on that dance floor with another girl, a Fae girl, as gorgeous as Kimber, and by the looks of her closer to Ethan’s age than I was. I guess my naïveté was rearing its ugly head once again. I’d somehow let myself imagine that Ethan was chastely pining away for me, desperately hoping that one day he would win me over. What a moron!

Tears stung my eyes as I turned away from the revolting sight and pushed my way through the crowd in what I hoped was the direction of the bar. I’d known Ethan was a player, even before I’d known exactly how he’d played
me
. He seemed to find me attractive, and he was charming and totally drool-worthy, but although I hardly had boys falling at my feet, I knew better than to get involved with someone like him. At least, I knew better in theory.