23. Livy

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

LIVY

I t was the night before the party and the palace was aglow with the comings and goings of entertainers, decorators and crew. Everyone teamed up to get every last detail set up just right ahead of tomorrow's ball.

I was in the room's center, just below the decorative glass ceiling. I hoped to somehow get involved but all the staff I'd spoken to so far seemed to have it all covered and didn't want help.

The ballroom was an impressively large space with high ceilings. It was shaped like a perfect circle, with garden facing glass windows taking up the entire wall opposite the luxurious entrance way.

Near the entrance, Ferina instructed the waiters on how to greet the guests when they came in and what drinks to offer them.

Malek was perched on a ladder, helping the staging crew to hang crystal ornaments along the ceiling.

Malek, who seemed to catch me watching him, puffed his chest muscles out while still working. The act of showing off caused him to lose his balance on the ladder .

He quickly steadied himself before peering around to see who saw him almost fall.

"I totally didn't see that!" I yelled and his chest caved, his spine bending as he went back to work, pretending not to have heard me.

Finally, I found someone who needed my help. A demon with two small white horns asked if I wanted to help the entertainers set up. I gladly said yes.

I helped them get the drums installed on the platform and helped carry in the guitar, violin and microphones from their car.

They jacked into the speakers and the guitarist tested his instrument. Now we were just waiting for the lead singer to come back from the bathroom to practice.

"Just a few more minutes, Lady Sunny. Trust me. Our sets are going to blow you away." The drummer warmed up his drums by playing a few swift beats.

"I have no doubt. What kind of music do you guys play, rock?" I asked the drummer.

"Ours is more like a fusion, we play around with rock, pop and the classics. Depends on our mood. Sometimes we do all three at once." The guitarist strummed the strings aggressively, forming a powerful blast of sound.

It was deep and rich, sending sonorous waves bouncing off the walls and turning heads.

"Sunny, I need you." Ferina waved as three demons carrying trays stacked with dishes dashed for me. "The chefs are here with samples but I'm super busy. Can you let them know what you think of their hors d'oeuvres?"

I turned around, and the chefs were standing there with the food samples already. "We're getting close to the deadline but the kitchens are running behind. Could you please let us know what you think of the samples so we can finalize the menu?" One of the chefs asked urgently and all three chefs thrust their trays toward my face.

They were covered in sweat, the bags under their eyes telling me they didn't get a wink of sleep last night.

Their food was the opposite. They were colorful, beautifully decorated and perfectly plated. There were six different meats, all with their own sauces. Some meats were fried, others baked but all were a feast for the eyes.

"It looks incredible!" My mouth watered, and they took a collective sigh of relief.

Most of these foods were of foreign origin, everything from lamb ribs with mint sauce to traditional wolf shifter dishes like sage and vinegar deer tartare.

I tried the tartare and memories of the Prometheus pack came rushing in like flood water. Some bad memories flashed by, but the good ones rose to prominence.

"Are you alright, my lady?" one of the chefs asked, handing me a handkerchief.

I took it, not understanding what he meant until a hot tear drop rolled down my cheek.

"This tartare is the most delicious thing I've eaten in days." I wiped the tears away. "It's excellent!"

"Try the others, please!" They encouraged boisterously, each of them competing with the other.

I tested them all, one by one. Some were sweet and mushy, others salty and firm.

"Perfection, every last one of them." I kissed my index finger and thumb. "Your cooking is brilliant. Don't change a thing."

The trio thanked me profusely before scrambling back to the kitchens .

"Finally, she's here. I told her not to eat all those raw oysters last night." The base player muttered in hushed tones.

The lead vocalist flew inside, swaying her curvy hips from side to side, running for the platform.

The drummer climbed from his stool and trudged over to the vocalist. He was pissed, but I couldn't quite make out what they were saying as he argued with her about being late.

My attention wandered to a teenage demoness who leaned against a wall by the windows. Her eyes were so buried into the book she was reading, they could poke holes in the pages.

She was so enthralled with the story, she looked like an addict desperate for the adrenaline rush promise by every new page. She could be Aurora's twin, not from her looks. She was brunette and Aurora was blond, but their book obsession was the same.

It was funny how hundreds of miles from home I still found things to bring me back there. It was the small things, like the foods or hobbies we enjoy that united us, even if we were from completely different worlds.

Visions of bombs raining down on Aurora's head and thousands of shifters like her, spiraled through my mind like a maniacal slide reel.

"Well, we've kept the lady waiting long enough!" The drummer sang, while taking his seat and starting their set. The violinist and guitarist followed suit, one after the next until the room was flooded with a symphony of melodious sound.

The lead singer hopped on stage and took the mic. Nodding her head, she waited for her cue.

The hypnotic rhythm invaded me, flushing away the terrifying images and transporting me back to the wonderful present.

The vocalist belted out lyrics that at first were hard to understand. Then I realized it was a song about a guy she's in love with, but didn't know how to get him to notice her .

The melody softens, abandoning the harsh rock feel of earlier verses and evolving into a smoother jazzier feel. The band was amazing.

I cheered them on as did several members of the staging crew who cantered over to watch the show.

My stomach churned, making me feel unwell. Nausea appeared out of nowhere as the crew waved their arms over their heads like concert goers.

My nausea mounted and I stumbled over to the open windows for some air. Catching on the ledge, I let the cool night breeze blow away whatever was causing me to feel this way.

I looked out into the serene darkness. The giant was gone, the crew having removed him completely over the last few hours.

Past the roses in the garden, the dark woods were frozen in a listless slumber.

Something white and ghostly swayed across the dark wood's edge. Were it not so white, it would have been invisible. It was hard to make out what it was, but I'd only seen one thing move quite like it before.

Chasten.

I had to go and see if it was really him. I passed Ferina on my way out the door and told her I was going to the bathroom so she wouldn't ask to follow me.

Outside the palace, the air grew colder as I closed in on the spot where I glimpsed the white figure. It would have been too dangerous to go into the dark woods at night alone due to the spout of recent attacks. So I stayed on the outskirts, spying into the thick brush.

"Chasten?" I asked, trying not to feel like a fool for coming out here. There was no way this was really Chasten.

A tiny light sparked from inside the dark forest, it glowed like a single firefly lighting up the night. I inspected it more closely and now it appeared to be candlelight .

Last time I checked, ghosts couldn't light candles. I drew away from the trees and took a leap back in the direction of the castle. I turned to make a quick retreat but I didn't make it more than a couple steps before someone called out my name. The voice came from within the trees.

I took a breath, cautiously turning back around.

"Show yourself. I'm not playing around here." I arched my back, raising my fists in case I had to fight someone or something.

"Relax. I only want to talk. You're safe, I promise you." A man in a white hood emerged from the trees. He dropped his hood. It was Varcus, his face was so plastered in scars it looked like a tattoo job gone terribly wrong.

He was missing the upper portion of his left ear, and his swollen lips were covered in red scabs, a visible reminder of the punches Malek and I had thrown at him.

"I see you've managed to get your arm reattached. Did you come here to get it chopped off again?" I cracked my knuckles.

"Look, I'm not here to fight. We need to talk." He whispered, lurching himself back and using the trees as cover so no one inside the palace could see him.

"How did you get around the palace walls and why in the world would I want to talk to you?" I asked harshly.

"I have friends everywhere, that's all you need to know. And yes, you want to talk to me. Because you're not like him. You have a conscience, that's why I've risked my life to come here and talk to you. You know what's coming, and unlike him you care about innocent lives. You know if things continue, a lot of people are going to die. Don't you want to stop it?"

"Your methods are brutal. You're no better than Malek is. Besides, Malek will come to see reason. He just needs time." I folded my arms and my jaw tightened. "Now, I'm willing to let you leave without calling any guards, but only if you leave now. "

"I'm only asking for five more minutes." His shoulder slumped and his gaze sauntered over to the palace in the distance.

"Make it two minutes," he pleaded.

I sighed miserably. The fear of war and death had been whispering to me. That same voice now begged me to give him his two minutes.

Reluctantly, I acquiesced. We delved a couple steps into the forest so that we both had tree cover and the privacy that it held.

Whatever this was he'd come to tell me, it had better be worth the risk.