King Hall (27 page)

I cleared my throat. “They didn’t buy our story.” I paused, then choked out, “King Venclaire gave us a sex talk.”

Ezra added, whispering, “Told us to keep it private.”

“And circumspect,” I mumbled.

“He mentioned condoms.”

I nodded stupidly. “Said we needed to use condoms.”

“Asked us if we had any questions about Shifter/Vampire sex.”

“His door’s always open…”

Jack and Pearl gawked, jaws hanging wide.

“Oh my God,” Pearl murmured. Hiccupped. Swallowed hard. Another hiccup. A choked gurgle and then, she busted up, laughing.

Jack wasn’t too far behind her, his lips twitching fiercely, and he finally gave in, bellowing with a deep belly laugh. He pointed to us, laughing it up with Pearl. “And they couldn’t tell him they aren’t having sex,” a loud roar of laughter, but words still soft, “because he would have gone back to their original bogus answers.”

Pearl nodded, wiping a tear from her eye. “Oh, that’s precious.” Her whole body was shaking with her hilarity.

“It’s not funny,” Ezra grumbled, cracking his neck and digging his arm out from behind me. “It was horrible. We had to sit there and take it.”

“I think I’m that much more stupid for having listened to it,” I groaned while Ezra rubbed his temples. “Both Kings think Ezra and I are getting our freak on.”

Jack slapped his knee, bending over, choking on silent laughter. It had progressed to the point he was having trouble breathing.

“Maybe I’ll bring someone home tonight after the party,” Ezra mumbled to himself, “Make sure King Venclaire sees her.”

I nodded, thinking that was a good plan, and wondered who I could bring home myself, but Jack and Pearl found that even funnier.

Pearl sputtered, “That’s never,” she snorted, laughter bubbling over, “gonna work.” More tears wiped away. “If they think you’re together, they’ll see that tactic for what it is.”

“You’re lucky it was them that found you like that,” Jack sucked in a large breath, trying to get control of himself. “If it had been my King, or Pearl’s, you two would already be on planes flying in opposite directions.”

I crossed my arms in agitation. “If that won’t work, what do you two propose we do?”

Ezra leaned over the back of the seat, and then flopped back down, throwing on my lap a spare sweatshirt I had stored in here. “Cover those up. They’re what got us in trouble in the first place.”

Pearl and Jack hooted.

I glanced down to where Ezra was glaring. Crossing my arms had opened my shirt again and pushed my boobs up to full view. Bra, cleavage, and all. I sighed and ripped my shirt the rest of the way off since it was a goner anyway, and Ezra tossed it into the back with vigor. Once my sweatshirt was on, I asked again, “What should we do?”

Pearl and Jack were calming themselves, and Jack shrugged, panting a little, saying, “Just give it time. You don’t want them coming back to the truth, so let them think what they want, and once they figure out on their own it’s not true, hopefully they’ll have forgotten your reasons for being in the Hummer in the first place.”

Pearl nodded.

Sluggishly, Ezra and I agreed.

Jack added hesitantly, “This situation reminds me that I need to speak with you guys about something.” He rubbed his chin. “I think we need to discuss how much we touch each other in public.” We stared, and he simplified, “Nikki’s still new at school. They talk around her more, not realizing who they’re next to. She hears things.”

Forehead wrinkling, Pearl asked, “What things?”

Jack sucked in a breath. “Most of the students think it’s odd how much we touch each other. A few words Nikki overhears regularly are
weird
,
twisted
, and
unnatural
.”

We sat in silence, letting that sink in.

“It’s not any of those things,” Pearl whispered, clearing her throat. “We aren’t like everyone else. We’re,” her hand flittered as she thought, “on a different level. We need each other because we understand what the other’s going through.”

Ezra nodded slowly. “Yes, but our subjects believe they own us. Which they do. They wouldn’t understand our reasoning since they’ve never lived a day in our lives.”

“Mysticals stay separated,” I murmured. “That’s how it’s always been. And, possibly, for good reason.” I chewed on my lip. “This isn’t good.”

Jack nodded. “Some are already saying we’re going to be terrible Rulers since we’re ignoring Mys ways.”

“Jesus,” Ezra grumbled, sliding down on the seat, his arms crossing.

Pearl tapped a fingernail on the headrest, staring out the back window. “I don’t think we should stop being seen together. That would give our subjects too much power over us.” She paused, a frown lining her perfect face. “But, maybe, we should stop touching each other. It may actually be our easiness with one another that’s truly bothering them. We don’t want them attacking our friendship. Give them this, and hope it’s enough to calm the masses.”

Slowly, we nodded in agreement, all of us wearing scowls or frowns because it was awful that we were owned this severely by our people. But we were. We were going to be their protectors, leaders, and punishers in a few years’ time. Sadly, as King Venclaire had said, we couldn’t have them undermining us. If we began our ruling with subjects who had no faith in us, that wasn’t acceptable. The weight was always heavy on our shoulders but, sitting here now, seeing one more freedom slip away, it made that barrier between us and our subjects that much wider. And they wondered why we were so close.

Jack murmured, “The Kings won’t be fighting with each other so much, anymore.”

We nodded again. The Kings had been at each other’s throats a few weeks ago with another argument, which they hadn’t even bothered to hide from us.

“Thank God that argument hadn’t happened today,” I said quietly. “King Kincaid would have probably agreed with King Nelson and King Fergus.” King Venclaire had never attempted to separate us, so I didn’t worry about him so much.

We sat in depressed and stressful silence.

Quietly, Jack asked, “What kind of touching is acceptable? I need clarification. It just comes so naturally now. I don’t even realize I’m doing it.”

My shoulders slumped, and my voice was weak, Shifters needing touch. “No nose pinching.”

“No holding hands at any time,” Pearl gritted between her teeth.

“No hugging,” Ezra stated gruffly. “Or kissing.” We did that a lot when we greeted or left each other. Simple kisses on the cheek or forehead, but now, it seemed like a biggie.

“No sleeping on each other,” Pearl added, rubbing her forehead. “Or massages.”

“No drinking,” Ezra grunted.

“This is all in public, right?” Jack asked, his forehead lined in worry. “We are still free to be ourselves behind closed doors?”

All at once, Pearl, Ezra, and I said, “Yes.”

Jack breathed a sigh of relief.

“We only touch when it’s publicly acceptable,” I said slowly. “Like if one of us is hurt,” a thought, and I grinned, “or dancing.”

They stilled, and slow smiles crept over their faces.

We nodded.

It was the party of the year. It was always planned for right before the students had to start cramming for year-end finals, when there was only a month left of school. For the four of us, though, since we had already finished our finals, it was more of a celebration of the hard school year gone by, with our last month of classes to be spent purposely with the Kings teaching us to use our powers together. I had passed my finals —
all three years’ worth
— and so had my best friends. We were dressed in our finest and ready to party.

This year it was held at an abandoned house on the outskirts of Choep. Every year the party changed locations, but this house had been foreclosed on and mentioned as a possibility and, bang, it was a done deal. A Mage had magically turned the power and plumbing back on for the night and it was a good thing there wasn’t any furniture, because the place was packed.

I ran a hand through my hair since it was a little windblown. I’d had to sneak out tonight — as had my friends — since we were still “grounded”, dodging all bodyguards. Our elite guards were here, so we didn’t feel too guilty leaving the others behind.

Nikki poured tequila shots where we stood at the counter. Her expressive brown eyes were wide with excitement as the almost-too-loud music pumped through the air. She held up her shot, asking, “What should we drink to?”

Instant. Pearl held up her shot. “To no more homework. Ever.”

“That doesn’t really work for me since I’ve got one more year left, but whatever.” Nikki grinned at us happily. “I’m the minority here, so I cave.”

Jack picked up his shot, murmuring something against Nikki’s ear that made her laugh, before he said loudly, “To never having a number two pencil again.”

I held my shot up. “To no more detentions because I fell asleep in class.”

Gideon held up his shot. “To hoping I pass my finals.” He shrugged at our expressions. “It’s relevant to me.” His drink sloshed as Pearl swatted his lips with a kiss.

“To no more five-thousand count essays.” Ezra held up his shot.

“I’ve got one,” Nikki murmured quickly, blushing. “To new friends.”

We grinned at that and knocked glasses, downing the shots, carefully standing with a good foot between each other.

More shots quickly disappeared until we were all toasty warm, just a little tipsy, and that was when warm arms wrapped around my waist from behind, and Felix’s familiar voice whispered against my ear, “Dance with me.”

I closed my eyes, feeling how good he felt against me. His heat penetrated through my thin black dress, and I felt myself sinking against him. He was everything I wanted in a consistent sexual partner. No strings. Only heat, strength, and attraction.

It was really hard for me to open my eyes and turn around in his embrace, and say, “I can’t, Felix. You’re one of my two elite. I can’t mix business with pleasure when safety’s on the line.” I had figured this out right before we walked in here, knowing he was attending and would, more than likely, try this.

Felix held my gaze. His jaw clenched. “Lily…” He closed his mouth, lips pursed for a few beats until he spoke quietly. “You’re sure about this?” He wasn’t going to beg or ask twice. I knew he was stronger than that, so this was his last offer.

My nostrils flared, scenting him, and my eyes closed in remembrance. God, we had been really good together. My own jaw clenched, and I opened my eyes. Nodded. “Yes. I’m sure.”

Stooping slowly, he kissed my forehead. “At least we had a little fun in this godforsaken lifetime.”

My heart broke, because I knew his heart was still torn for his late mate. I hugged him, kissing his cheek. “Yeah. We had fun.”

He squeezed me tight, and then backed away, but not too far, still doing his job.

“That was fucking depressing,” Gideon muttered as I turned back to my group. I don’t know what my face showed, but he mumbled, “Shit, Lily. Why don’t you just go be with him if you want to?”

I poured another shot, and pointed to Gideon around it. “Because I don’t want to so badly that I’d risk dying for it. He’s here to keep me alive, and he can’t do that with his hands on my ass.” I downed my shot. “Anyone wanna dance?” I needed contact. Not because of the Shifter need, but because of the woman-in-me need. I needed comforting.

Everyone wanted to, so we made our way to the dance floor, which was in the middle of what had probably been a living room at one time since it had a brick fireplace on one wall, the bricks rising to the ceiling, the only adornment to the navy-blue painted walls. We squeezed through the crowd and started dancing with one another. No-one picked any certain partner. We just piled together and moved.

Two songs later, I was laughing when Pearl bent down in front of me and crossed her eyes, bopping her butt in the air. So un-Queen-like I loved it. Seemingly, Gideon did too because he moved behind her, grabbing her hips, and both of them moved a tad different then.

Jack pulled Nikki against him, their foreheads together, and began slow dancing with her even though the music was upbeat enough to make a rabbit happy.

Turning, I crooked my finger at Ezra, who was being mauled by two Vampire girlies.

Tilting his chin up once, he somehow maneuvered out of their hands. He began pulling me against him right as I felt hands land on my waist accompanied by the smell of polar bear, but those unwanted hands released me as I moved away. Thank God, he had been quick. Jim had become a regular stalker most days, and it was all I could do to avoid him in the hallways at school.

“Thanks,” Ezra muttered, glancing over his shoulder.

I snorted. “I should be thanking you, not the other way around.”

He lifted his head, peering over mine. His lips twitched. “That guy seriously can’t take a hint. I thought you locking him in his own car three weeks ago was ingenious.”

I grinned, moving my hips with his. “Just took a little Mage magic.”

“Pearl?”

“Yep.”

“Nice.”

“I thought so.”

He pulled us closer to our friends as we moved against one another like it was second nature. So easy. Fluid. He led and my body followed, just like our training sessions every morning.

“You guys dance really well together,” Nikki said loudly over the music, nodding her head approvingly. “Jack and I still step on each other’s feet.”

“They practice fighting every day,” Jack grumbled to her. “They should be good.” He scowled at us, mouthing, “
Mess up
.”

Ezra and I chuckled and, a few beats later, we bumped heads, making a production of it.

“It’s alright,” Nikki consoled us. “Nobody’s perfect.”

Jack mouthed, “
Thank you.
”

Nikki patted my shoulder, then she was dancing again, oblivious.

Ezra held up his little finger behind her back, crooking it.

Pointing at it, I nodded grandly.

Jack shrugged and smiled, bringing Nikki even closer to him.

I moved to the crazy beat with Ezra for another song before nature called. “I’ll be back in a minute.”

He released me with a twirl, and I kept my head down as I maneuvered through the crowd. The first floor bathroom was taken, so I trotted up the stairs, getting stopped at least seven times by Shifters needing touch. I hugged them and, generally, gave them my presence as alpha before I finally made it to an empty bathroom.