Mia’s time was almost ending, and I was getting out of her grips faster and gained the upper hand, but it was still hard. It demanded a lot of concentration and that woman could tap my energy dry in less than an hour. But I was getting better.
Lucian came back on Saturday, and that night he begged my dad to take me somewhere. He would make sure that I was in safe hands.
We went in disguise, though.
I got a wig, and contacts to hide my green eyes. The dark hair with the brown contacts did that. Elena Watkins Malone disappeared, and Catharine Squires came through.
I looked like her, but with Dad’s blond hair and green eyes, it drowned out her features completely. I put on the cap with the shiny rhinestones.
Maggie gasped as she saw me, and tears filled her eyes.
Helmut just stared at me, and Dad did a double take.
Queen Maggie came to hug me. “Oh, I miss your mother so much, Elena. With your dark hair and brown eyes, a lot of her is coming through.”
“Yeah, it’s scary. I thought I had nothing of her.”
“No, you had so much of her in you. It was just hard to see it with Albert’s overpowering features. Kill that off and she shines through you.”
I laughed. A warmth bubbled inside of me.
Lucian had darker hair that reached his shoulders. He almost looked like a hippy with his shades, but underneath the glasses, his eyes were a different color. He put on a baseball cap and had a stubble that looked so real as his face was usually very smooth.
“Be careful that no one recognizes you, please,” his dad begged.
“This is not my first time, Dad. I’m not stupid. She’ll be fine.”
“So where are you going?”
“It’s a surprise, Mom. So stop asking.”
I giggled and followed Lucian to their garage.
Plenty of cars lined up in the extensive building. White walls and big gray shiny tiles made the garage look posh.
We climbed into a green sports number and the door in front of us shifted open. I couldn’t stop the fluttering inside my stomach, as I would finally see parts of Paegeia.
“You really look like your mom.”
“You think it’s going to be a problem?”
“Nah, they are looking for a girl with blonde hair and green eyes. Everyone kept saying how much you look like your dad. You will pass through without a second look.”
My heart pounded, but not from fear this time. Tonight it was from excitement.
It was the first time out of the castle.
Lucian put foot on the gas as the door shifted open and zoomed down the driveway. One of the big side gates opened, and he drove like the devil chased us.
The roads were big, and I couldn’t stop staring at the shiny buildings. We passed many restaurants with people sitting outside, and I did a double take at one guy that hovered in the air on top of something that looked like a skateboard.
Lucian stopped at a traffic light that was a hologram, and when the red light changed to green, he darted down the street and zoomed past the cars.
We passed a big shiny building with Mayham written in big neon letters. A bouncer stood outside, but he didn’t stop. He turned right in that street and we drove toward the beach and turned left.
An enormous cue stood next to a building.
“Fuck,” he whispered and drove into a parking area of another place called Longbottoms. It was really busy and there was a huge line forming already.
“What?”
“I’m in disguise, Elena. We are going to stand in the queue.”
“It’s fine, really.”
“It can take all night.”
“It’s a night out, Lucian. I don’t care.”
He laughed, and by a miracle, he found a spot. Lucian parked the car, and we got out.
The building was enormous, but nothing fancy. The first club we passed was more posh.
I pulled down my top that clung around my hips. The one side kept falling down my shoulder, and I just left it. It was probably the way they designed this top.
The jeans hugged my body perfectly and the boots that came up to my calves with a slight heel weren’t a nightmare to walk in.
My balance really improved.
Lucian went with a pair of jeans and a button shirt with a lot of colors and patterns on.
He really looked so different with brown hair touching his shoulders with the baseball cap on that it was hard to see that he was the Prince of Tith.
We stood at the end of the line.
“Why is it so busy tonight?”
“A famous band is playing. They broke up for about five months and tonight they are playing again. It’s probably one of Paegeia’s best bands. The club belongs to a great friend too, but the one around the corner killed him a bit. With this band back, I can only imagine how busy Jimmy is tonight.”
“I love the name.”
“Yeah, it has something to it, right?”
Definitely.
I looked around. Nobody was staring, which was a relief. I loved this disguise.
We kept moving and I couldn’t help looking for Blake. He hadn’t visited me yet and it still hurt a lot. I missed him and hated how he didn’t keep any of his promises.
We spoke about Mia the rest of the evening. I did not know who my next tutor was going to be, but one thing was for sure, I was busy getting better and better at fighting club.
The group in front of us started talking, and laughter followed. Lucian asked if they were fans of the Shifters and the one girl’s boyfriend put an imaginary gun against his head and pulled the trigger, making us both laugh.
The hours ticked by, but the cue was moving forward. We already stood on the stairs that led toward the entrance.
Then, just like that, the group in front of us were next.
The girl turned around. “Enjoy your evening.”
“Thanks, you too.” Lucian spoke with a huge grin.
“I love my disguise,” I whispered to him. The door opened and there was no sound of any music playing.
I looked through the glass door and saw another door opening into the club. Parts of the bar showed. It was packed.
Lucian handed the bouncer two tickets, and he tore the corner, handing it back to him.
The bouncer opened the door, and we both walked in.
The hallway was dark, and I grabbed Lucian’s arm, hoping not to fall.
When Lucian pushed the second door opened, drums and the strumming of the guitar were overpowering.
I followed Lucian through an ocean of people right in front of us. You couldn’t even see the stage.
“What do you want to drink, Elle?” Lucian yelled.
“Anything, as long as it’s sweet,” I yelled back as the lead singer started with the lyrics.
He nodded and grabbed my hand, pushing through the bar. Our fingers locked and my stomach literally fluttered. My heart thumbed faster.
He waited a long time to get to the front, and he spoke to the one guy with blond hair and bronze eyes.
“What can I get you?” the guy yelled as the music blared through the speakers.
Lucian leaned over the bar and spoke to the guy. His lips spread into a huge grin as his eyes landed on me.
Lucian laughed and spoke again. The guy nodded and walked to the one bouncer and muttered to him.
The bouncer lifted his hand and waved at us.
“What did you do?”
“It’s too crowded down here, so we are going to a nicer place, but in order to do that, I had to tell him who we are.”
I nodded as my heart thrumbed.
We followed the guy to another set of stairs and he opened the golden rope that had a VIP board dangling from the rope.
Lucian greeted him.
“Would never have guessed it, enjoy.”
Lucian laughed, and the guy bowed his head slightly as I followed Lucian up the stairs.
“He really knows who we are?”
“Yep, the guy I spoke to is the owner, his name is Jimmy.”
“They know you do this a lot?”
“Yeah, they kept the secret, so don’t worry. Nobody will know you were here, Elle.”
“What do I call you?”
“Just call me Marcus. If I change my accent, just go with it, please. I know many people that hung out in the VIP section.”
It was becoming more fun.
The door at the top opened, and we walked in.
Another bar, with groups of leather couches occupied by people, led to glass windows. The music wasn’t as loud, but you can still hear them. The band was superb.
Wood and metal furniture with a fireplace gave a great ambience to the room. Everyone stared at us, but they went back to their conversation. They probably wondered who we were.
A brown patterned carpet lined the floor.
Lucian got us two drinks, and we walked to couches in the corner that only had a guy lying on the couch. He must’ve passed out.
We sat down on the long sofa opposite the one the guy laid down on and I kept looking around.
There were many people here as I took a sip of a sweet watermelon flavored drink.
Lucian looked around him too and chuckled. “The girl with the long strawberry curls is Arianna. She is the other royal. Caleb’s daughter.”
I looked at who Lucian was looking at. She was beautiful. Had these long strawberry curls cascading down her back. Had a tall nose like her father but feline shaped eyes. She looked nothing like the king.
“She is a bit of a spoiled brat but has a nick for enchantments. She is going to be my lovely wife one day.”
My gaze flickered back to Lucian. “What?”
He nodded.
“No, it’s the twenty-first century, not the Middle Ages.”
“I’ll change my father’s mind. Don’t worry.” He took a sip of his drink.
I kept looking at the girl. Guessed I wasn’t the only one who they pushed together. I felt sorry for Lucian; he was going through the same thing I was.
He introduced me to a couple of more people without introducing me to them.
One of them was a famous sports star, not that I recognize the sport at all. Something called the Warbel games. It sounded Greek, but the way Lucian described the game being played with abilities and on flying contraptions with the beasties made it sounds interesting and yet very dangerous. But it piqued my interest.
There were many people from his academy, and my eyes roamed at all of them. I froze when I saw the white hair girl and her slender body. She wore almost nothing. Her crop top showed her ribs, barely covering her boobs, and she wore a short denim skirt with white sneakers. Her denim jacket rounded her look off.
She was friendly with everyone, hugged them, and jumped on some of them. She was stunning, too. Had a lot of confidence. It was so wrong.
She had an overpowering laugh, and I tried to see if Blake was with her. I couldn’t see him anywhere and my gut eased up a bit.
She was beautiful, had big, kissable lips and the bluest eyes I’d ever seen.
She plopped down next to a group of girls on the couches behind us. She screamed her laughter at what one girl said.
“You want to leave?” Lucian asked.
My eyes flickered to his, and I shook my head. He knew why I stared at her and I decided not to look anymore and just drank my sweet drink. It was really amazing.
The band stopped, and one guy said in a twangy accent they were going to take a break. Normal music played, and Lucian and I were into another extensive discussion. Something about Arianna trying to claim the Rubicon and how he made her see her worst nightmare that turned into a circus that the tabloids had a field day with. The door opened, and the band walked in.
Everyone cheered, even Lucian.
I giggled. The guy with long hair, wearing a shirt and jeans, took a bottle of water. My eyes flickered to another big mouth with cropped hair that howled. “The Shifters are on fire.”
The guy next to him made me gasp.
I looked down immediately as my palms sweated and heat rushed through my body. It was Blake. I closed my eyes. It was his band.
“Sorry,” Lucian whispered.
I shook my head and didn’t look at him, but my heart was bouncing like crazy.
“You were on fire,” the girl with the white hair said. I closed my eyes not to see them kissing.
When I looked, Blake sat next to her on the couch.
The guy with the long hair handed him a glass with a brown drink on ice.
“How is the throat, Blake?” Another guy asked.
“Dude, I’m Blake fucking Leaf. It’s my voice, it’s just fine.” Everyone cheered and my eyes landed on the princess as she stared at him with sultry eyes.
Blake was so different, full of himself, obnoxious. Everything I didn’t think he was. He didn’t even spare us a glance. He flirted a lot with plenty of the girls that came to sit close to them. The white hair girl kept swearing at them, reminding them who she was and he laughed it off. Why was I here? I should just leave. This wasn’t good for me at all.
Lucian and I didn’t speak anymore, as we just listened to their conversation. He didn’t even speak about his mission. Disgusting things left his mouth. It wasn’t the guy I fell hard for. Lucian’s jaw muscles pumped as he kept shaking his head.
Tears pricked my eyes, and I tried everything to push it away.
I was ready to go when the guy with the long hair fell on the single cough, against the wall, on the left of us. He chucked an empty beer can at the guy that laid on the couch in front of us. “Timmy,” he screamed, and I smiled.
“Fuck off, Isaac,” the guy mumbled and carried on sleeping.
Isaac? Blake’s band had a manager named Isaac. Was it this guy?
“Hello,” the guy said and Lucian made the most horrible accent, which I almost burst out laughing but stopped it in time. I lowered my cap and didn’t look at him.
The guy’s eyebrow twitched, and he introduced himself. Lucian leaned over and grabbed his hand, introducing him as Marcus and me as Elle.
I waved with a smile.
They spoke about the Shifters.
“Yeah, where did you say you are from?” The guy had a lopsided smile on his face and Lucian answered again, from Areeth.
“Areeth? And you are a game developer?”
“Yeah,” Lucian answered.
It was hard to suppress my laughter as this guy clearly knew Lucian and he did not know that it was him.
“I know you from somewhere?”
“No. I would remember if you did. I mean you are famous.”
Isaac’s eyebrow raised as his gaze skidded to me. “You are silent.”
“She is very shy,” Lucian answered.
“If you say so.” He raised his glass at me, and Lucian just stared at him. “Blake,” Isaac yelled, and my heart picked up a notch.
“What do you want, wanker?” Blake yelled.
I didn’t like this Blake at all.
“I want you to meet a developer and his extremely shy little minx.”
Oh crap. My throat became dry and if I could become one with the couch, I would.
“That is unnecessary,” Lucian tried.
“No, he plays a lot of games. Believe me, one endorsement from him will make your game the best of the year. You really need to meet him.”
I grabbed Lucian’s arm.
“It’s time.” The guy at the door said and Isaac laughed. “Saved by the bell,” he said in a strong Southern accent and smiled as a deep dimple showed in his cheek.
“Let’s go.” Blake smacked his hands and said goodbye in a flirty tone, breaking my heart even more.
“Break a leg, babe,” his dragon replied. I didn’t like her. She was everything I wasn’t, even if I looked like my mom.
Isaac leaned over the armrest where Lucian sat. “I’m not that stupid, Marcus.” He swiped at Lucian’s shoulder. “Great disguise.” His eyes flickered to me. “Nice meeting you, minx.” He winked and walked backward to the door and saluted Lucian.
Lucian flipped him off, which made him roar with laughter. They were out the door.
“Okay, you want to leave?”
“He knows?”
“Yeah, I basically told him when I gave him the birdie. I can’t fool Isaac, the guy always discovers it.”
I nodded, and we got up. My gaze skidded to Blake’s dragon, and she stared at me.
My throat became dry as I looked away and followed Lucian to the entrance. Did she know? I looked away, and the crowd went crazy outside. The guitar strummed, and the drums played. Blake grabbed the mike and yelled to the crowd a string of words. They screamed.
We slipped out of the club. It was fun while it lasted.
