The guests started arriving just in time. I was busy greeting and taking care of them all, answering questions on why the ball was here and not in Venedocia, why was my mother not invited, and why was Lana Morpher one of the organizers, and practically my date.. Well, to be honest, no, I didn't answer them all.. Actually, I didn't even bother answering half of them. A few smiles and toasts were enough to shit them up for at least a bit, since I had other things more important than this.. For example, searching the crowd and looking for Lycia all the freaking time.. Then trying to keep Lana near me.. Trying to keep everyone near.. No, the night was not with an easy start. I watched Dimitri approach me, and I didn't even know why he thought this was the best time to talk, when I put him on guard-duty with Amelia and Luke just a few minutes ago.. However, he reminded me that not everything might go as planned. "Did you talk to her? Lycia?" Both of us kept our eyes on the crowd despite his question. "No. I sent out the invitation." "I hope you're aware.. There are three more witches in the house." "Where?" "Somewhere in the crowd. Amelia said she felt their magic.." I took a sip from my drink. "Well, there are all kinds of supernaturals in this house tonight. I just want our own safe." "Lana? You're keeping her safe by letting her follow her instincts? She can get hurt, you know.." I looked at him. How did he connect Lana to any of this? I never even mentioned her when I was around him. "I trust her." My plain answer seemed to sound unbelievable to him. "You sure there's isn't anything more than trust?" The music and the conversations in the crowd seemed to mute his voice.. But I heard him perfectly well.. He didn't have an intention on dropping this subject. And after agreeing with Lana that we were going to keep what we had a secret, I didn't exactly enjoy where this conversation was going.. However, I kept quiet due to many many reasons.. Pushing back this unbearable need in that moment to admit the full truth on what I had with Lana for some reason.. How much more it was than just trust. I cleared my throat. "What makes you think that?" "Oh please.. You have to be blind not to see that there's something going on between you two." Oh. Well said, brother.. The little thing he was missing out noticing was, I didn't really give a crap if someone found out or not. I was doing it for Lana. But either way, I trusted Dimitri. Even if he knew, I trusted him enough to keep it a secret. "Playing bed games with Morpher's daughter is going to end with nothing but war, brother. Trust me on this." Advise from the king.. Shocker. I just couldn't understand how not even for a split second throughout our whole conversation he didn't remember what kind of 'war' he could cause, and even slightly did, when he fought for Amelia. Difference between the two of us though was, I did things using my brain. He only used his instincts. So, I had it figured out. And especially in that moment, I didn't need any kinds of advises from my dear brother.. I didn't even bother looking at him. He was talking nonsense. "Like you're one to talk.." "You're right. But I never just screwed around with Amelia. I love her." I looked at him, still feeling how my frustration was building with every second that he wasted not even knowing what being with Lana meant to me. "She was worth a war, brother." "What makes you think this is any different than that?" I wasn't even sure how I said those words as certainly.. But that was the thing. When it came to Lana, there was nothing but truthfulness in my feelings towards this girl., Honesty in my words when talking about her.. I handed him the glass I was holding as I passed by him, already familiar with the speechlessness, the slightly surprised look on his face.. I was expecting it really. Perhaps he never thought I would admit it. But yes, what he was saying.. It was all true. He managed to get what he wanted.. Amelia. Even with giving up a few times, he still got his girl. I didn't exactly give up on anything, especially not on Lana.. So that was the difference again.. I wasn't just ready for a war, I was already in it.. I was winning. And Lana wasn't a prize. She was in it with me. And just like the cure I needed, the soothing I was seeking for in that moment, I saw her. My Lana. Instantly, this pressure inside me seemed to drop. It was madness how easily she could effect me.. With just a simple approach. I walked towards her, observing how she searched the crowd with her eyes, nothing but certainty, wildness and this reflection of her fearless self in those blues. The crowd was thick, so it wasn't noticeable when my hand went around her waist as I slightly pulled her closer.. And her simple scent sent me to holy grail. "Where have you been?" I asked as soon as I had her closer, watching how she took a sip from her glass, somewhat looking just as frustrated as me. "Calliope said that there's no sign of Lycia yet." I looked over through the crowd, trying to see if there was anything that was abnormal than planned. But, no Lycia wasn't there yet. Calliope on the other hand arrived that morning, with the spell book she needed for killing Adam, but newsflash, she had no clue which spell was for that, so she had a lot more figuring out to do.. While I.. I had to figure out a way to get this Lycia witch to tell us the truth. Truth spell had to do the thing. However, in that moment, Dimitri's words kept repeating in my head. Did I trust Lana enough? No, trusting her was never a problem.. Trusting others around her was. Just how in that moment I started reconsidering ever letting her 'distract' Lycia. I couldn't have her hurt.. I just couldn't risk it.. "Maybe you should't really be the one looking for her.. And distracting her." She instantly looked at me, her eyes wide with slight shock. I could tell how damn ready she was for starting to talk me into still doing it. "No, Christian, we have a plan. We're sticking to it.. No matter what your brother told you." The blood in my veins froze the second I heard her saying those words. She heard? She heard everything I said? I watched how she looked towards the crowd again, acting like she didn't even mention that conversation I had with Dimitri. Perhaps she found it tensed to talk about.. We had a lot of problems.. Our relationship drama was the last thing we needed to deal with in that moment. And then, just like every word we exchanged had simply puffed in think air, her eyes focused on something, on someone, as she frowned and got on her tiptoes. "Is that her? Is that the girl we need?" I looked towards the direction she was staring at. Lycia. Finally, the witch had arrived. She was basically the theme to this party. "Yes." And in that moment, I saw how a smile stretched Lana's lips as she looked at me. "Show time."