Chapter 138 Dear sister
“Lys, I believe?” Cedric Claire held a hand out, brows furrowed as if trying to remember my name. I stared at him for a couple of seconds. We had met just days ago, but now he could not remember my name?
“Yes,” I placed my hand in his with a polite smile. He lowered his head and pressed his lips to the back of my hand. Gianna was not paying attention to any of this, she was staring right at Finn with a look of recognition.
My stomach dropped. Did she recognize him from that night? Her eyes were slit, her lips slack. But then I noticed the pink on her cheek and realized this was simply the Finn-effect.
“Sister.” I moved towards her, deliberately pulling her into a hug so she snapped out of her trance. Our bodies barely touched before we simultaneously pulled back immediately.
That was too much affection for the Grunders.
“We could have made the trip together. I had no idea you'd be coming here. ” I said, code for what the hell are you doing here? Can you stop being a pest!
“Neither did I.” She returned, simply, not bothering to make the effort to act warm. “Have you no plans to introduce your date?”
She lifted a champagne flute from a passing tray, and gestured to Finn with the glass. I glanced up at Finn, and he was a study in silent rage. Those aqua-colored eyes were piercing, his sharp jaw, tight. He looked like he had forgotten to breathe from his anger.
I reached for his elbow, and brushed lightly. He seemed to unfreeze. “Finn Banville.” I said now, “Finn, this is Cedric Claire from the Nocturne district, and my sister, Gianna Grunder.”
Finn looked absolutely disinterested. But he accepted Cedric’s enthusiastic handshake, and then turned for a handshake with Gianna. But she held onto his hand when he tried to pull away.
Her lips were slack still, her eyes narrower, “Have we met before?”
Finn and I stiffened at once.
She smiled then, “I don’t think so though. A face like yours is hard to forget.”
Finn yanked his hand from hers, roughly, and my chest swelled with pride. I liked it. I liked it too much that he did not reject her graciously like a gentleman, but instead made a clear impression with his aggression.
My sister had enough shame to blush in embarrassment, while her date shuffled his feet uncomfortably.
“Sweet Lys.” A voice crooned right in my ear. I turned to Kade with a bright smile just as Caroline clamped me in a warm hug, as though it had been days not hours since we last saw each other.
“You look stunning.” I smiled at this woman who was more a sister to me than the one who shared my blood.
Caroline stepped back, giving my dress a look as I admired her outfit again, a one-shoulder midi dress in a pale power blue shade. “I am glad you accepted Tamar's suggestion.” She leaned in to whisper. “Can you imagine wearing a matching color with your sister.”
The ballroom opened to us just then, the heavy gold embossed double doors pulling inward, before I could make a response.
Gianna turned away with her billionaire, moving with the guests who began to make their way towards the ballroom.
“Have you met Finn?” I smiled brightly. My friends were the first people I was eager to introduce him to.
“You are Kade.” Finn turned fully to them, apparently as excited as I was. He took a surprised Kade’s hand in his. And then he turned to peck Caroline on both checks. “And you are Caroline.”
Caroline looked star struck, her eyes wide. Still staring at me, she whispered. “Whatever is happening in Korea, I don’t want it to stop. It’s been raining hot men.”
I pinched her, and then we all turned towards the ballroom, which was more a banquet hall. An expansive space, lined with long tables and high-backed chairs beneath a ceiling of crystal chandeliers.
Kade looked from Finn to me and quirked an eyebrow. I smiled. “Finn is the dance partner who helped me rehearse our acts.”
“He can dance too?” Caroline's eyes lit up. Kade caught her arm and pulled her to his side. “Sorry man, this one does not know how to behave around men.”
“Hot men,” Caroline stated as we reached the table that had our names spelled out in gold plaques.
I looked up to Finn, and winked. “It seems Hale has a contender for your attention.”
He could not meet my eyes as he pulled a chair out for me, his cheeks a bright red at the mention of his boyfriend’s name. Gianna immediately took the seat next to me even though the plaque in front clearly read, Caroline.
Kade had to tug Caroline because she looked ready to yank Gianna off her seat by the hair. He offered her his seat instead, so she was sitting right next to Finn. She was not satisfied for long though.
“Why did you never show up at the academy again?” She said pointedly to Gianna. “I thought you returned for good?”
“Some of us have real businesses to run, darling.” Gianna drawled nonchalantly. She was on her second glass of champagne, and Cedric Claire was whispering urgently to her now.
“You’re right.” Caroline did not back down. “Entrepreneurs are quite extraordinary, flitting from one grand idea to the next. The rest of us are unfortunately constrained by the inconvenience of actual focus.”
Our table fell silent.
In another environment, this jab disguised as praise may have been easy to miss. But everyone at this table was privy to Gianna’s long line of failed businesses. She could never stick to anything long enough to make it work.
“Welcome to the fifty-second Cultural Diplomacy Summit.” A booming voice cut through the air at that moment, and I exhaled in relief. I turned towards the stage, clapping along with everyone. “Tonight, we gather not merely as representatives of nations, but…”
“You sit here…” Gianna leaned closer to me. “And watch your air-headed friend insult me?”
I stared at her, stunned, as the opening speech went on, booming from speakers all around.
“I see that two-week break was too generous for you.”
“Excuse me?”
Her eyes flashed, sending a chill through my bones because they looked exactly like they had in the cave. “I hear Fentone has been asking questions, you know. Don't you think it's unfair to continue to keep him in the dark about your new status as a sex slave?”
I was not a violent person. But if we were alone, I would have slapped my sister right then. I curled my fists in my lap, squeezing tightly.
“In times when borders feel sharper…”
Everyone in the hall was enraptured by the fine speech I could barely hear. Even Finn, who sat to my left, was staring right at the stage.
“You forget yourself, Sweet Lys,” Gianna continued. To anyone else, we could have just been sisters unable to resist gossip at an event. “Don't think for a moment that you have the right to live freely, after stealing my happiness. This peace you enjoy now, I only loaned to you, and I can snatch it away any time I feel like it.”
My heart was thudding, because I could feel both the presence of Hale and Mordaine from the front of the hall. If they were listening…
A drop of sweat rolled down my back. I was shifting. I had missed all the early signs in my distraction. And now Rhea was acting bipolar again.
My claws were extending on their own. My fangs itching. And every breath I took, I could smell scorching heat.
My vision was beginning to blur from my panic because in a few seconds my body would light up like a Christmas tree, right here in an international event where half the guests were humans.
You are the mistress now. Rhea is no more your friend but your subject.
Over and over, I repeated this like a Mantra in my head. Gianna was still talking, on and on, oblivious to the struggle against my sudden instinct to murder her.
“...ink all your attention should be channeled towards your soon-to-be husband. And I need a better introduction to your friend, unless, of course, he is more than that to you. Then you can let Fentone go. Either way, I win.”
Rage and jealousy warred in my mind. But above all was fear. I was scared for my sister despite her awful character. Mordaine has little to no morals. He would kill her and sleep well at night.
And right now, he was staring at our table from his own across the hall.