Chapter 30 The kiss and the clue
DAISY
By the time I get home, I feel like I’ve been hit by a truck made of emotions, paint, and very bad decisions. My heart still hasn’t figured out if it’s racing from the kiss or from the fact that I ran out on Zeus like a mad woman. Both, probably.
I barely make it through the door before Iris’ voice hits me.
“There you are,” she says from the couch, looking like she’s been waiting a while. Her arms are crossed, and there’s a look in her eye that makes my stomach drop. “I’ve been texting you. Where have you been?”
“Studio,” I mutter, toeing off my paint-splattered shoes. “Trying to get our project done. And don’t ask, it was... messy.”
She raises a brow. “Messy like how?”
I wave her off and head straight to the kitchen. “Nothing I want to talk about right now. Just a long day. Why? What’s up?”
She hesitates, then follows me, her voice low and serious now. “Okay, I know this is going to sound insane, but I really need you to hear me out.”
I pause mid-reach for a glass of water. “You’re starting strong.”
“I think... I think Darian’s been in my room.”
My hand freezes on the cabinet handle. I turn slowly to look at her. “What?”
She exhales and runs a hand through her hair, pacing a little. “I know it sounds crazy. I thought I was just being paranoid or maybe the bond was playing tricks on me, but Daisy, I found something.”
I forget all about my water. “What do you mean you found something?”
She disappears into the living room and comes back a second later holding a small, silver object between her fingers.
A cufflink.
Polished, expensive-looking. Definitely not ours.
My brows knit together as I take it. It’s engraved with an intricate crest, probably their family’s symbol. “This is McAllister for sure,” I say, voice hushed. “Where’d you find it?”
“Under my bed,” she replies quietly. “Right at the edge. At first I thought maybe it got caught in my laundry or something stupid, but I’ve never seen it before. And with the way I’ve been feeling lately, like someone’s watching me, and I just... I don’t know.”
I sink into a stool, the cufflink still in my hand. “I mean, it is Darian we’re talking about. He could probably sneak into the Pentagon if he wanted.”
“I thought the bond was making me hallucinate or feel things that weren’t real,” Iris says, sitting across from me now. “But I’ve felt someone near me more than once. Not just that pull we talk about, it’s like I know when he’s close. And now this?”
My mind’s spinning. I look back at the cufflink, then at her.
“So, what? He’s been coming into our apartment while we’re gone?”
“I don’t know,” she says. “Maybe just my room. Maybe he doesn’t even realize what he’s doing. Maybe it’s the bond pulling him the same way it pulls me, and he’s just acting on instinct”
“That’s a terrifying thought, Iris. You sound like you’re making up things, excuses for him.” I mutter.
Iris nods slowly. “But you believe me?”
I don’t even hesitate. “Yeah. Yeah, I do.”
Silence hangs between us for a few seconds. Then she asks, “What happened at the studio?”
And just like that, I’m yanked back to the memory of Zeus’ mouth on mine. The weight of his hands. The fire we practically ignited in that room.
I clear my throat. “Nothing important.”
Iris narrows her eyes. “That’s the face you make when something very important happens and you’re trying to pretend it didn’t.”
I stare down at the cufflink. “Zeus kissed me.”
She blinks. “He what?”
I wince. “Well, technically I poured paint on him first. Then he poured it on me. Then we fell. On each other. And then he kissed me.”
Iris stares, speechless.
“And I kissed him back,” I add quietly.
She leans back, clearly stunned. “Wow.”
“I know.”
“Was it... good?”
I shoot her a look. “Iris.”
She raises her hands in surrender. “I’m just saying, for someone who’s hated his guts since day one, you look really panicked right now.”
“I am panicked,” I groan, rubbing my temples. “It was stupid. It meant nothing. It was a heat-of-the-moment, tension-induced lapse in judgment.”
“You sure?” she asks softly.
I hesitate. “I have to be.”
She doesn’t push, but something in her expression says she’s not entirely convinced.
I exhale hard and slump back into the couch. “And the weirdest part? After everything, after avoiding me, being a complete ass, Zeus suddenly wants to help with the project. He came into the studio like nothing happened. Who does that? Like, what changed?”
Iris opens her mouth, like she wants to say something, something important, but then closes it.
“What?” I ask.
She shakes her head. “Nothing. Forget it.”
“No, seriously.”
“Just forget it, Dais.”
She sets the cufflink down between us. “So... what are we going to do about this?”
I glance between the silver piece and my best friend, and suddenly the room feels ten shades heavier.
“I don’t know,” I whisper.
I sigh and flop deeper into the couch cushions. “You know… it’s kind of weird, isn’t it?”
Iris lifts a brow at me. “What is?”
“Us. The McAllisters.” I wave a hand in the air like I can swat away the thought. “We used to joke about how untouchable they were, and now… I kissed one, and you’re marked by another.”
Iris grimaces. “Don’t remind me.”
“I mean, how did this happen? When did they start orbiting our world like this?”
She looks down at the cufflink still resting between us. “I wish they hadn’t.”
I lean my head to the side, studying her. “It’s not all bad.”
She gives me a flat look.
“What?” I ask, feigning innocence. “Adrian’s not so bad. And Zeus, well, okay, he’s an ass, but he’s a complicated ass.”
Iris rolls her eyes. “You’ve always had a thing for emotionally unavailable, morally questionable types.”
“Says the girl who’s emotionally tethered to a guy who only speaks in glares.”
She opens her mouth to retort but just shakes her head instead.
“I made dinner,” she mutters, standing up and brushing her hands on her thighs.
“Oh my god,” I gasp, sitting up straighter with mock excitement. “You do love me.”
She snorts. “You’re getting ahead of yourself.”
“Don’t deny it, Iris. One day, you’ll break and say the L-word out loud. I’ll wait.”
She shoots me a playful glare over her shoulder as she walks to the kitchen. “Starve, then.”