Chapter 87 Replaceable
LYS
“What?” I lost footing for a moment, but grabbed onto the bathroom door frame, steadying myself.
Tamar continued, totally oblivious, “Yes terrible news.” And then she moved on, “When you arrive at the Academy tomorrow, come right up to the Meridian house.”
My hand was clutching the door frame, frozen. “Why would The Academy open tomorrow?”
“It's just for a few hours.” My manager’s voice was unaffected. “Even if we wrap up the photo shoot early enough, you may be unable to get more than an hour of practice. And then we'll shut down till South Korea.”
In the background, I could hear the clatter of the keyboard. She was still at the office by this hour, even on a day like this.
It should not be a surprise anymore.
This industry was like any other art industry, nothing could grind them to a halt except the Corona Pandemic.
Not even my accident. They had already been auditioning to fill all my roles by morning, despite the fact that I was the face of this company.
However, I could not shake off the chills at how they were handling the Luna’s death. After the Hearthrown Alphas, she was the second most important person in all seven districts.
And there was Celeste. Celeste was a coryphée and deserved a little more respect at a time like this.
“Ready for Korea?” Tamar’s voice broke into my thoughts.
“Yes.” I sighed, finally moving into the bedroom.
It was her attempt to chit-chat, so I gave her a rundown of all my work-related decisions over the past few days.
But she immediately disapproved of my having Kade practice our acts with Caroline.
“You are too trusting, Lys.” Her background was quiet. I had her full attention now. “Caroline is merely one of the sisters and not your second night. It's unwise to offer her opportunities to perfect your act. Those acts are what makes you Principal Ballerina.”
I chewed on my lip. “Those are my friends.”
We went silent. The subtext of my message was clear. I will not let her stir rivalry between us.
“But this is business.” Came her quiet response, and the clacking sound returned. “If your goal is to secure your place as a Prima Ballerina, you have to remember that.”
“Have a good night, Tamar.”
She chuckled in amusement as I ended the call.
Numbness was fast spreading through my muscles as I tottered towards the bed, still in my bathrobe.
Luna Octavia looked perfect before I left that table, intent on her game of chess with Hale. How did someone die so suddenly, and poisoned?
Shivers ran through me at the thought of Celeste’s present state.
Mom and I had an odd mother-daughter relationship, but I could not imagine her suddenly dropping dead.
The thought of it alone made my chest hurt.
The door burst open then, and the Hearthrown Alphas walked in. Without a word to me, they disappeared into the bathroom.
However, when they stepped out sometime later, Hale, with his silver hair slicked to his temple, Draki, with his long hair tumbling down. I was still at the exact spot they had left me. Dazed.
Draki eyed me wordlessly and walked off, but Hale moved towards me and caressed my cheek.
“You heard the news?”
A quiet nod.
“I’m sorry.”
I looked up into those midnight blue eyes and saw glaring guilt.
“The moon goddess allowed it.” I gave him a reassuring smile as I rose from the bed and turned for the closet.
In the closet, Draki was naked.
And it did not matter that I saw him like this everyday, slept beside him like this, I turned my back as he got dressed.
My hand shook when I sifted through my clothes rack, unsure what to pick out.
“Let me.” A depthless bass said right in my ear. I jumped.
Pinning my body between his naked chest and the wall of shelves, he reached from behind me and tugged a purple robe loose from a hanger.
“Thank you.” I whispered as my hand brushed across the fine silk.
I turned around, but he did not release the robe.
His eyes traveled from my face, across my neck and down my body as my heart began to race.
Suddenly, he tugged the belt of my bathrobe loose.
My breathing was labored as I struggled to stand still while he pushed the bathrobe off my shoulders. The Egyptian towel fell around my ankles in a heap.
But he tossed the night robe around me, held it firmly for me to slip my arms in and then, with careful fingers, belted it around my waist.
“Thank you,” were the only words I could think of.
He was still staring in my eyes. And suddenly, there was a foreign feeling in my body. My body felt strange, and my heartbeats sounded unfamiliar.
And at that moment, there was a deviation from the emotions I usually had around him. The emotion spreading in my chest right now was more than the usual need to be his submissive, and please him, and kiss his feet the moment he required it.
I backed away, and then spun around.
This was the danger of being closeted with just one man. It was easier to maintain control when they were all together.
He caught me immediately, and whirled me around. There was a second where he just stared into my eyes, and then his lips were crushing mine.
My traitorous body melted against him, and my lips sighed against his, at the taste of his lips, the feeling of it.
His mouth was like warm cocoa on a December night, cool wine on a July afternoon, a heady contradiction to all that was normal.
It made my toes curl, and my fingers flex.
One hand was around my neck, the other cradling my head from behind, holding me in place as he pushed his tongue into my mouth, sliding it against mine till I moaned.
“It’s not enough.” One hand moved down to grab my ass through the silk. “It’s not enough.”
He pulled away, conflict in his eyes.