Page 7 of Knight

A wave of nausea rolls through me.

The crowd erupts with chatter but it’s hard to make out what everyone’s saying. My ears still ring from the sound of his voice, racing heartbeat drowning out any coherent thoughts.

“Okay, okay,” Edwin Huang’s voice becomes the loudest. He’s in a black suit fit for the politician he is. “Let’s all settle down and move inside. Let’s not forget what today is about.”

“Yes!” Cindy nods towards Nancy in a floor-length black dress before Nancy opens the door behind her, gesturing inside. “We’re still on time, everyone.”

“—that the girl?”

A nearby whisper startles me. Looking to my left, a man in a grey pin-striped suit whispers to a woman in a black gown. Both their eyes are on me and when I stare back, giving them an arched brow, they don’t look away.

“I’ll go find King,” Lea Huang’s voice cuts through the chatter, her parents nodding as they usher her little brother inside.

Fuck that. Not on my watch.

Swallowing the lump in my throat I lift my head high, approaching the doors to the main room. Passing Lea, I let her know, “I got it.”

Her hand comes to my chest, sparkling rings on her fair fingers. The crowd moves around us as her brown eyes narrow, “Clearly, you don’t.”

Taking a step back to get her manicured hands off me, I’m finally able to take in her full outfit. She’s shown up like a goddamn widow. A black scarf wraps around her head of silky hair. Leather gloves match her black stilettos.

“Lea, today isn’t the day for your shi—”

“I could say the same to you, Medusa,” she snips, round cheeks reddening. She takes a step closer, clearly using this event to restore her power. “I’m sure you need to speak with the priest after what you did. So run along and let the people who know what they’re doing handle this. I’ll go calm him down.”

She turns to walk away but there’s no way I’m letting her. I’m not the jealous type but today, the idea of her anywhere near Damien makes me want to claw her eyes out. When I grab her arm she turns around to look at me like a disposed tissue.

I fire back, “Calm him down? With what? A blowie?” I narrow my eyes to match hers, the foyer growing silent with most of the guests now inside. “I said I got it.”

She doesn’t let me move around her. “Of course, that’s the first thing you think of and not my mom’s Valium you trashy whor—”

BANG!

“Damien?”

The loud voice of a woman makes both Lea and I turn towards the door. We’re met with a tall, slender lady in a poofy dress, ivory tulle sticking out under her hem. It matches the white rose in her dark hair, the mesh attached to it covering half of her face.

“Where is Damien?” She has a French accent, her lips painted red, eyes as grey as the day’s sky. Tugging a thick black shawl around her shoulders, her piercing eyes land on us.

“I’ll get him,” I say, my head whipping to Lea when I hear her voice in unison.

“Back off, Medusa,” Lea responds, her voice full-diva.

The woman strides towards us, the foyer nearly empty. The few people who’ve stayed behind have confused looks on their faces. Lea and I glance at each other as the woman’s heels click in slow tempo across the floor. Looks like we’re wondering the same thing. Who the fuck is this?

I don’t recognize her from the locals. Not that I know everyone, but something about her makes her seem out of place. It’s not her outfit. Lea’s eyeing it like she’s studying it, and the way her shoulders fall back gives her the confidence of most people in this ritzy town.

When she stands in front of us, her smokey eyes move between our outfits before they land on my boots. Her brows barely furrow before she speaks again, “You.” She turns her head to Lea. “Take me to my Damien. He will be happy to see his aunt from Paris.”

Woah. “His aunt?” I ask, uncertain I heard that right.

Lea straightens up. “Right away Miss…”

“Marion. Marion Roy.” She pauses, looking around. “Or is it King here?”

“I’ll help you find him,” I pipe up, trying again. I need to see him, face-to-face, no matter how fucked up he is.

Marion looks at me with a flat expression, “Non. No, you will not.” That gets a snarky smile from Lea before she leads Marion to the doors without another word. My teeth grind together.

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