Page 57 of A Spark Of Revenge

Elaine is crushing on the new Drakos Senior! That’s why she wants me to keep my hands to myself!

“Elaine, you look lovely as always,” Nox greets, holding his hand out for her while scowling over his shoulder at the Drakos Senior, who is practically breathing down the Demon Prince’s neck. “Is there a reason you have two escorts tonight?” he asks, looking at Victor, who stands there fuming over his shoulder.

“Oh, no. Senior Drakos isn't my escort,” Elaine laughs, pressing a gloved hand to her chest. “He’s hers.” With that declaration, Elaine steps back, opening the door further, bringing me into view.

Lennox’s relaxed smile falters when he sees me, his eyes widening just the smallest amount as they fall on my face. Then they very slowly move down the full length of me, making my toes curl and nerves come back in full force before his eyes snap back up to my face, his smile now completely gone as he stares at me in shock.

I have to take a moment myself, blinking a few times to make sure I’m seeing things right. Because Lennox Regalis is standing there, neatly dressed, hair pulled back into a loose bun on top of his head, wearing a suit! The dress shirt under his pristine suit jacket is black, and the collar is undone, giving me a tease of all the tattoos covering his skin beneath his clothing. He looks like some kind of sexy mafia king from one of my smutty books, and I don't hate it.

“I knew with everything going on, Meyer wouldn't have had time to find an escort, and since Theo is escorting one of the Drakos girls and Sabrina asked Jordan to escort her, I thought Victor would be a fabulous match,” Elaine says sweetly, walking over and linking our arms together, pulling me toward the door as I force a smile to my face. I try not to think about how the last time I had seen this giant he was stomping toward me with murder in his eyes.

“What are you doing? I thought we were trying to NOT get me killed,” I whisper into her ear as she pats my arm lovingly, smiling at Lennox like the sun shines out of his ass. I try not to let it bother me, given that she warned me she wasn't trying to impress her escort but mine, and I roll my eyes when I hear the smallest growl break from Nox’s lips before he coughs and swallows hard.

“I’m doing you a favor. Go with it,” Elaine whispers back as she turns slightly, grabbing a black clutch and holding it out for me to take as she leans close. “There are three throwing blades, lipstick, and mints in that bag. Don't cut yourself when rummaging through it,” she warns before letting my arm go and waltzing over to Nox, taking his elbow and tugging him to leave when he only stands there staring at me with an odd look on his handsome face. “Lennox? Are you ready to head down?” Elaine questions, making Nox jump out of whatever trance he was in and nod.

“Huh? Oh, yes! Wait… no!” he mutters, his face darkening as Victor steps into the room and begrudgingly offers me his elbow. I take it, worried that he might pancake me into the ground if I refuse, then send Elaine a dark glare for making me do this. I was already hesitant about the dress and dinner, not that the dress isn't gorgeous, it is! It's just that every time I’ve been in a dress the last few weeks, something bad always happens.

Nox’s eyes practically bulge from his eye sockets when Victor dips his head and gives me a tight smile. “Ranger Smith. It's a pleasure to escort you tonight,” he mutters half-heartedly, his deep voice pleasant on the ears with a heavy accent I can't quite pinpoint. I smile at him and nod my own greeting, unsure how to respond to his words. Elaine smiles, rolling her lips together as she tightens her hold on Nox’s elbow when he steps toward us, murder bright in his eyes.

“Ah, lovely. Shall we head down, then?” Elaine asks us all, smiling at the boys when they look at her like she's gone mad. I take the opportunity to flip her off, making her brown eyes widen as she snickers under her breath before she literally yanks Lennox to follow her down the steps.

Glancing up, I find Victor looking at me through narrowed eyes and sigh. “Look, I'm not going to be mad if you want to leave. I don't need an escort,” I mutter, cheeks flaming when Victor lifts a thick brow and shakes his head, keeping my hand locked firmly in his elbow with his free hand like he’s worried I may run if he lets go.

“I do that, and Elaine will ensure my personal misery for at least a month. You will stay with me the entirety of the night, and I will walk you back to your room as she instructed,” he grumbles, his deep voice low and hard to understand when he whispers like this.

“So I’m your prisoner?” I ask, as we trail after Elaine and Nox, who look like they are in a heated debate.

“No, but I’m pretty sure the three of us are hers,” he says with a nod toward Elaine, and I chuckle, then nod in agreement.

“Yeah. She’s kinda scary when she needs to be,” I agree, then almost fall on my ass when Victor actually laughs, the throaty sound of it ringing through the halls as he smiles down at me.

“In that, we can agree, Ranger Smith.”

“Please, call me Meyer. It sounds like we’ll be getting to know each other tonight, and I would rather not hear Ranger Smith every time you want to talk to me,” I admit, looking away from him and startle when I find Nox glaring daggers at me over his shoulder. Elaine elbows him in the side, making him whip his head back toward her with a curse, and I smirk. Victor chuckles, his eyes bouncing from Elaine to me with a quirk on his lips.

“She’s needed a friend up here. I’m glad she’s finally found one,” he says, shocking the hell out of me as we make our way down the stairs. “Now, tell me the truth,” he says in a heavily accented voice. “What is between those two?” he asks, face soft as he watches Elaine, then hardening to stone when he turns his attention to Nox.

“Oh, they are…” But I trail off and smile, looking at Victor, then Elaine, and shake my head. “As Elaine's official friend, I think it would be against girl code to tell you that,” I admit, making Victor grunt in frustration, but he nods as we follow Elaine and Nox through the massive doors of the cafeteria.

“Very well,” he grumbles and straightens his broad shoulders when hundreds of eyes fall on us as we stride through the big room. I gawk around me, realizing I played down the extravagance of the night in my mind, and hold on to Victor a little tighter. The room is festively decorated, with fresh garlands and pine everywhere as people mill about in beautiful dresses and suits. The giant wooden chandeliers above are lit with hundreds of white candles, casting the room in a golden glow as we walk down the plush, intricately woven royal blue rugs. But it's the pair of angry green eyes at the back of the room that makes me swallow hard.

Creed and Valen are standing next to each other, dressed impeccably in black suits and looking model-ready as Victor leads us to the table Elaine and Nox stop at. Creed's eyes are locked on my face as Valen talks to him; their heads ducked close so they can hear each other. But when Creed freezes, his eyes narrowing on me, Valen stiffens, then turns. His face brightens in an instant when our eyes meet across the room, then darken when he sees Victor at my side. I swallow hard as Creed’s hand falls to his blade strapped at his hip and yank my gaze from them as Victor releases my hand and pulls out a chair for me right next to Lennox.

I can feel Lennox's dark glare on my face as I sit, but choose to ignore it and look at Victor when he pulls out the chair next to me and takes his own seat.

Shit, this is going to be a long night.

TWENTY-EIGHT

Meyer

Steaming plates of food are placed in front of us the moment everyone sits down, as a freaking string quartet plays in the corner of the room. Soft Christmas carols fill the air as Rangers and Hunters alike join in with comfortable chatter now that the food has been served. I suddenly realize everyone has been waiting for Elaine to sit before following suit. My eyes widen when I see I’m sitting at the table with the rest of the bloodline Seniors and their dates.

Elaine and Nox sit in the center of the table. Elaine's chair’s the largest, almost looking like a wooden throne, and I watch as she shifts uncomfortably in the large seat. To her right is Nox, then me, Victor, and a man who, from his light coloring, is the new DeLuca Senior Elaine has yet to announce, with his date at his side. On Elaine's left is Monroe, who is now the new Regalis Senior, and his date, a beautiful raven-haired girl I’ve never seen before. Then, the Rivera and Rossi Seniors with their wives, who I realize are the only Seniors who survived Nox’s takeover.

“Is the food not to your liking?” Victor asks in a deep voice, startling me out of my thoughts as I turn to smile up at him.

“What? Oh, no. It looks good. I was just taking it all in,” I tell him, gesturing toward the decorated cafeteria.

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