Page 139 of Underground Prince

Vare: Miss work, dear? I tried to visit, said something about you being sick to save your ass. Now you owe me. Don’t say no to happy hour. We want to see you!

Bringing the corner of the phone to my lips, I pressed hard and considered.

Stay here, pretend importance, accomplish zilch, or go to a Saxon-owned bar known to be haunted by Trace and figure something the hell out?

I was out the door before I’d finished the thought.

28

CINDERELLA'S LUXURY QUARTERS

By the time I stood in front of the entrance to Drop Down, blurred navy replaced the cerulean blue skies above, bringing with it the bitter cold of a moonless night.

Melted yellow pooled out of the bar and spread across the sidewalk, creating the illusion of invitation. But it’d be sweltering in there, with sticky floors and stale beer sunk so deep into the cheap wood decor that no amount of lemon cleaner would ever freshen it.

I missed it.

Stepping through, I scanned the faces for my friends, finding them at the end of the bar. Lila was draped over the wood, laughing as she called out something to the bartender, her feet probably propped up on the brass rail underneath to get her that high. Jamal was behind her, pumping his fist at something on TV, and Verily used that moment to tickle his exposed waist, sending his arm rocketing back to his side before he put her into a light headlock. Erin laughed, playfully shoving Jamal back a step.

And me, standing apart and wondering: Why did I want so badly to leave this?

For days, weeks, almost two years, I’d thought it was solely her, being without my twin, that made me this way. Until I watched my friends and how they rediscovered joy.

Would Cassie have been able to join in? If it were me, my body made to ashes instead of her, would she have sought solace in the darkness?

I’d never know. She was forever blind now.

But…then I would have never met Theo.

“Yay!” Lila spotted me, clapping as she hopped off the bar and trotted over. She jumped into a hug. “I was hoping I’d see your face.”

She led me to our group, the bar not crowded enough to meet its usual Friday night standards, but it was early yet.

Jamal pecked my cheek. “Beer?”

“Sure,” I said as he slid a bottle over to me. I swallowed long and hard, frosted liquid splashing against my throat.

“You okay?” Verily asked. “I’ve never seen you frown with your eyebrows while drinking before.”

“Totally fine.” I followed up with a toothy smile to prevent further questions. “Shots?”

“In our last hour of happy?” Lila asked. “Absolutely!”

She waved at the bartender, and once he’d come over and Erin yelled “Tequila!” over the music, the tentative schematics in my brain solidified.

“What are your plans tonight?” I asked Verily loudly as the bartender flipped shot glasses in front of us.

“Meh. Dunno. Noah’s staying late at the library so I might hang with him later….” She trailed off, remaining unsure of my reactions when his name was mentioned along with her private plans.

“Yeah, of course!” I said with extra exuberance. She frowned at me curiously. “I’m hanging with Sax tonight. He’s being extra top secret by only giving me clues on where we’re going. Like, somewhere in Williamsburg, but I’ve figured it’ll be something outside his day job, if you know what I mean. He’s been showing me more and more.” I winked.

“Did you just wink at me?” she asked.

The bartender, still busy with our tequila, had an ear cocked toward me.

“I think he wants to introduce me to the other side,” I mock whispered. “Take me somewhere and show me what’s really going on. He trusts me now.”

“Hell to the no!” Verily said, loud enough to catch Lila, Erin and Jamal’s attention. “Listen, I’ve put up with you and him for weeks now, thinking you needed your space and your time to do what you had to in order to come back to us. But this—this is too much, Scar! You can’t go with him, you can’t get involved, for so many reasons!”

---