Page 1 of A Dagger of Twisted Starlight

Chapter 1

Top Who

Blake

The White Housefelt like a buzzing beehive today.

It was toward the end of the day, and I had already attended four different events: a teatime in the morning, a volunteer appreciation lunch, a fundraising kickball game, and a press event with my father. My schedule was the most packed it had ever been, and my energy levels were pushing the lowest toward the end of the day. This was my father’s second term as vice president, so I was pretty used to the responsibilities that came along with this life, but I felt more drained than usual.

“You good?” Cassius asked. He walked alongside me as we made our way through the West Wing. He was my best friend and my closest confidant. My only confidant if I were beinghonest.

“Yeah, just tired. I didn’t fall asleep until like two yesterday.”

“Chatting it up with that guy?”

I snorted at his insinuation. “Which guy?”

“That fae you told me about. The one with the freckles.”

“Oh, he’s long gone. I think he picked up on my chronic anxiety and self-esteem issues.”

“Wouldn’t that be great for a fae? He’d never go hungry again.”

“I think he didn’t want to be dating an emotional buffet like me. He also started acting weird when I mentioned I’m a virgin, which wasn’t great. Anyway, he ghosted me, so no, it wasn’t him. I was just up reading the newest Stormbringer book.”

Cassius slipped off his suit as we walked, throwing it over his arm. He had a long luncheon with his dad and had been dressed more formally than me. I had managed to get away with wearing a clean white shirt tucked into a pair of dark black slacks, my sleeves rolled up to give a little relief from the hot DC summer. “Shit, I forgot that was out already. Is it good?”

“Very. I almost decided to pull an all-nighter. Good thing I didn’t, or I would have passed out already.”

We entered a wide hallway lined with windows that looked out to the front lawn, where another event was being held. Thankfully, my dad didn’t have to make an appearance, and neither did I. Instead, we were headed to dinner, which was perfect timing with how my stomach rumbled and grumbled. My day still wasn’t over, though. My dad had me set up to meet my new bodyguard after dinner. Oncethatwas done, I couldget back to my room and continue my adventures with the Stormbringers.

We reached the dining room, where our fathers sat, discussing something in hushed tones as we entered. Cassius and I weren’t the only ones who considered ourselves best friends in the family. My father and his were also extremely close, having grown up together. That relationship only strengthened when Joshua became the secretary of transportation, working closely together during their times here at the White House. My mother sat at the table, also deeply invested in the conversation. My dad looked up and waved me over. He had the same amber eyes as me, his wolf shifter heritage proudly on display at all times. There was once a time in American politics where being any kind of supernatural would have barred him from public office, but things had changed since then. And him being one heartbeat away from the presidency helped reinforce to the people that supernaturals were as important to society as humans were.

Cassius and his family had felt some of that heat but not all of it. He was a hybrid. His father was a wolf shifter while his mother had been a human. This meant he couldn’t ever shift into his father’s animal form, but he did have a hybrid vigor that allowed him to be faster and stronger than most humans without ever needing to step into a gym.

“Tired, Blake?” my dad asked as I pulled out the heavy chair. The table was already set with clean white plates and soft, dark blue napkins. Two arched windows looked out to a garden of beautiful purple lilacs. Fresh baked bread was stacked in a basket at the center of the table, the sweet scent making my mouthwater.

“Just a little,” I lied. I reached over and grabbed a roll. I pulled it open and smeared it with butter. It took a lot of self-restraint to not just inhale the buttery bread in one single breath.

“Your schedule’s going to be much lighter now that you’re leaving me to have fun in California,” my mother said. She smiled as she spoke, but her tone was definitely “I’m your mom, and I’ll never be happy about you leaving home.”

“I’m not leaving to just have fun. I’m taking a few classes too.”

“What are they?” Cassius asked. “Knitting and Making Memes 101?”

I laughed. My friend loved to tease me. “Those are on the schedule, yeah. Right in between my political science classes.”

“Why didn’t you want to stay local for school?” Cassius’ dad, Joshua, asked.

“I visited Los Angeles before and fell in love with it. I figured I can explore more of it while I take some summer classes. I’m still enrolling in Washington U for the fall semester, so I won’t be gone for long.”

My dad set his wineglass down on the table with a clink. “Speaking of, the bodyguard I hired for you should be arriving any minute now. I had one of my aides go and grab him.”

“He’s here? I thought his flight didn’t get in until late tonight?”

“He refunded the plane tickets. He said he enjoyed flying himself.” My dad shrugged. “Guess that’s fine when I hired a dragon.”

“I still can’t believe you hired a Blackthorne as my bodyguard.”

---