Page 91 of Akarnae

is hereby invited to attend the

New Year’s Eve Gala

Alex read the words a second time and asked, “Does this mean the royal family will be there?”

Bear shrugged. “Not necessarily. All the invitations to elite events are written ‘On behalf of His Royal Highness’ just so they sound more impressive than they actually are. I doubt the king and queen will be in attendance.”

“It still sounds really exclusive,” Alex said, her stomach fluttering with nerves. She smoothed a non-existent wrinkle from her dress, hoping she looked okay.

“It’s not that big of a deal,” Bear assured her. “I mean, it is, but everyone’s always so snobby that it’s easier to see it as a bit of a joke.”

“Right,” Alex said, not at all comforted. “What do I need to know about these security measures?”

“You just need to have your invitation with you to be able to Bubble in and out of the venue,” Bear said. “Each Bubbler is formulated to work only when in range of the invitation it’s linked with. It’s really complex Chemistry, but all you need to know is, if I swapped one of my Bubblers with one of yours, it wouldn’t work because yours is networked to link with your specific invitation. I can only get there and back by using my two Bubbler vials, provided that I have my invitation with me as well.”

“What happens if I lose my invitation?” Alex asked. “Or one of my Bubblers?”

“Err—it’s best if you don’t,” Bear said. “Of course, it happens every year to someone. But you’d have to go and talk to the hosts and that’s not something we want to have to deal with tonight, if you can help it.”

“Understood,” Alex said, securing both the invitation and the second Bubbler in her purse.

“These Bubblers were created specifically to arrive and depart from a single place—the Gala,” Bear said. “Normally the first person through a Bubbledoor has to envision where they want it to open out at, but with these the destination is already pre-set.”

“That makes things easier,” Alex said. It could have ended disastrously for her otherwise, since she had no idea where they were going.

Bear nodded and said, “I’ll see you in a minute, okay?” Without waiting for a response, he smashed his vial on the ground and jumped into the shimmering colours, disappearing from view.

Alex followed immediately after him, stepping into her own bubble portal and landing in the middle of a rose garden lit by twinkling fairy lights. A huge marble mansion glowed in the background, and Alex felt the need to pinch herself to see if she was dreaming.

“Nice, huh?”

She spun around, relieved to find Bear behind her.

“It’s incredible,” she said. “Does someone actually live here?”

“The hosts of the Gala,” he said. “It’s called Chateau Shondelle, which translates roughly to mean: ‘I have a massive house and an equally large stick shoved up my—’?”

“Bear!” Alex hissed, looking around to see if anyone else was in hearing range.

“Anyway,” he continued, ignoring her reprimand, “the Gala is held here every year. There’s a massive ballroom inside which is perfect for the event.”

Alex struggled to take in the size of the mansion. She couldn’t even begin to imagine living in a place like this.

“Come on, we’d better get inside,” Bear said, pulling gently on her arm.

They walked straight over to and then through a doublearched entryway, continuing down a brightly lit corridor. At the end of the hallway was an attendant waiting beside a set of closed doors.

“Invitations?” he asked in a bored voice.

They handed over their invites and the man looked at them closely before returning them. “Proceed,” he drawled, and the doors opened automatically with his acceptance.

Alex tried to contain her amazed expression when she stepped into the ballroom, but it was challenging. Crystal—possibly diamond—chandeliers hung from the vaulted ceilings, an elevated stage held a string orchestra, and there was even a buffet feast spread along one entire wall of the room. People everywhere were dancing, laughing and eating their way into the New Year.

Bear chuckled at Alex’s expression as he led her down the steps and further into the room. “Pretty fancy, huh?”

Alex nodded and continued scanning the room, keeping an eye out for Jordan. She soon spotted him standing with a group of people near the far wall. Like Bear, he was also wearing a tux—and wearing itwell—but Jordan clearly felt uncomfortable. He was standing tall, his posture stiffer and sharper than she’d ever seen, and his face was a mask of stone. On one side of him stood a man and on the other a woman, both of them blond and beautiful. Their body language oozed confidence and self-importance.

“Are they his parents?” Alex asked, pointing out the group.

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