Page 35 of Glass Wings
“Holy shit,” he said, eyes bulging out of his head, “if this look doesn’t get you a permanent position in this elite . . . society, then I don’t know what else would. You look super fly. You sure I can’t entice a friendly blow job out of you still?”
Hadley bit her bottom lip and grimaced. “I’m still going to pass.”
“Alright, fine. Let’s go. You’re supposed to be over there around eight.”
Grant waved his hands towards the door, and Hadley stood to join, ready to get in the most beat-up car she had ever ridden in while looking the most glamorous she had ever looked.
Twenty minutes later, they were wrapped in the grandness of the homes in East Sacramento.
“This is it,” Grant announced, pointing at a large mansion. He pulled over and parked on the street while many other people around them were doing the same, stepping out of their cars in various attire ranging from straight lingerie to food service vests to other adult Halloween costumes.
Grant and Hadley walked up to the mansion, a veritable architectural opus, standing amidst a meticulously tended garden and a large, freshly mowed lawn. That was the truest sign of wealth in this city: green grass. It was so opulent and wasteful in a state like California that lived in constant drought.
Bathed in a warm glow, the cream-colored exterior reflected the sun setting beyond it. The white Corinthian columns reminded her of a Roman colosseum. Dormer windows punctuated the roof, and the mosaic of earth-toned roof titles harmonized with the property’s lush garden surroundings.
Grant and Hadley walked the winding pathway behind other guests through an oversized driveway. Several black luxury SUVs waited with their drivers standing guard, getting ready to settle into place for the evening. Hadley counted three statues and two small fountains lining the main entrance as she approached the double-door entryway to find a small line.
A security guard with warm tan skin and dark hair pulled into a tight bun was checking in every guest, a clipboard in his hands. The couple who stood before them was granted access inside, and the security guard, wearing an all-black button-up shirt and tie, moved his attention to Hadley.
“Name? Guest or vendor?” he asked, his utility belt on his hips swaying and highlighting out the two handguns he had accessible. Hadley’s nerves kicked into high gear.
“Vendor, I guess. Hailey Rabbit should be on your little list, there, cowboy,” Grant answered and winked at the entirely unamused guard. He scanned his finger down the clipboard until stopping a few pages in.
“Because that sounds like a real name. I’ve got something for you and then you can join the other girls inside,” the guard said to Hadley, and then pulled out an envelope under the very last page of his guest list before handing it over to Grant.
“You know where I’ll be, darlin’,” Grant winked at her, tucking the envelope in his back pocket.
The guard stepped aside to usher Hadley into the manor. She took a breath, nodded her head, and put her mask on before walking inside.
11
Djoser | Kinnari Temple | Late 1900s
It always fascinatedhim that no matter how simple-minded most of their kind were, humans always seemed to outcast the fanatics. The fanatics were always right.
There, on the streets of major cities such as Manhattan or Paris, was that loyal army who could always tap into that understanding. They understood that the world was truly in jeopardy.
Djoser felt a mass extinction looming. Whether that was Kinnari, human, or animal, he couldn’t tell.
If the Life Gifter wiped Arryn’s existence, would everything he created also disappear with him? If the true gods, their creators, somehow were overthrown in their upcoming battle, would their creations follow suit? Djoser didn’t know but suspected everything would follow.
It seemed impossible, then, to defend Allienna and Reign from the god’s wrath. How could they keep their clan safe?
“Are we ready to go?” Arryn asked as Djoser and Reign stood in their temple, existing between two realms. This place fostered magic with its entrances and exits into the human realm and loomed over his entire childhood. Arryn would create, unwillingly, to release power. Djoser would destroy for the same release, giving the creatures only moments of life.
Reign walked up to Allienna, standing close to the wood-burning stove, and placed her hand on Allienna’s still-flat stomach.
“Do not even think about commanding my child in the womb,” Allienna said, stepping back but keeping her tone light and playful. The two women were truly best friends and sisters, but Reign always had a questionable way of taking care of people.
“I would never,” Reign said, a wink playing in her eyes.
“I could feel your guilt. Whatever it is for, simply do not participate.”
Reign took Allienna’s hands and kissed the back of her palms before her pleading eyes met Allienna’s again.
“I never know what’s going on with them,” Arryn admitted, pulling Djoser aside, “but it always feels like I’m missing so much.”
“That’s nature, the balance of power of keeping men in the dark,” Djoser said, clapping his hands on Arryn’s back. For a moment, he forgot his dislike for the male Kinnari. Though equal in power, Arryn carried all the responsibility. The entire clan came to him for matters of earthly importance. He was their unelected leader, and Djoser carried the weight of the destruction that followed his presence.
