Page 19 of Dark Night Golden Dawn
Thea did not do as she was told. She looked directly at the Illuminated man who was pushing through the crowd towards them and her cheeks flushed further. Harlow noticed that his eyes emitted a faint glow, and the grin that spread over his face was full of dangerous joy. Was it possible that Alaric Velarius was alreadyin lovewith her sister?
Enzo elbowed her. “He’s going to make her a target for the entire season if he isn’t careful.”
Harlow shook her head, almost imperceptibly. She’d never been through a season herself, but she knew the stories. When the swan of the season was marked so early, the competition could get vicious. And Alaric Velarius was arguably the most eligible bachelor in all four Orders. Harlow had a feeling Thea’s competition was about to beveryangry.
The crowd parted for Alaric and Harlow saw he carried two cut glass flutes of rose cordial. She looked at her sister’s empty hands and knew. He was going to hand her one of those glasses and every person that had been hoping they had a chance with Alaric Velarius, Okairos’ prince of princes, would be crushed.
It happened in nearly slow motion from her perspective. His eyes were locked on Thea’s as he greeted the three of them. As he approached, his dark skin glowed softly in the green gloom of the garden and his eyes shone with appreciation for her sister, along with the usual light of the Illuminated that seemed brighter when they experienced strong emotions.
“It’s been a while,” he said to Thea, his sonorous voice sounding a bit unsure.
“Yes,” she replied.
He held out the flute of cordial to her sister, as Harlow knew he would, and when Thea’s slender fingers curled around it, they brushed his, their eyes never faltering from the other’s gaze. Harlow had a brief moment where she was tempted to make a gagging noise, but then she saw the narrowed eyes of those who’d hoped to have a chance with him.
She hoped he meant this, this small-seeming but monumental gesture. Otherwise Thea’s season would be over before it began. If he decided on someone different, or this gesture wasn’t meant to be as meaningful as everyone had clearly already determined it was, the jealous vipers that were now seething around them would destroy Thea’s chances at anyone else.
Harlow needn’t have worried that Alaric didn’t know the impact he was making. As Thea took the flute from him Harlow heard him whisper, “Gods, Thea. I missed you. You look beautiful.”
Her sister looked down at her cordial and smiled as he swept her cheek with a kiss so sweet and chaste several people in the crowd gasped. The first kiss of the season had been laid, and Thea Krane was its beneficiary. She was the season’s blooming rose, and now everyone knew it.
Harlow tried her best not to smirk, but hardly succeeded. Enzo nudged her again and she thought he was agreeing with her that Thea’s success had been incredibly satisfying to watch, but she realized too late that he was warning her. He’d been looking at something over her shoulder—she’d assumed it was the jealous onlookers, but the deep voice that sent shivers down her spine brought her back to the horrifying reality of the moment.
“Hey, Harls.”
ChapterTen
She turned slowly to face Finn McKay. He was dressed in a pair of slim fitting grey wool slacks, a white t-shirt, and a soft-looking navy blazer with the collar turned up. He was flouting tradition by not wearing a collared shirt, but she doubted anyone would care. His hair was freshly cut and yet still looked as though he’d just rolled out of bed.
Do not think of Finbar McKay rolling out of bed, she chided herself.
“Hello, Finbar.” Her voice was chilly, as she tried to tamp down the incredible rush of heat she got from looking at him.
He winced. “Harls, don’t call me that.”
“Stop calling me ‘Harls’ and I’ll callyousomething else.”
He narrowed his eyes at her, then one corner of his mouth quirked up in that horribly smug, sensual way he had of smiling. “As you wish, Ms. Krane.”
“If I hadmywish, you’d be anywhere but here, McKay.”
Thea hissed softly in disapproval and Alaric’s face was strangely twisted with pain, as though she’d hurthisfeelings. The crowd was listening, Harlow knew, and it was likely a misstep to be so rude to the heir to the McKay fortune, but she couldn’t seem to stop herself. The way he’d just walked off with Petra in the middle of their conversation last night had stung more than she realized.
Finn blinked a few times and then nodded, taking a place next to Alaric, rather than her. The rest of them began to chat idly and slowly the crowd lost interest. Harlow felt the tension in the air relax, as people began to tend to their own business.
But Harlow did not relax. In fact, her body tensed so rigidly she thought her muscles might explode and she struggled to keep her breath even. Enzo and Finn were discussing one of Finn and Alaric’s friends from Nea Sterlis who wouldn’t arrive until just before the Solstice Gala, but Harlow couldn’t follow their conversation. Her throat was dry and her mug was empty.
She murmured something about getting another drink and moved away, swiping a glass of rose cordial off a table, and wandered into the boxwood maze. She knew the maze would be occupied later in the party by the first sets of lovers to pair off. But now, while everyone was getting to know one another in the context of the season, it was blessedly empty.
A shiver ran through her. The air was a bit too chilly here to be drinking something cool. She turned to make her way back to the party to find hot tea instead, and saw him seated on a stone bench, as though waiting for her. “Are you following me, McKay?”
He rolled his eyes and pulled a pack of cigarettes out of his jacket pocket. “Don’t flatter yourself, Krane. I just hate this bullshit. You know that better than anybody.”
She did know that. They’d made fun of the season endlessly in secondary school, calling it a desperate way to find love. Now, here they both were, neither of them paired, both expected to make an advantageous match. Both the kinds of desperate actors they’d once derided.
“So why come?” She didn’t know why she asked.
He looked up and she saw the kind of pain in his eyes she remembered from when they were children. The kind that spoke of the cruelty of his parents, their ruthless ways. The kind that had brought them together, originally, because she and Enzo were the only ones who knew how bad they were, how much they hurt him.
