Page 47 of Dark Night Golden Dawn
She hesitated, as though she didn’t want to leave Harlow alone. “Go to him,” she said, urging her sister on. There was no need to spoil Thea’s evening with the fact that she felt watched, that she felt the sinister pressure of eyes on her, even now. Thea would just worry, and she deserved an evening of romance. That was whatshewas here for after all, unlike Harlow.
Thea’s smile met Alaric’s and Harlow knew she no longer heard her. She watched as they gravitated towards each other, pulled by some invisible force. Alaric took her sister’s hand and led her onto the dance floor, where the crowd parted to allow them room.
People stopped to stare at the figure they cut. Truly, they were the most attractive people in the room, and together each amplified the goodness and beauty in the other. The vision was so sweet in its purity that Harlow found herself clutching her heart, forgetting the feeling she had that she was being watched, if only for a moment.
And then she saw Finn. She didn’t know how she could have missed him; once her eyes locked with his, she saw nothing else. He was somewhat carelessly dressed; his perfectly tailored tuxedo was everything it should be, but as usual, he refused to wear a tie. Petra was standing next to him, trying to speak to him, but he paid her no mind.
Could it have been him she felt watching her? That didn’t seem right to her. The feeling she had now, with his focus on her, was nothing like the chilling prickle of warning she’d felt walking in. No, this was different. Her skin flushed hot under her gown as their eyes locked onto one another.
He pushed away from the wall he was leaning against and strode across the room, leaving Petra behind. He didn’t force his speed the way she knew he could. Instead, he used his time to run his eyes over her body, causing tight longing to clench in her abdomen as he approached. He took her hand when he finally reached her and the feel of his skin against hers set her heart to pounding in her ears, as her cheeks flushed in an unmistakable blush.
“We have to go do something unpleasant,” he said softly as he brushed a kiss to her palm.
“What’s that?”
She followed his pointed gaze. His parents stood at the edge of the room, surrounded by people all vying for their attention. But both of them were staring at Finn and Harlow, and she felt the predatory nature of their shared attention in her bones. She had the good sense to suppress the shudder she felt coming on, but nothing could lessen the fear she felt in this moment.
But still, as much as they terrified her, this was not the presence she felt watching her earlier. The realization chilled the flush in her skin, turning her clammy almost instantly. Though most humans didn’t realize it, the older Illuminated were dangerous beyond imagining. The common assumption in the Order of Mysteries was that they’d lived too long, and nothing satiated their desire for pleasure anymore but cruelty and degradation. No one could gain concrete information about them, but the rumors she’d heard were enough to make anyone ill.
Which was why the instinctual feeling she had that even they were not the threat she sensed was so unsettling. She realized Finn was speaking, tugging gently on her arm to get her attention. “We have to, Harlow. They want to meet you.”
She knew he wasn’t saying much else because their attention was so focused on them. The Illuminated could focus their hearing intensely for short periods of time, and it was very possible they were listening to every word they said.
“I’d be delighted to meet them,” she said, forcing a smile. She wondered if, like the night of the Grove party, he sensed whatever she did about what was wrong.
“Thank you,” he murmured, pressing her hand to his chest as he led her across the room. As usual, he seemed perfectly calm, at least outwardly. It was exasperating how steady he was, how safe she felt with her hand in his, even as they walked towards some of the most dangerous immortals on Okairos.
She’d have to ask him later about the feeling she had. Harlow didn’t dare look for her own parents; in fact, she hoped they wouldn’t join them. It was better they do this on their own, though if she could, Harlow would gladly run into the comforting arms of either of the maters to avoid this. She braced herself against the intensity of his parents’ stares.
Connor McKay didn’t look a human day over forty, a touch of gray at his temples the only thing to show that he was very nearly ancient—over two thousand years old, if rumors were true. Everything in his incredibly handsome bone structure was a mirror to his son’s, but the similarities ended there. Where Finn was considerate under his intimidating exterior, Connor was cold and tightly wound all the way through, controlling and raptorial. If possible, Finn’s mother was worse. Aislin McKay wore a simple black satin gown, her chocolate brown hair knotted into a severe chignon. She was gorgeous, and Finn’s beautiful eyes clearly came from her, though that beauty was drowned in the expression of pure hunger she wore. She looked like she might reach out, snatch Harlow, and devour her.
Finn squeezed her hand as the people surrounding his parents scattered at their approach. “Mother, Father, this is Harlow Krane.”
He didn’t say “Mother” and “Father” in the sweet tones she and her sisters referred to Aurelia and Selene in. The words were clipped in his mouth, as though he hated to say them. Memories of bruises on his arms when they were children, as well as countless times he wasn’t allowed to eat lunch, or the times he simply didn’t show up to school for days at a time, played in the back of Harlow’s mind. He would come back paler, with dark circles under his red-rimmed eyes, never speaking once about what he’d endured.
In secondary, it had been clear his parents expected him to join his father’s real estate development firm, and when he’d applied for university, they’d been angry, but she had been proud. Like Alaric, he’d refused his parents’ money after uni. It had been all over the gossips when the two of them started their own securities company, specializing in the hybridization of magic and technology. Still, they had some hold over him, though she didn’t know what it was, exactly.
Harlow held out her hands in greeting, bowing her head only slightly as Aislin took them. Her hands were cold as ice, and she squeezed Harlow’s hands hard enough to bring tears to her eyes. But her voice was smooth and cultured as fine silk when she said, “It is so good to finally meet you, Harlow. You are a vision.”
Harlow doubted very much that Aislin sincerely felt that way. The woman was thin to the point of gauntness, as the Illuminated valued a certain kind of feminine fragility that was an unpopular beauty standard with the Order of Mysteries and the Trickster’s Chosen, but all the rage with humans and vampires. Harlow could see from the slight curve of her upper lip that she was dying to make some snide comment. Connor nodded, but would not make eye contact with either of them, instead scanning the crowd, as if he too sensed a hidden menace in their midst.
“Yes,” Harlow said slowly, trying hard not to pull her hands from Aislin’s death grip. “It is good to meet you too.”
A long, uncomfortable beat passed and Aislin released Harlow’s hands, smoothing non-existent wrinkles from her opulent gown. Finn made no effort to fill the silence and Harlow wasn’t sure what the expectations for her were. Her head was empty now, but for the thought that these people wanted to breed her to their son and take her family’s home and livelihood. Certainly it wouldn’t be strategic to mention that.
A smile spread across Aislin’s beautiful face so malevolent that Harlow’s stomach soured. “You two should go have fun. We will talk again soon.”
Connor nodded, still staring intently beyond the crowd. “Yes, we have much to discuss about your future.”
Finn visibly bristled at his parents’ words, and Harlow couldn’t blame him, though she suppressed her own reaction. Their statements may have been phrased kindly, but they were barely concealed threats, and neither had bothered to try to hide that fact. Finn took one of Harlow’s hands, soothing it with gentle strokes of his thumb down the center of her palm.
“Wonderful,” he said sharply, gripping her hand tighter, as though he feared one of his parents might steal her away. His jaw clenched so hard she thought his teeth might crack. “Enjoy your evening.”
The tone of forced respect in his voice broke Harlow open. His desire to please them was as evident to her as was his clear hatred for them. Again, she wondered what it would be like not to have a family like her own, to walk through the world without people who loved you no matter what, to be alone with all the complex feelings that were obviously coursing through Finn as they walked away.
As his parents receded into the crowd, Finn’s grip on her hand loosened slightly. Their palms were sweaty against one another, but she didn’t let go. The hurdle they’d just cleared was significant. As Aislin and Connor disappeared from sight, the tension between them lessened enough that she recognized it for what it was: fear. They were both terrified.
Suddenly what they were doing, and the consequences for what might happen if the McKays suspected their deception, became clear. The instinctual fear coursing through them both was an indicator of how high the stakes were. Finn’s parents weren’t average adversaries; they were ancient immortals with unlimited, completely unchecked power. She’d spent so much time wondering about the mysterious feeling of being watched, she’d forgotten how much rested on her shoulders.
