Page 76 of Silent Secrets

Caiden

Ipullatthe sleeves of my jacket and clear my throat as I make my way down the stairs. I’m in no mood to attend this masquerade, but I know I don’t have a choice. We’d somehow snuck Caleb and Haven out of Lito, and then sent them to another realm with my Aunt Helena and my cousins. None of us have heard anything from our parents, but I’m sure that Gabe knows by now that we’ve taken away his hold over Hunter.

I’m a little worried about the backlash of our actions, but there wasn’t another option. We needed to keep his siblings safe from their father and they’ll be safe with my aunt. That doesn’t mean that Hunter is going to worry any less about them. But it’s not like he can follow them, seeing as we do not know which realm they ended up in.

“Finally,” Hunter mutters when my feet hit the ground floor. I turn to find him, Marcos, and Kai leaning against the wall.

My eyes linger on Kai, taking in how hot he looks. He wears a silver wolf’s mask that covers the top half of his face, his dark hair carefully styled for once. His fitted suit is black with red piping that matches the vest he wears beneath it. His shirt, tie, and matching pants are all black, and I wish he’d turn around so I could see his ass in those pants—sure that it’ll look even better than usual. I wish we had more reasons to dress up, because the last time had been when he’d turned twenty-one.

I happen to think Kai is hot at all times, especially when he’s all mussed up. But there is something about a man dressed up in a nice, well-fitting suit. I grin as I step close to him, leaning down to growl in his ear.

“You look hot as hell, but I can’t wait to tear this off you later.”

Kai’s eyes are wide beneath his mask as they shoot up to meet mine, his mouth falling open on a panting breath. I wish I could kiss him right now, but there are too many people in the palace and anyone could come upon us. We have enough to deal with right now; I don’t need to out us as well.

“Can you knock it off? I don’t have the patience for the two of you right now.”

Glaring at Hunter, I try to remind myself that he’s just worried about his siblings and what his father’s next move will be. Kai’s hand lands on my arm, pulling my attention away from Hunter before I can bite his head off.

“You look amazing, too, Cade.”

I puff up my chest at his compliment, knowing that I look damn good—but it’s always nice to hear. Like Kai, I wear a fitted suit, vest, and tie, but they couldn’t be more different. My suit is a dark purple that’s so dark it looks black until the light hits it. My vest and shirt are black, but my tie is a brighter purple that draws the eye to it. The mask on my face is a half mask covered in an intricate design of swirls. I’m not sure what inspired the design, but as soon as I saw it, I knew it needed to be mine.

“Now, if the princess would just hurry her ass up,” Hunter spits out as he stalks up and down the short hallway.

“I’m going to need you to calm the fuck down, Hunter. You’re stressing me out.” Marcos lays a hand on Hunter’s shoulder.

Movement on the stairs draws our attention. When I see Grace and Adaline, I try not to let my disappointment show, but based on the look on Adaline’s face, I don’t succeed. Turning to look at my friends, I see they wear similar looks—all of them, even Hunter.

“Boys,” Grace says with a lift of an eyebrow. “Why are you standing out here? I hope that you’re not waiting on Hadley.”

“Ummm… of course we are.”

Grace rolls her eyes as she turns to Marcos. “And what did you think? That you’d escort her to the masquerade?”

Marcos shrugs as he looks at the rest of us. I mean, it is what we’d been thinking. But it’s obvious that isn’t what Grace has planned.

“Head to the ballroom. Hadley will make a proper entrance fit for a queen—on her own.”

I don’t bother hiding the fact that I’m disappointed. I’d wanted to see Hadley before she gets overwhelmed by the mass of people who will want to meet her tonight. How else am I to reassure her we were there for her? But that’s not in the cards for the night, apparently.

The four of us grumble, but make our way to the ballroom. We join the line to enter, having to wait for each of the attendees to be announced. And I’m once again reminded of why I hate these types of events and why I haven’t been to one since Kai’s.

There’s so much pomp and circumstance. It’s honestly the one thing I hate the most about being the heir to the Summer court. On the upside, it seems like we might be the last to arrive. So once we’re announced, it shouldn’t be long until Hadley arrives. I can’t wait to see how gorgeous she looks, because it doesn’t matter what she’s wearing, she’ll be the most beautiful woman in the room.

“Goddess, I hate this,” Kai sighs from beside me.

“Don’t we all?”

It takes almost thirty minutes for us to make it to the doors, and my patience is waning. I already don’t want to be here and then to have to wait this long to even enter the damn ballroom? This night will never end at this rate.

“Lord Kai Jin of the Autumn Court.”

Kai straightens his shoulders, face blank as he steps through the doors. I get a glimpse of his tight ass in those pants before the curtain falls back in place, my cock swelling. Squeezing my eyes shut, I try to think of anything but his ass, as I will my dick to go down. The last thing I need is to walk into the ballroom with a hard-on.

“Lord Marcos Castillo of the Spring Court.”

I step up to the doors and the curtains falling between me and Marcos as he starts down the stairs. When the four of us arrive together, which is always, we have to be announced by age. It’s more political bullshit that I hate. Since we all hold the same title, all sons and heirs to the dukedom of our courts, it is our age that marks our importance—or so says the aristocracy. It’s just another thing that we hope to change one day.

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