Page 78 of Soaring in Flames (Reborn 2)
THE CAMERAS FLASHEDbright as voices called out around us, practically blinding me and making me feel a bit overwhelmed. I kept my eyes open and smiled as I followed Marco’s lead, his hand large and hot on my back as we posed on a massive red carpet that went up stairs into a large marble building. Other couples, equally as glamorous, entered into the building but didn’t draw as much attention. I also noticed that none of the women were dragons. It was what I’d been told, but it was still a bit unbelievable. I was thrilled to be able to tell the difference between shifters. Slowly but surely.
It was odd because my skin and chest continued to feel flighty as if I wanted to shift again. And I wanted to, if only to prove it to myself. But now was not the time and it hadn’t even been twenty-four hours, something I was very aware of. Last night I hadn’t slept enough and between this morning at Jordan’s house, to Vogue, and now this? I was starting to feel it.
It was an odd dream-like situation to be standing on the carpet with all of my men, their tuxedos distracting me because they looked incredibly good. I could hear people shouting questions at us and I think it was a mixture between my mother and Jed’s death and no doubt our relationship that humans found so odd. I still didn’t get it. They also kept asking ‘who’ I was wearing and I felt bad wanting to correct them and tell them ‘what’ I was wearing.
I hadn’t fully understood what Croy meant about convincing my boys, but now I did. You would have thought that I was trying to leave the penthouse naked. I was fully dressed and they kept commenting on how little I had on. Mind you it was grumbling under their breath, but I 100% heard it and just kept shaking my head or giggling. What? Their grumpiness was a bit cute.
You would have thought that after the process I’d undergone before this they would have more to notice. What about my extensive hairstyle that had intricate waves that were pinned and pulled my hair back? The woman had looked exhausted after spending hours on my hair. Or what about my makeup that made me look like every supermodel from the magazines I read about? Did you know they had fake eyelashes? I mean really, my lashes were massive right now. I would have even been happy with them commenting on the yellow diamond covered shoes and earrings I had.
But no! Instead, they were focused on my dress. At least until we stepped out onto the red carpet, then they seemed to be tense at all the questions and pictures being taken—something I couldn’t blame them for. I found myself wishing I could have brought Bella, she always relaxed me and this situation was a bit overwhelming. My boys were doing their best but sometimes a cat, I’d found, was the solution to stress relief. To be fair though, she was probably much more comfortable right now, spread out on the large king size bed in the room I’d been getting ready in.
I had considered the possibility that they thought the dress looked bad on me. I hadn’t taken it that way but I suppose it was possible. Except when I voiced that option in the car on the way over, they all looked at me as if I’d lost my mind...so I guess I was incorrect about that aspect. Good to know.
As we entered into the lobby, the cameras and voices lessened, making way for soft classical music. My eyes searched the chandelier lit space as we neared a massive ballroom, two men standing at the entrance, before opening the door. I tried to not look caught off guard at the stunning room but I mean... Wow. Everything appeared to be diamond like with accents of gold, expensive dresses and tuxedos filling my sight as the scent of dragons, other shifters, and some scents I couldn’t identify filled the air.
I saw a few women, although the majority were men, and none of them seemed to offer me particularly friendly looks. They weren’t mean either, but everyone seemed to drop their eyes when Marco and the others, including myself, walked past. I wasn’t positive how I felt about that.
We neared a massive long table up front that mirrored four others, each containing one of the council women or men. There were others surrounding them and I had to assume those were their flights. However, the minute that we neared it seemed that they had less to say. Immediately, one of the councilmen broke away and walked towards us, his smile authentic as he offered Marco a hand.
“Lucas,” Marco responded looking relaxed despite the slight tension in his body, “you remember Maya, right?”
“Couldn’t forget her.” He winked and the handsome older man kissed my hand, making me smile. He was charming. I would give him that.
Atlas let out a frustrated sound that they all ignored as a woman stepped up next to Lucas, her smile soft but eyes sparkling. I had to assume she was around Lucas’s age but I wasn’t positive. I looked over her dark green dress that fell off the shoulders and her rich dark hair that was streaked with silver. She was very pretty.
“Maya!” She smiled, “My name is Heather, it is wonderful to finally meet the little phoenix that has everyone talking.”
I tilted my head, “It’s wonderful to meet you as well, are you—”
“His mate,” she offered a bigger smile, “yes, him and the other insane bastards at our table.” I blushed, letting out a laugh at her phrasing as my eyes darted over to a table of men that were watching her intently while pretending to have a conversation.
“You would have thought after one hundred years they would have learnt to calm down,” she continued shaking her head while trying to not laugh.
Before I could respond we were placed into a flurry of other hellos and welcomes including the other two councilmen that I wasn’t a fan of. Oddly enough, tonight they didn’t seem to be as rude. Instead they seemed a bit uncomfortable. Larry, his hair somehow more white than before in comparison to his orange skin, offered me a slight grimace as Edmund nodded in my direction but didn’t say anything. I noticed that their flights looked rather sullen, all of them in deep conversation or on their phones. They had a far wider age range than Lucas’s flight had, it seemed. Heather stayed by my side which calmed my nerves a bit because it made me feel more welcomed and not just from my wonderful mates.
Finally, the conversation I hadn’t been looking forward to occured.
“Maya,” Anna’s voice chimed as Heather shook her head looking annoyed.
“Anna,” I offered, not putting out my hand because she didn’t offer her own. I didn’t say this very often but I wasn’t a fan of the woman. I mean, could you blame me? She had all but insinuated that her and Marco had been a thing.
I looked over her shoulder to who sat at her table, realizing it wasn’t a flight but rather a group of women that smelled like her...a bit dragon and a bit wolf. So maybe a pack? I tried to not panic as I saw Anani’s and Ledger’s ex-girlfriends glaring at me from where they stood. When Ledger’s warm scent wrapped around me, I relaxed far easier.
“So you are really sticking it out, huh?” Anna purred, arching a brow.
Heather chuckled. “Don’t make her feel uncomfortable with finding her mates, Anna. We knowyouwill, eventually.”
“Don’t want them.” She waved absently. “So where is the ring then?”
I blushed, “What?”
Anna smirked, “The ring. You know, this is an engagement party.”
Heather shook her head, “Each to their own pace, you know they didn’t even want to hold this stupid party. You can blame Edmund and Larry for that one.”
“Well, being a phoenix is a big deal,” Anna lamented, grinning as if it wasn’t, “let’s just hope they actually want you around and not just to make babies.” Then she was gone and I was trying to control the anger that fluttered in my chest. I would not get mad. I would not get mad...
“She’s not worth it,” Heather whispered softly.
