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My fingernails dug into my palms. I surveyed the joyous revelers breaking off into groups, hoping to find anything suspicious. Nothing stood out that might cause alarm, but the alarm bells blared in my head, anyway.

Something was wrong.

At the King’s Palace, danger was laced with opulence and hidden behind perfect smiles. The wolves were out tonight, and I was the hunted.

Chapter 6

Gray

“Happy Birthday, Stoney!” A jarring punch to my biceps snatched me from paranoid thoughts, rolling my eyes at the play on my name.

“Scarlett,” I greeted with faux disinterest. “You’ve lost your touch while I’ve been gone.” I smirked at my ruby-haired friend, who looked every bit as fiery as her personality.

With a snort, she tossed her long, deep red ringlets over her shoulder. “I wouldn’t be cocky about that if I were you. Golden’s been teaching me some new techniques,” she said with a flirtatious grin.

Scarlett Kittle was a male and female’s fantasy. She stood tall with a deep tan, her green eyes stark against her long red tresses. The violet dress showcased her hourglass figure that slit from the ankle to her hip. She wore her confidence like a badge of honor, and I loved her for it.

“Ew. Thanks for making me nauseous,” I muttered loud enough for her to hear. She deepened her smirk. “Speaking of nauseous,” I said, eyeing her from my side, “where’s the ‘shine? I’m going to need it to get through this shit.”

Scarlett chuckled, pointing to the bar at the back of the ballroom. “Let’s cause a fucking scene, Stoney. It’s your birthday, and you can cry if you want to. Or vomit on the throne. Either will do.”

Against my better judgment, the idea of pissing off Forest and most of the Kinetic kind highly appealed to me. A smile crept up my cheeks as I envisioned the night’s antics.

I felt the stares prodding me as we walked through the raucous crowd in our straight shot to the bar. Their gazes slithered over my body, threatening to penetrate the inner armor I’d constructed. The call for alcohol grew stronger.

Revels were a favored tradition amongst Kinetics. It was an excuse to dress up in formal attire and then party until our hearts combusted. Most times, they grew wild and lewd as the night progressed. I’d never been a fan of the duplicity.

The lighting dimmed, leaving behind a soft illumination from the candelabras, casting a sensual mood in the ballroom. Bodies writhed against one another to the gritty classical music. Bright colors from the currents added a multi-hued glow that emanated a club-like feel. Couples and throuples were only stopped by a layer of clothing from relishing each other’s bodies. It wasn’t fifteen minutes into the revel, and it was already quickly approaching pornographic.

Scarlett and I found ourselves lost in the mass of writhing bodies and heady energies during our trek to the bar. At the center of the dancefloor, Scarlett smacked her palm against a male’s ass while he ground his pelvis against a woman with neon-green hair. He snapped his head around to look at Scarlett with lustful eyes. Dark, swarthy skin contrasted with fiery orange hair. The neon-haired female sent Scarlett a scathing look. I noticed the orange currents zipping up her arms and neck, indicating her infrared heat magic.

Shit. I grimaced, snatching Scarlett along to our destination.

We clawed our way through the gyrating bodies. The pulsating beat of tribal drums only increased the animalistic fervor with which they moved. I felt the rhythm in my bloodstream, beckoning me to get lost in theseductive madness. Surrendering my body to the melody was a freedom I was rarely afforded. I planned to make it happen tonight with the hopes of forgetting all the recent events and what was to come.

We reached the bar at last after forcing our way through an opening at the edge of the dancefloor. Our hands clasped one another’s as our bodies were thrust against the bartop. Meeting each other’s eyes, we burst into stomach-clenching laughter.

Scarlett and I weren’t always friends. When I first began my training at age thirteen, she held the same misconceptions about me as the rest of our people. But one day, she stumbled across a private beating my father imparted upon me and realized how wrong she’d been. She took a few days to come to terms with what she’d witnessed and overheard. It had fucked up her reality and what she’d believed to be true. But with a heartfelt apology, we soon grew close during our training, making her my only friend for a few years until I met Slate and Hazel.

Scarlett’s role as the Royal Domain Emissary required her to be highly trained in combat. She was as fierce as they came with a saucy attitude to match it. As emissary, she traveled the lands to different domains throughout the continent. It was dangerous. Especially during dark times, causing the emissary position to become the most replaced in recent years.

A poke nudged my ribs. “Look at Cardinal over there,” she said, nodding in the direction of her older brother. Judging by the way he leaned into a man’s ear, he worked to pick up a hot and beefy warrior with lavender-colored hair. Cardinal bore a close resemblance to Scarlett, his short-cropped hair only a shade lighter than hers. “I bet he strikes out,” she laughed. “He can’t stand that I pull more dick than him.”

I shook my head and refaced the bar.

Scarlett slapped her hand on the bartop in quick succession to alert the bartender behind the counter. The pink-haired male looked up “Two apple pies, barkeep! We got a royal revel to blow up tonight. And you, kind sir, are going to be the detonator.” Scarlett gave him her most wicked grin.

The bartender studied us with apprehension. I watched him gauge the risk of punishment if he indulged in our plans of debauchery. Analyzinghim, I searched for any cracks to exploit, refusing to be deterred from my night of fun. Noticing the green currents illuminating through the fabric of the white button-up sleeves, an idea formed.

“Hey,” I said, capturing his attention. His hazel eyes shifted to peer at me. In a lazy gesture, I propped my elbow onto the bartop while cradling my jaw in my palm. “You’re of microwave magic, right?”

The bartender nodded, his nervous eyes shifting about.

“Well, how about you let us cause a scene by continuing to shoot us some ‘shine, even if you have to sneak it…” I said, noting Scarlett next to me, casting him flirtatious looks with her green eyes. “And I’ll ensure you a secure role within the guilds where your magic would be most useful.” I watched him put his thought process on display, weighing the risks of the choice I offered. “What do ya say?”

The bartender wiped his palms against his pants. He kept glancing in nervous anticipation to where the king sat perched on his throne. “Uh…” he said and then bit his bottom lip. His deliberation tested my frayed patience. Finally, he resigned himself to a harsh breath and a sag of his shoulders. He nodded. “Fuck it. But if you get caught, it’s not my doing. I’ve been instructed to keep you sober.”

I rolled my eyes, not surprised to learn my father and Amethyst wanted to keep me sober atmybirthday revel. “Got a name?”