Page 84 of Night’s Fall (The Four Realms #1)

Even with the amount of food available to peck at (and there was a lot), there were servers wandering (they wore dragon masks too, just not as elaborate, or hot as Aleksei’s ) with trays of hors d’oeuvres, glasses of champagne or the signature cocktail of the evening, the soaring dragon (gin, egg white, lemon juice and violet liqueur in a martini glass rimmed with glittering purple sugar dust).

And fortunately, one of these servers approached us tout de suite , so Aleksei grabbed two soaring dragons for us.

He handed one to me and I took a sip.

I wasn’t one for the taste of flower, but the lemon cut it, the sugar sweetened it, thus, in the end, it was delicious.

I lifted my glass to Aleksei . “ Your mom knows her stuff. This is perfection.”

He smiled at me.

Then he smiled beyond me.

I turned and gasped.

Monique’s gown of midnight blue shot through with silver shooting stars tracing stardust was mega .

And Gayle’s body-hugging gown of brass-and-nickel-colored parachute silk stitched in panels, the edges frayed giving a feathery effect, that trailed a train that floated behind her several feet was insane .

But it was Cat’s gown that was the showstopper. It had steel disks on padded shoulders, and encasing her arms and on her body, sheets of steel-colored silk skimming her every curve to end in a fishtail hem, all of this representing an old-fashioned airplane.

And it was a miracle .

As such, I couldn’t help but squeal, hand my drink to my mate and throw my arms toward them.

Gayliliel got to me first and we did the double cheek touch.

“You’re perfect,” I told her.

“No, you’re perfect,” she replied.

Monique came next, with the refrain of perfects, then Catla , and we said it again.

“Oh my gods, Aleksei , that mask is hawt ,” Gayle exclaimed as Aleksei returned my drink.

“My thanks,” he replied, his full lips under the mask twitching.

“Where’s Bash ?” I asked, craning my neck to see if he got lost in the crush on their way to us.

I didn’t think it was good that my question had Monique and Gayle exchanging a glance behind their masks ( Gayle’s , parachute silk, frayed at the edges, wrapped around her eyes like a superhero mask, Monique’s a study of silver glitter, one eye a star with a trail of stardust shooting out the top side).

“Trying to impress Dad . And failing,” Cat told me.

As he would, since undoubtedly, Mr . Truelock had set his sights on a very-soon-to-be king for his daughter.

I looked up at Aleksei . “ Maybe we should save him?”

Before Aleksei could reply, all of my gals got tense, closed in, then surged back.

And Anna was there.

Well, one could say she didn’t dally.

Though, I wondered where Timothee was because he wasn’t with her.

“Aleksei,” she buzzed cattily, completely ignoring me and my gals. “ In the receiving line, I didn’t get a chance to ask if we could have a brief word in private.”

Um…

Hells no.

I was about to stake my claim, but I would find quickly I didn’t need to, because Aleksei spoke.

“If this word is you sharing you’re fucking my brother, Tim already told me. And if you have concerns this hurts my feelings, rest assured, it does not,” Aleksei replied frankly.

Three collective gasps came from my females at this Timothee / Anna news.

Anna’s head jolted like she’d been slapped.

“Outside of that, Anna ,” Aleksei continued, “there isn’t anything we need to discuss in private.”

“There were things left unsaid,” she asserted.

“You mean unscreeched,” Aleksei corrected blandly.

“ Although I knew going in you would not take my message well, I’m afraid listening to a female shriek at me for an hour, after not listening to a word I said, doing so further proving my point that we were not suited, is an experience a male can stomach once in his life. But only once.”

Her gaze behind the mask darted to the four members of her audience before she said, “ Could we discuss this in private ?”

“As I said, we have nothing private to discuss,” Aleksei denied. “ You’re sleeping with my brother. And I’ve found my mate. With our history, privacy isn’t appropriate.”

“Tim and I are dating. Not courting ,” she pointed out.

“And I’ve found my mate,” Aleksei repeated.

“Yes, you have,” she sniped. “ And what I would like to know is, if you hadn’t ended things with me, and you found her , would you have left me for her?”

“Quest your own mate, Anna , and you’ll answer your question,” Aleksei returned.

“I think, with our history, this going back to when I was practically a baby, I deserve an answer to that,” she snapped.

“Our history?” Aleksei asked dangerously.

Uh-oh.

I got closer to him.

My females sidled away.

“We could have salvaged something, Aleksei ,” she told him. “ But not after you rubbed her in my face. Could you not have waited at least a few more months before announcing to the world you replaced me?”

“I’m afraid an assassin took that opportunity away from me,” Aleksei retorted.

“ But allow me to remind you, you’re sleeping with my brother, Anna .

And along with him, you carried on with Windstalker , and you did this publicly.

Both of these happened before I met Laura .

Although I’m unsurprised you find you can behave any way you please and expect others to dance to your direction, this is actually not the way the world works. ”

She looked side to side, got closer, so I got even closer, and she hissed, “ Beings can hear us and they’re listening. Please , can we speak privately?”

“Again, you aren’t listening. I will, however, repeat myself. We have nothing to say to one another,” Aleksei returned.

She assumed a pretty, pouty expression underneath her mask.

“Lexy, please ,” she begged.

Lexy?

Blech.

Unfortunately for her, “ Lexy ” had lost patience.

“For fuck’s sake, Anna , you killed what we had by doing everything in your power to stop me from being me and mold me into what you wanted me to be.

Then you made certain it could never be resurrected by using my brother in an attempt to hurt me.

I have no interest in this conversation, and even less in anything you could say to me, privately or not.

What we had is done. What we shared before that, you stained.

For the love of all the gods, let this be done.

Live your life and allow me to have mine. ”

She stood woodenly, staring up at him before she said through stiff lips, “ I guess I know where we stand.”

“I hope so,” Aleksei muttered impatiently.

She didn’t move.

But we did.

After Aleksei bid a dismissive, “ Enjoy the Masque ,” he took my elbow and led me away.

I noted a great number of guests pretending they hadn’t been watching what had just gone down, but my gals had retreated to the next ballroom (the one with the food).

Aleksei and I ignored people poorly pretending to ignore us and met them there.

Bash was with them, so Cat did the introductions between the two males.

We chitchatted.

Everyone avoided speaking about that altercation with Anna .

But we didn’t need to. It happened. It was clear Aleksei didn’t enjoy it. It was also clear he wasn’t dwelling on it.

I still stayed close to him, and I was pleased he felt my support, even more so when he lifted my hand apropos of nothing in order to kiss my knuckles, communicating he appreciated it and he was fine (okay, so our beasts humming contentedly to each other told me that, but either way, I got the message).

“Would you like me to make you a plate, darling?” he asked me.

“I can get it,” I told him.

He grinned. “ I know you four are dying to tear Anna apart, so allow me to give you the opportunity to do that.”

I nearly started laughing as he ended this by tipping his head toward an antechamber.

“Hungry?” Bash asked Cat .

“Would you?” she replied.

He dropped a kiss on her lips, and it was sweet, so I was a little bummed because I’d been rooting for Tanyn to get in there. After witnessing that, I wasn’t sure.

The males moved off and Monique latched onto me, Cat doing the same to Gayle , and they all but dragged Gayle and me into the antechamber.

Boy, it seemed they really wanted to tear Anna apart.

There was no one in the chamber, which was nice and gave me the opportunity to go to a sofa and sink into it.

Ahhhhhhhhhh…

Yes .

“Tell her,” Cat demanded before I was even settled.

My attention perked, and I noticed they’d all sat as well, putting us in a circle.

“Now’s not the time,” Gayle returned.

“Oh my gods, you have to tell her,” Monique said.

“She just got Princess Anna’ed ,” Gayle snapped.

“Okay, I’ll tell her,” Cat stated, turning to me.

“No!” Gayle cried. “ It’s mine to tell.”

Oh my gods!

Now, with all of this, I was dying to know whatever it was.

“Someone tell me,” I demanded.

Gayle looked over my head and didn’t say a word, so I sent a questioning glance to Cat and Monique .

Monique beamed.

Cat pitched to the side and elbowed Gayle .

I ignored Monique’s beam and focused on Gayle’s face behind her mask.

I couldn’t tell for sure what it was, because of the mask, but I could tell something was up.

“Are you okay?” I asked.

Her eyes came to me, and she blurted, “ Prince Cormac is my mate.”

My body jolted and I blinked.

I did the blinking part again.

Then a rush of excitement raced through me, I leaned forward and breathed, “ What ? ”

“You know, I’ve opened myself to it,” she said. “ So I felt it.”

“I know…and he…it’s him ?” I asked.

This was…

This was…

Super, double, extra mega .

But wait.

“Why aren’t you with him?” I asked.

“Because, apparently, he isn’t open to it,” Cat answered for her.

“He doesn’t know I exist,” Gayle said miserably. “ Okay , he does, since he’s been introduced to me. And he’s been cordial, but distant. To him, I’m just a female that’s important only because I’m your friend.”

“Not even a spark?” I queried.

She shook her head. “ Not that I can tell.”

It was lucky I read up on mates because I’d learned just this.