Page 23 of Stormbringer (Tracthesian Academy #1)

I n the end, they bought way more than Wave had planned, and Jarred insisted on paying for all of it. Even the nipple clamps that had a changeable charm in the middle. The only thing Wave had managed to pay for was the customizable charm itself that now read ‘bad pet’.

Wave couldn’t wait for an opportunity to test them out. Or the cock ring with a clitoral stimulator in the form of bunny ears. Or pretty much anything that meant getting Jarred naked and under her. He might have a point when he claimed she needed to boss him around.

Except that when she was fantasizing about him in the shower with her brand-new waterproof vibrator, there was someone else in the room too, watching her every move.

Moaning, Wave leaned against the cool tiles and let the orgasm roll over her.

That was the third one for the day. What was happening to her?

When it was time for her to get ready for the Winnie’s party, Wave was eternally thankful for Chrissy’s obsession with clothes and her impeccable taste.

The spells to tailor the clothes to fit Wave perfectly didn’t hurt either.

It also took care of trying to figure out what was suitable to wear for such a party.

Wave hadn’t lied about that part. She didn’t do well in drunken crowds, so parties were pretty low on her list of priorities.

She was ready way too early, so she finally took a moment to calm down. Picking up her sketchbook, which she had neglected the whole week, Wave curled up on her bed and began to draw.

Diana pounding on her door eventually roused Wave. She blinked, clutching the sketchbook to her chest, and yawned. When she lowered it, a pair of gleaming yellow eyes stared at her from the page. She didn’t even remember picking up the colored pencil.

“Wayla, we need to go!”

“I’m coming, I’m coming!” At least she had gotten ready before her impromptu nap.

Chrissy ran a critical eye over Wave’s ensemble but then nodded, apparently satisfied. “Good, they fit and look like you.”

“You look nice, Wayla,” Diana said with a genuine smile.

Wave smoothed her hands over the flowy skirt that stopped at mid-thigh.

It had a black overlayer of lace, and underneath was a smoky blue.

Nothing skintight, and the blouse Chrissy had paired with it was black with flowy sleeves but a tighter bodice.

“I still claim it would look better with heels,” Chrissy grumbled. “With those legs…”

“Let it go, Chrissy,” Ginny said. “Those silvery ballerinas look way more Wayla than some high heels.”

She was wearing black on black in a very tight, very short pair of shorts and a loose shirt that hung from one shoulder. Diana, true to her style, was dressed in a green, flowy dress that swooshed as she spun to show it off to Wave.

“You both look nice too,” Wave replied.

“Hey! What about me?” Chrissy demanded. Wave playfully rolled her eyes.

“You, our drama queen, look magnificent in a way that’s bound to break hearts and cause the aforementioned drama at some point this evening.”

It was true. Chrissy looked like a supermodel with her high heels, immaculate make-up, curled up hair, and some sort of body suit that molded to her skin without being crude. She seemed mollified by Wave’s declaration and ushered them out the door.

“Remember, you promised to stay at least two hours,” she reminded Wave.

“Yes, ma’am.” Wave saluted her, but smiled at Chrissy’s glare. “I promise. The clothes really are nice, and I love the shoes. Thank you.”

W innie house was in the same area as the Powerhouse mansion, but on a different street. Still, Wave was sure she could find her way home from here. There were all sorts of beings milling about. She even spotted a few sets of angel wings out and several forms of horns.

“No dress code?” she asked Ginny, who was walking next to her as Diana and Chrissy hurried ahead.

“Not for Winnie’s. It’s come as you are, so you’ll see more true forms or morphs in Winnie parties than anywhere else.”

“How are Zirkon parties?”

“We prefer more, let’s say, formal wear. There’s some human crossover in our parties at times, so rubbing their face in things is not encouraged.”

“Makes sense.” Wave nodded. As long as someone looked like a human, humans tended to assume they were just that. And it wasn’t like any of this was news. Earth had been shared space with several races for thousands of years. Placating humans just tended to keep things calmer for everyone.

They made their way up the stairs that had been decorated with a mix of pumpkins and beach umbrellas to the front door adorned with an evergreen garland.

The crazy décor theme continued inside, and Wave was too busy trying to identify all the different holidays presented that she didn’t pay attention to the rest of the house.

“Zirkon also sticks with one theme per party,” Ginny huffed. “Seriously, I don’t know how Chrissy can tolerate this mess. Let’s get a drink.” She pulled Wave into another room that turned out to be a kitchen.

“What’s your poison?” asked a pretty boy behind the bar counter. They had an actual bar counter in here. Maybe it doubled as a breakfast bar?

“Do you have lemonade?”

“Seriously, Wayla,” Ginny gasped and turned to look at her. “You can’t be serious.”

Wave shrugged sheepishly. “Remember the out-of-control thing? Alcohol makes me do that more often.”

“Oh. Yeah. No. My girl here will get a lemonade. And make sure no one tries to tamper with it either,” Ginny said to the bartender. He must have been some sort of dryad, based on the green tint of his hair. Didn’t make him less pretty though.

“One lemonade coming up. And for you, pretty lady?”

“Tequila with that same lemonade. They got Citri, right?”

“Of course.” The boy smiled and shook Ginny’s drink in seconds before handing it to her and pulling a sealed bottle from the fridge for Wave. “Here you go.”

“Thanks,” Wave called over her shoulder as Ginny dragged her out of the room and straight to the dance floor. Ginny seemed a tad surprised when Wave didn’t even try to protest. She laughed when Wave wrapped her arms around Ginny’s waist and began to slow dance to the fast music.

“Pervert!” Ginny cackled. Wave just lifted a brow and kept them swaying as she sipped her drink.

“Got a problem with that?”

“No at all,” Ginny replied.

T hey were on their fourth drink and had changed to more fast-paced dancing when Ginny suddenly stiffened.

“What’s he doing here?”

Wave needed only a glimpse to know who Ginny was talking about. While Chrissy and Ginny hated his guts, clearly not all of Diana’s sorority sisters shared the sentiment.

Irishen had at least two Winnie’s hanging on his arm and several other women hovering around him. To her surprise, Wave recognized Tulias among them. There were plenty of guys on the fringes of the group, too. It really looked like an entourage situation gone wrong.

“We need to get Diana out of here before they run into each other,” Ginny gasped, paling.

“What do you need me to do?”

“Make sure he doesn’t leave this room! I’ll go look for her.” Ginny was already half turning away when Wave nodded. She slipped between bodies and was gone.

There was a circle of power around Irishen that Wave now detected. She hadn’t noticed it in the library. Briefly, she wondered why he was here alone, aside from the groupies, but she adjusted her notion when another aura appeared from the other room and merged with his.

The woman strolled through the partygoers like they were ants, and where Irishen emanated cold, she radiated heat. Perfect couple, except that Irishen didn’t shoo his admirers away when she closed in.

Well, as long as the woman kept Irishen occupied and in the room, Wave was happy. She would avoid crossing paths with him if at all possible. Wave gave herself time to look over the woman.

She was Irishen’s counterpart in other areas, too. Irishen was tall, she was short, he was muscular, she was frail and thin. His eyes were pure shades of white and gray, hers reminded Wave of an exploded pie crust, all oozy and torn.

Okay, so her eyes were a purplish red color, but cherry pie gone wrong was what Wave thought when she looked at them. It occurred to her too late that she was too close if she could see their eyes in such detail.

“What are you staring at?” The woman glared at Wave. She was scowling at everyone close to Irishen, so Wave didn’t take that personally. “Shoo. All of you. I need to talk to Irishen.”

“But I don’t need to talk to you, Elena,” Irishen replied. “I’m here for her.” He pointed at Wave and gave that creepy smile he had used when they first met. Not at all like the other smiles since then. This smile seemed just so… wrong. “Hello, morsel.”

“Hello, Risha,” Wave nodded her head but refused to bow. This was a fucking party, and besides, she just didn’t feel like it. She could feel Elena’s power pushing at everyone she wanted to scatter, but Wave held her place easily. She was quickly forming quite a negative opinion of Elena.

“Irishen!” Now Elena’s tone was whiny, and Wave noticed the corner of Irishen’s eye twitch.

“Not now, Elena,” Irishen barked, looking irritated.

“You’ve been saying that for weeks,” Elena whined some more.

“Maybe you should take a hint then,” Irishen replied with a mean glint in his eyes.

“You can’t be leaving me for her!” Elena screeched. She tried to blast Wave again, and to Wave’s astonishment, Irishen threw an actual fucking shield to block her. Elena’s fair skin turned mottled with rage.

“Control yourself, Elena,” Irishen murmured. “You are embarrassing me.”

“Like I give a fuck about that now. Did you know that slut of yours has been making out with every Powerhouse she can get her hands on? Huh? Still want their leftovers?”