“You can't—” Randolph tries to stand again, only to be shoved back down, harder this time.
Adeline smiles, and it's almost predatory, the woman terrifies me. “Oh, my dear, I can, and I have.” Leaning back, she addresses the masked men, “Devin, please escort the mayor back to his guests. The dancing has already begun, and he's missing all of the fun.”
Adeline stands with a small sigh, fluffs her hair, and adjusts her mask. “Lena, we'll talk about this later, but I think it would be best if you go with Tristan this evening. Your father doesn't seem to understand the situation, and I feel like I may be up late tonight explaining it to him. In depth.”
Lena looks to me for a second, hesitant and unsure. I take her hand with a grin. Lena at my house? In my bed? I had no problem with that at all. In fact, seeing her tonight, watching as she claimed her independence, made me love her just that little bit more.
“Adeline, I want that knife,” I call out to Elena's mother as she leaves. Leaning in towards Lena, I whisper, “It looks so fucking hot in your hands.”
Turning, Adeline nods with a sinister smile. “I will make sure to put the bid in for you.”
We’ve not even been in my house for twenty minutes when I get a call from the security at the gate saying that Blythe is demanding to be let onto the property and is causing a scene.
“I have to go and deal with this, are you okay here on your own for ten minutes?” I ask Lena as I hand her a T-shirt and some shorts to change into.
She rolls her eyes and whispers ‘manwhore’ under her breath but nods with a small smile. I think it’s still sinking in, tonight’s events and how nothing is going to be the same again. Her father won’t be mayor for much longer, her mother is finally pulling rank, and Lena, well, Lena is free to do what she wants.
Running down the stairs and out the door, I barely register the two empty wine glasses on my kitchen counter. My father is away until next week again, so thankfully I don’t have to worry about him just yet. The furniture for my apartment was arriving tomorrow, and we could move there without even running into him. I didn't need to be watching my back, worrying about Lena’s safety in my own house.
When I get to the gate, I can tell straight away that Blythe is off her face, she’s obviously been at a party and hit the drugs a little hard. Her hair is a mess and her makeup is smeared over her face as she sways unsteadily.
“Tristan! Baby! Why won’t you answer my calls?” she screams as she sees me.
“Call an ambulance,” I say to the guy on security as I hand him my phone. “And here, this is the number for her parents.”
“Tristan!” Her hands come up to her face, and she claws at her cheeks. “Why?”
She throws herself at me, and I hold her for a moment. “Why what?”
“Why not me?” she sobs as we sit on the kerb. Why were there wine glasses in my kitchen?
I stroke her hair gently and answer honestly, even though I know it just hurts Blythe more. “Because it’s always been her. Even when we were kids.”
“So what was I?” Her fingers are pulling at my clothes as she tries to get closer, as if she’s afraid I’m going to vanish.
“My friend,” I say simply. The house was dark when we arrived.
“But I love you!” she cries, snot and tears soaking into my shirt.
“And I told you not to. I warned you, Blythe.” Where did the glasses come from?
Swallowing hard, she looks up at me with unfocused eyes. “I’m going to kill her. You’ll have to love me then.”
“If you touch a hair on her head, I will gut you. Then I will tear out your entrails and use them as garden fertilizer before grinding up your remains and pulverizing them into a paint for my latest piece,” I say softly as I rock her. I’m aware that I sound like my father. My father.
She stiffens in my arms, and looks up, finally realizing who I am. I’m not her prince, and while usually I am happy to take a step back and let the others do the dirty work, I am still a member of The Society.
“Did my father arrive home early?” I ask the security guard, and when he nods, it feels like the bottom has dropped out of my world. Elena.
I race back up to the house, which feels like it's miles away as my heart hammers in my chest. Maybe he's gone to bed. Maybe he hasn't seen her. No, I know better. Two wine glasses means he had a guest over. Having a guest over means he's in a bloodthirsty mood. Fucking and killing go hand in hand for my father, and if he's so much as laid a finger on Lena, I'm going to choke him with his own intestines.
“Lena,” I call out as I burst through the front door, sweat beading on my forehead. “Lena!” I'm shouting now. I rush to the bottom of the stairs, ready to run up to my room, praying that she's still sitting on my bed, when I notice a movement in the kitchen.
I approach slowly, not sure what I'm about to find as it feels like a ton of rocks have settled in the pit of my stomach. The kitchen is mostly in darkness, only the spotlights are on as I move around the breakfast bar and over to where the dining table is.
I exhale with relief when I see Elena in the shadows. I inhale, confused, when I see that her gold dress is now soaked in blood, the ruby liquid soaking up
