Bash's father's eyes were heavily lidded, head lolling against his chest. He looked as if he was seconds away from falling into a deep slumber.
I couldn't help but snort, a rather unlady-like sound, at the scandal that would cause.
"So, Zara...I haven't seen you around." The lady who spoke had orange-tinted hair cascading just to her waist. Her violet eyes indicated her to be a Genie. She had introduced herself as Cassie, the daughter of one of the nobles.
At my mates' urging, I had introduced myself as Zara. The world knew Z as the assassin. It was for my own safety, and my mates', that I kept my true identity as a secret. That wasn't to mean that the world wouldn't ever know - nothing stayed a secret for long in this fucked up game of cat and mouse - but it was vital that I didn't paint an even bigger target on my back.
For the time being, I was Zara, a rich heiress. The only people who knew differently were the Kings, their sons, and Axel, the old assassin to the kingdom.
"That's probably because I haven't been here before," I stated dryly. Cassie pursed her lips further. At this point, I was afraid they'll get stuck in a perpetual pout.
"I saw you dancing with Bash earlier," another female piped up. She had the glacial beauty and features that could only be descended from a Vampire. Her dark skin was unblemished, and her cheekbones looked as if they could carve ice. She was beautiful, they all were, and I felt insignificant standing beside them.
For only a brief moment.
Then, I remembered I could kill them in a variety of ways using only a butter knife as a weapon. Any and all self-consciousness diminished at the thought. Call me a masochist or a psychopath, but I felt myself preen at the mere thought.
That preen turned into actual fantasies of murder when the Vampire added, "He was a rather attentive lover. God, his cock was so long. And his hands..."
The ladies erupted into damn titters as my breathing sawed in and out.
Out of my peripheral, I spotted Bash standing against the wall, his arms crossed over his chest. He looked handsome, no surprise, with his blond hair slicked back and his suit accentuating each and every muscle. I yearned to memorize every inch of his body through feel alone. Every dip and crevice. Every bone and muscle. Every hair.
I also knew, without a doubt in mind, that he wished to do the same to me.
There were hundreds of beautiful women in the room, and nearly half of them were vying for his attention, yet his eyes were only ever trained on me. I watched, unbeknownst to him, as a simpering female put a hand on his arm and batted her abnormally long lashes at him in what she probably thought was a seductive manner. Before, he might've talked to her. Flirted. Flashed her a sultry smile that would have any woman throwing their panties at him. And then, he would've had no problem with taking her up to his room and lavishing her with all of his attention. Come morning, he would forget her name and dismiss her like yesterday's trash.
Now, Bash glared at the woman's offending hand, shrugging it off. She pouted prettily, said something inaudible to me from where I stood, and he responded with another incandescent glare. With what looked like a huff of indignation, she stomped in the opposite direction.
Towards Killian.
I didn't even bother looking at my Incubus Prince. I knew that both he and Lupe, who was standing beside him, would dismiss the female. It wasn't them that I was worried about. It wasn't them that I was focused on in rapt interest.
I knew in my heart that Bash would never do anything to hurt me. He may not have known it yet, but he was mine as surely as I was his. He may fight it till the very end, but there was no faking it for me. I could see it in his eyes when we danced.
With Bash...it was complicated. He was a sword that repeatedly threatened to be rammed straight into my heart. He wanted to hurt me only because he cared for me. A man like him wasn't used to having those types of feelings, so he hid them away. Brick after brick, impenetrable wall after wall, he hid himself from the world. Buried his head so far in the sand it was impossible to reach him.
Until now.
I didn't have weapons, but what little I did have was forged from steel of my own making. I was determined to break down his defenses as the other princes had done mine. Maybe, together, we could learn how to love.
I hated the direction of my thoughts. How cheesy they had become. How cliché. If anyone was to hear me, they would think I was a hopeless romantic, constantly sprouting sappy love poems.
Fucking Bash.
"Zara," Cassie asked coldly. "Are you listening?"
That was all said with feigned nicety. I had no doubt in my mind that she would say one thing and then do the opposite. Two-faced bitch didn't even begin to describe that woman.
"I'm sorry," I said, mimicking her tone. "I must've zoned out. What did you say?"
I knew that I had infuriated her. It wasn't often, I imagined, that people didn't listen to her. If she hadn’t had the signature violet eyes of a Genie, I would've suspected her to be an Incubus. That term could be used interchangeably with males and females, just as a Mermaid could be used for both a man and a woman. And Cassie fitted the requirements of an Incubus
