Twenty-four
I
t took some fancy talking to explain everything to Mom, but when she heard that the party was at Nikolai’s, she offered to drive me there herself. I guiltily left Elias with a quick peck on the cheek. I promised him we’d talk soon. He looked disappointed, but was, as usual, a perfect gentleman about it.
Mom and I were halfway there before she decided to talk. “There’s a way to break the betrothal, you know,” she said. “It’s not hard, just formalized.”
“I’m not interested right now,” I said. Thing was, I knew that if I broke things off with Elias, Mom would find a way to keep me from seeing any vampires. I wasn’t ready for that yet. At the very least, I figured I still had a lot to learn about being half vampire. Plus, I liked Elias. There was something about him, what with that catlike grace and all his courtly airs. I wasn’t about to break his heart. Not yet.
“Are you and Nikolai dating?”
“Not officially,” I said. And that was the other thing. I liked Nikolai, but I wasn’t entirely ready to be his full-time girlfriend. Not until I really understood how he felt about vampires. He could be so scary. But then again, he could be superhot.
I wondered whether Nikolai would be disappointed that he missed the big fight. Or maybe his dad had been there all along. . . . I had no idea. I’d think about that later.
Mom sniffed. “I think Nikolai might be kind of upset to discover you’re engaged to marry the captain of the Praetorian Guard, don’t you think?”
“He doesn’t have to know, does he, Mom?”
“You’re going to date them both?”
Was I? “I’ll work it out,” I told her. “My way.”
Mom didn’t say anything for a long time. Finally, she said, “All right.”
What was this? Trust? From Mom?
She seemed to sense my surprise, so she said, “You proved yourself pretty capable tonight, honey. I’m just going to have to trust that I raised you right, and that you’ll make smart decisions.”
“Really?”
Mom sighed. “Just. . . .” She turned down Nikolai’s street. Cars lined the block. I pointed to his apartment, and she put the car in park. “Just be home by midnight, Cinderella.”
I gave her a hug and a quick kiss. “Thanks, Mom!”
JOHN WAS SITTING ON A stool just inside the downstairs door checking for tickets. He was arguing with a couple that I recognized as Thompson and Yvonne. “I’m sorry,” John was saying as I came up. “You can’t come in. You don’t have tickets.”
When he saw me, he waved around them. “Hey, Ana! About time, girl! Nik’s been wondering where you’ve been.”
The look Thompson gave me was pure envy. “You know the band? ” he muttered as I flounced happily past him. It took every ounce of strength I had not to stick my tongue out at him and sing the “nyah, nyah, nyah” song.
“Excuse me,” I said, bumping him slightly. Okay, so I had to be a little snotty!
Thompson muttered something about how the party must be full of freaks anyway as he dragged Yvonne off the steps with him. John and I watched them go. I couldn’t quite stifle a smile. How satisfying was
that
?
“Your friends are already here,” John said. “I thought you were a no-show for sure.”
“I had a little family business to take care of.”
John nodded like that made perfect sense. “Families,” he muttered. “Can’t live with ’em, can’t live without ’em.”
“You could say that,” I said with a smile.
“You should head down. I know Nik will be happy to see you,” he said.
“Down?”
He pointed to a door I hadn’t noticed before on one side of the entry. “Basement rec room; it’s totally why we rented this place.”
I thanked him and bounded down the stairs. The door to the rec room was open, and I could see that the place was packed. Ugly seventies paneling covered the walls. Basement windows near the ceiling had been cracked open to let air into the stuffy room. Multicolored linoleum tiles lay across the floor. The space had a surprisingly high ceiling and someone had hung a disco ball in the center of the room. Dots of light spun slowly around the gyrating bodies.
I stood at the doorway trying to figure out how to even wedge myself in. In the thick of it, I could see Bea and Taylor dancing together near the makeshift stage at the far end. They looked absolutely ecstatic. And why shouldn’t they? Just standing there, I felt my shoulders relax for the first time in days. A smile spread across my face. Despite what Thompson said, I wasn’t a freak anymore. I knew who I was. I was a dhampyr, a princess of both the vampires and the witches, and a girl who was about to have the time of her life. . . .
Just watch me.
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