A Legacy of the Damned: Daughter of Astaroth

Chapter 2 - Astaroth's Princes and Princesses

A beautiful singer on a platform at the far end of the ballroom is crooning softly into the microphone. She is accompanied by a live band. Her voice is low and sultry.

The room is decorated with purple and black silk cloth hanging on the walls and the ceiling. A row of opulent velvet tufted chairs lined the walls and gleaming crystal chandeliers are hanging low from the ceiling, giving it a sexy vibe.

Everything seems spectacular but now I think that coming here is a mistake. I knew I shouldn't have sneaked in tonight but I did it anyway...like a lot of other things that I did just for the adrenaline rush. Best of all, it's like lifting a middle finger to Astaroth without him actually seeing it.

But now my instinct is screaming, letting me know that I shouldn't be here.

"Well..." huffs Juniper, sounding offended as she looks around us. She tugs at her Bordeaux red dress self consciously even though she looks gorgeous in it.

My white dress hugs my body like a second skin. My blonde hair is twisted up, leaving a few wisps down to frame my face. It shows off my back which is bare except for white silk ribbons crisscrossing down almost to my butt.

I understand why Juniper sounded so offended. While our dresses are sexy, what other women here are wearing makes Juniper and I look like nuns. Two of those women are my sisters- Dimitra and Deidra. I spot them in the middle of the room just a few minutes after we got through the door.

I try to hide behind some flower arrangements as I watch my 19-year-old sister, Dimitra works her charm. Only two strips of cloth are holding her red silk dress up, creating a deep v that dips all the way down past her navel. The front of her boobs and her side boobs are on display and the men around her can't help but notice. Some are blatantly staring, unable to take their eyes off of all the exposed flawless golden brown skin. The slit on the side of the long skirt goes all the way up past her hipbone, showing off her long shapely leg. There's no way she could be wearing any underwear under such a dress. She touches the arm of one of her many admirers and a while later, tosses her silky dark hair back seductively, laughing at what he is saying. Ugh, so fake! I feel like rolling my eyes. Those suckers don't stand a chance.

My 22-year-old sister, Deidra is talking to a couple of men. Her dark brown hair cascades down her back in shiny waves. Her silver dress is made mostly of delicate see-through lace. Only small clusters of flowers appliqued in the right places are covering the important bits. So much of her is showing, it's almost obscene.

Oh uh...Deidra's eyes narrowed in displeasure when she spots me while Dimitra's eyes light up and a slow gleeful smile curls up her lips. That is the first genuine smile that I see from Dimitra tonight.

This is not good. Five minutes in and my sisters already caught sight of me. I move closer to the flower arrangement and turn away from Deidra's fiery gaze by looking around the ballroom.

I didn't expect this party to be so small. There are probably less than 70 people here in this ballroom and because it's so intimate, it's so easy to spot everybody. There's no place to hide and no easy way to blend in. I haven't seen my father yet but it's only a matter of time before he sees me if he's here. I hope he's not here.

"I'm so glad we came. I love gifts," says Juniper, fingering a string of glittering diamond bracelet. Men in black tuxedos took our names and snapped the bracelets around our wrists at the door. I didn't give them my real name but a sense of unease crawls up my spine.

"It's so pretty! Do you think this is real?" Juniper is still admiring the bracelet, oblivious to my discomfort. It seems that all the women coming through that door are getting one.