A Court of Death and Retribution

chapter 3

I stood in the very spot that Cal had left me in the night before. After scrubbing myself clean in the Sidra before anyone woke, I slid on a lilac satin dress that stopped just before it could drag on the ground. The top was tight to my torso and held up by two thin straps. It cowled in the front low enough to hint at my cleavage and drooped low enough behind me to show off the dimples in my back.

Cal thought I would have males begging at my feet in this dress, so I wanted to test the theory.

I washed my damn hair. The curls came to life again in those medium coils that shined so elegantly. I shaved my legs and armpits, which was difficult considering I had let it grow freely, but I wanted to feel good tonight.

My makeup was light—just mascara tonight, but I have to admit I didn't need much makeup anyway. I'm blessed by the Cauldron to have my mother's stunning beauty. Not a hint of my father shone in my face.

The silver heels I chose had two straps, one going over my toes and one just above my ankle, connecting to the base and the heel.

I couldn't neglect wearing my leather glove tonight, even if it did ruin the entire look. Oh well.

Cal landed in front of me with an astounding slam as his feet hit the cobblestone. "Bella you look absolutely stunning."

"I believe you told me males would beg?" I put my hands on my hips and raised an eyebrow at him. He wore an all black suit, which fit him perfectly.

"I have every confidence that they'll gape in your presence Bella, but if you're looking for me to beg, you're going to be waiting a while." Cal shot me a cheeky wink and I rolled my eyes.

"Oh please, you're my friend. That doesn't mean you can't get on your knees and beg." I laugh and slip my left hand into his.

"In your dreams." Cal winnowed is into the air, then pulled me tight to him, being careful to not touch my wings.

We landed on a marble floor with a loud thud, and I cringed as some heads turned towards us.

There was a shriek, then two females ran towards us. They looked identical, except one of them had short hair and the other didn't. They both had dark hair and blue gray eyes. Their faces were formed to be sharp and enticing, and their bodies looked muscular for females. They both wore black dresses with long sleeves.

The one with short hair spoke first. "Cal you brought a female?!"

Then the long haired one spoke, equally as excited. "What's your name?!"

"Chill out, let the poor female catch a breath." Cal intervened and I raised an eyebrow at him. "Ladies this is Belladonna, if you're lucky she'll let you call her Bella. Bella, this is Adira," Cal gestured to the long haired female. "and this is Maeve."

I smiled at the twins politely. "Nice to meet you. If you plan on being my friend you can call me Bella."

"A friend of Cal is a friend of ours. Come, meet the rest of us." Adira took my left hand and pulled me into the building that seems to be lodged into the side of the mountain.

She led me towards a small group of people who were drinking and laughing until they saw a new face. Then they smiled at me, it sent a warmth to my chest and made me smile back.

"Mom this is Bella, our new friend and Cal's lady friend." Maeve wiggled her eyebrows back at Cal, but he just rolled his eyes and laughed.

"You all know I don't swing that way. Cut it out." Cal looped an arm around my shoulder. "Bella this is Nesta, their mom."

Nesta frowned down at her daughters then looked to me with a small smile. "Nice to meet you."

"You too." I returned with a smile as another female who looked similar to her peaked around her shoulder.

"Hi girls, have you seen Nyx?" The female looked concerned and exhausted, but she still looked beautiful.

"He's with Uncle Rhys. This is our new friend Bella." Adira responded and gestured towards me.

The female stood taller and smiled wide at me. She extended her right hand and I laughed nervously and held out my left. "Sorry I'm a lefty."

The female didn't hesitate for a moment before switching to her left hand and laughing it off. "That's alright. I'm Feyre. Over there is Mor, next to her is Emerie and the ginger is Gwyn. It's nice to meet you."

"It's nice to meet you too." The warmth in my chest only grew at how welcoming everyone was. Maybe I'd leave here with a whole handful of friends.

Cal took me around the room and introduced me officially to everyone else, along with their third sister Elain and her mate, Lucien. By the time the stars actually began to fall, I was socially exhausted.

Cal dragged me to a balcony with the twins and we watched in awe of the specks of light darting through the inky black above us. Occasionally a few would lose their way, falling to the city below.

When it was over, Cal took me back into the house. Everyone else started filtering in from where they privately watched the show, and my eyes locked on a few familiar faces.

My heart drummed in my chest so loudly that it could rival the volume of the music beginning to play. I stood frozen next to Cal, my left arm linked in his.

Across from me stood the shadow male and next to him was Dad and another Illyrian, possibly the one who laughed when I was held hostage.

I wanted to run, fly, winnow. Anything to get out of this situation. Instead, I put my game face on and set my mask into place.

"Holy shit it's the shadow male!" I spoke with shock and friendliness. Then, my eyes darted to Dad who started to open his mouth, so I cut him off. "Language, I know. I didn't say 'shit,' I said shoot and you know it." I narrowed my eyes at him and smirked.

"Callan, how do you know Belladonna?" Dad ground out.

"Not fair, you stole my question. Cal? How is it that you led me right to the Illyrian I told you I wasn't too fond of?" I shielded my mouth and put on a fake attempt at lowering my voice, but I intended the males to hear.

Cal shrugged. "I love chaos way too much to let the opportunity slide."

I sighed, I'll give him that one. I would've done the same. I looked over to the balcony that we flew in on. I couldn't fly well. My mother tried to teach me while we moved around, but it was difficult to find enough open space. I could probably make it far down enough that when I land I won't immediately die.

"I thought we were friends." The shadow man muttered and Gwyn walked up next to him, sliding an arm through his.

I smiled sweetly at the two of them, then took my arm away from Cal. "I didn't know our friendship meant that much to you Shadow Male. After what, two times you've been mean towards me? Unless you want to call a truce and shake on it." I held out my right hand to the shadow male, but he didn't step forward.

Footsteps echoed from a hallway and stopped near the balcony. The male looked as cunning as Dad with eyes identical to Feyre and Nesta. His hair was as black as the night sky and he was as tan as I am. Black tattoos peaked above the collar of his all black suit, and I could feel the darkness radiating off of him.

He was definitely Dad's son. And if I'm putting the puzzle pieces in the right spots, that means he's Feyre's son, Nyx. My wild guess would be that Rhys is Dad, but that doesn't matter. What matters is that there's a chance Nyx has no idea who I am or what's going on.

My plan: one, walk over to Nyx. Two, touch his hand and run for the balcony. Three, fly until I can't anymore, then winnow. It'll work.

I withdrew my outstretched hand and smiled. I causally circled Cal until I was on the side closest to the balcony. Just a few steps and I would reach Nyx.

My blood hummed with adrenaline as my plan burst in to action. I walked the rest of the way to Nyx and flashed him a big smile. "Nyx up top!" I raised my right hand and he raised his in confusion, it was adorable. Our hands clapped together and I allowed the whoosh of power to fill my lungs. I spun my head to see the shadow male start to run to me, so I ran faster. Then, I leaped over the balcony and fell a few feet before flapping my wings.

The shadow male was hot on my tail, but I could still feel Nyx's power pulsing through me, waiting to be used. I flapped harder as my breath became labored and when I couldn't take it anymore, I winnowed.