The Dark Fey Chronicles Court of Roses

4

Liv walked me through the large room. People were still arriving and looking for seats around the room. I looked down at my cream colored dress and sighed. I felt so out of place here. People were dressed in evening dresses and servants bustled to and fro. There was a woman who was dressed in a flowing gold dress. Her grey main of flowing hair was braised down her back and she carried herself with such grace and authority. She had to be in her fifties. She was ordering people to their seats and looking around like she was looking for someone. When her eyes landed on me, she narrowed her eyes on me.
Liv must have noticed her as well and she tugged me toward the woman who smiled when we reached her. Liv hugged the woman close and then turned to face me.
"Mother, this is Lexi Darkbloom," she said and I watched the woman's face go from happy to remorseful in a matter of seconds. "Lexi, this is my mother, Katja. Mother, Lexi will be staying with us for a while."
I smiled, wanting to tell her that I was out of here as soon as I was able, that I would not be staying here a second longer then I had to. The woman reached and grabbed both of my hands and gave them a gentle but firm squeeze.
"Child," she said in a low voice. "It warms my heart to finally see you here. And I am so sorry about your people." My heart sank. So my brother and my parents were gone then? Before I could ask, there was a loud growl that went through the room. Everyone turned to Erik and waited. All he did was wave his hand and everyone took their seats and started eating.
Liv leaned in. "Erik is in a mood," she told us.
I couldn't help looking back to the head table. Erik was staring at me again, in his hands a wine glass with some dark, blood red wine in it. He watched me curiously, sipping from his glass every now and then. "Try not to be so hard on him," Katja told us as I forced myself to look away. It was odd, There was some kind of pull in the room. Something in the feel of the room that made me want to look at Erik. I shrugged it off and tried to pay attention to the conversation at hand. Katja was listening to Liv's report on our trip from New York.
"You must be famished, child," Katja said as she took my hand gently and folded it into her arm. She guided me to the table next to Erik. I peaked up at him. He leaned over the side of his chair, his head bent forward, listening to a tall, dark haired man whisper something in his ear. Erik was very intimidating. From where I was sitting now, I could fully take him in now.
He was dressed all in black, a fitted suit of the finest silks and fabrics I had seen in a long time. A black dress shirt, black vest and a black dress coat, topped off with black slacks and shoes. He leaned back now, having finished listening to whoever had been talking to him. His muscles rippled under his clothes when he moved to reach his wine glas back to his lips. His blond hair was like a bright halo in the bright candle light of the room. And his eyes were still oh so green and the flash backs of my dreams and visions started to come back. How he had looked at me. How he had called me mine. It was because I was sure I had never seen him before and I had yet to hear him speak. However I knew just what his voice would sound like. Thick, deep and would be able to make me weak in the knees. His eyes seemed to glow in the dim candle light. Oh how I wished I could just get lost in them.
I had to stop and think for a moment. Was I just imagining all of this? Was this all just in my head because Liv had told me what she had seen? And did I even believe her? How could I go so far, since the war, I had nothing to rely on but myself. I peaked back at Erik and regretted it almost as soon as I met his eyes because they were looking right at me. His green eyes were locked on my face, looking up at me as he listened to yet another person in his ear.
"Your brother seems to be a very popular person," I said.
Liv and Katja turned to look at Erik who was now in deep conversation with the same tall dark haired man from before. "I asked him not to do business at the dinner table," Katja sighed.
Liv rolled her eyes. "Leave him," she said and stabbed at her green beans. "Erik raced home once he found out I had gone to New York. He didn't like that we were in New York. There are too many Hunters there." I sighed and nodded.
Erik had been worried about his sister because she had left the safety of her home to come get me. And for what? Again I had to question her motives. As I looked at Erik, his eyes wandered back to me, but this time I felt my blood run cold. I watched his face become cold and distant. His eyes ran over my frame once and he grimaced a little. The face he made was slight. If I had not been paying attention to him, I would have missed it. When his eyes reached mine again, I felt the blood heat my face. Look away, you idiot! I scolded myself. You are looking at a King! You can not just stare at him like that! Liv leaned forward and raised an eyebrow. "Would you like to meet him?" she asked me.
I blushed and shook my head quickly. "No, he is busy," I told her. "I don't want to disturb him-"
Before she could finish the double doors at the end of the hall burst open and a bloodied figure stumbled into the hall. Guards and other people in the room rushed forward to help the man who fell into the waiting arms of some guards. "Jax!"
Liv was up and out of her seat and beside him quickly. "Jax, what happened?"
The man, a red headed male, barely out of his teen years, choked and gagged on some blood and she looked around, his eyes landing on Erik who was now standing in the middle of the room. "Erik... Hunters... east side of the Manor-"
Erik's head snapped up to look at the guards waiting for orders. "Go," he ordered them and then walked to his mother and sister. His eyes were on me the whole time. "In the meantime, the night shall go on as planned," he announced, turning away from us to look at everyone in the room. Liv watched as guards lifted Jax from the floor and helped him back down the hall. Erik sighed and turned to look at us. "It is just one Hunter, nothing to worry about," he assured us.
I swallowed. The thought of a Hunter breaking into a compound like this struck fear in me. It was already dark outside and I was not sure if I wanted to partake in the rest of the evening's events.
Erik sighed now and looked me up and down once. It was not in disgust or distaste. It was rather admiring. He caught my eye, seeing that I was watching him and we both looked away from each other.
"Erik," Liv said slowly and gestured to me. "This was the girl I was telling you about. Lexi."
Erik sighed and looked back at me, giving me a polite smile. "Welcome, Lexi," he said in his soft velvet voice. The way his voice caressed my name made my knees shake. "Forgive the interruption of the festivities, but as you can see, the evening will have to continue to go on without the Host!" He offered me a smile but before he could leave, there was the blond haired model again from this morning. She leaned in and touched Erik on the arm.
"Is there anything I can do, Alpha?" she asked him.
Erik, looking rather relieved she was here, smiled at her. "Yes, Summer, please, go and help the others outside. Take as many men as you need and go see if there are any more Hunters lurking in the woods!" I had never felt such a rush of anger before. My eyes zeroed in on her hand on his arm and I wanted to remove her arm from her body for touching him. It was irrational and stupid of me. However his words were clearly not what she wanted to hear. Erik's eyes wandered back to my face. "I will be there shortly. I have some things here that need tending to!"
I watched her face fall and she looked at me and narrowed her eyes. Without another word she turned on her heel and walked away, flipping her waist length hair over her shoulder and shaking her ass as she left. I sighed. I glanced at Erik but he was not looking at her. His eyes were fixed on me again. I felt blood heat my face. Erik's eyes narrowed at me now. "Welcome, Lexi," he told me and turned away from us. . "Now, if you Ladies would excuse me, I should get to work!"
Erik did not wait for anyone to answer, he bowed his head at us and then turned on his heel and vanished down the dark hallway, the same way Jax had been carried down. I let out a breath and Liv laughed at me. "I know he can be intimidating but he is not that bad!" she promised me.
I just gave her a sheepish smile. I had a lot of thinking to do and I was ready to be alone. However my belly rumbled and I followed Liv and her mother back to the banquet hall. When we reached the room, people were still seated, a lot of them looking up to stare at me as I walked back to my table. When we took our seats, Liv leaned in.
"Eat something, I know you must be starving," she told me.
She was right. I was starving. However I found it hard to eat anything. So I forced myself to eat some of the soup. It was a broth based soup so I soaked it up with some dinner rolls. I ate as much as I was able. When I was finished, I was definitely ready for bed. Liv smiled at me.
"Ready for bed?" she asked me as she sipped her wine.
Katja was already headed for the exit with four massive guards escorting her. They were all dressed in thick, black old fashioned leather fighting gear. I turned to Liv and nodded and followed her but not back the same way we had come. She led me up the stairs to the left and up to the second floor. "My room, like I said, is on the left down the hall," she reminded me. "If you need anything at all, please use your phone to call me or send a maid to come get me! Do not leave the room by yourself, ever! There have been a lot of Hunter sightings in the area!"
I nodded. Liv gave me one more smile and waited for me to close the door. Once inside I leaned against the door and sighed. My head throbbed. I needed rest. I wandered over to the yellow silk covered bed and fell face first into it. I sighed in content as the bed molded to my figure.