Her Darkest Secrets

49: Introductions

"Babe?" I heard Riddian call as he approached the room we were all lounging in. I looked to the doorway and smiled when I saw his piercing blue eyes.

"Awe you call each other babe already?" Cooed Aimi, although she was talking about Nova.

Nova chuckled awkwardly, "Actually, he was talking to Teegan."

Riddian gave me a quick hug and kissed me on the forehead. Normally he wouldn't hesitate to kiss me, but I knew he was trying to be respectful considering we had guests.

"Oh now I'm confused." Said Bri. "I thought Teegan was your girlfriend."

Nova got up and stood on the other side of me, opposite Riddian. They both looked at each other and seemed to mutually be in agreement before Nova continued. "We both are dating her."

I watched their faces and braced for whatever response was about to come. Brianna's brows were furrowed as she seemed to be deep in thought while Aimi's mouth was literally hanging open.

"Weird, I know." Carmen chimed in and shrugged, "but somehow it works."

"You've always been a wild one Nova, but damn!" Bri shook her head and laughed. "Anyways, I'm Bri and this is Aimi. It's nice to finally meet you." She shook hands with Riddian formally in acknowledgment.

"I'm Riddian. I'm glad you guys came out."

"Nova you failed to mention your fiancé is sexy as hell!" Purred Aimi as she stepped oddly close to Riddian.

He wasn't fazed though and easily evaded her with his charm. "Why thank you, but I hardly compete with this room filled with gorgeous women." His smile could make any girl's knees weak.

"Such a smooth talker, aren't ya?" Said a deep voice. It was Enzo followed by Wren who joined us in the now semi-crowded room.

I said hello to Enzo and walked over to Wren so I could give him a hug. Wren hugged me back a little too tightly. "Hey." His face had a soft smile but I knew looking into his eyes the sadness that was hidden there. The loss of Lillith would always haunt him no matter how much he tried to forget. I knew the feeling all too well, so our relationship had become a little closer. Not so much with words, but with mutual understanding of the pain we shared.

"These are my best friends Enzo and Wren." Riddian introduced them to the girls and everyone was very polite and casual.

Aimi laughed and said something in Japanese.

"She said she never thought she'd be in the same room with dark sprites, let alone partying with them." Bri translated.

"Hey! If I wanted everyone to know what I said, I would've said it in English." Aimi frowned. Bri just rolled her eyes, obviously well aware Aimi did it for attention.

"Speaking of partying, whats the plan?" Asked Carmen.

"I had an idea about that actually." Responded Nova who had unusually been pretty silent throughout the past could minutes. We all turned our attention to her with curiosity.

"So when I lived among the humans, Teegan and I went to this music festival. The music was upbeat and fun and there were all kinds of people everywhere all getting along and just vibing with each other."

I nodded. "Do you want to go to another EDM festival? I don't know about any going on right now."

"Well it doesn't have to be a festival. I just meant I think it would be a nice change to go somewhere in the human world. We would be away from all the politics and no one would know who we are."

"That's an awesome idea." Agreed Riddian and Wren. They had both been in the human world before so the idea wasn't that scary to them. Everyone else on the other hand..

"I don't know. What if something bad happens? We won't have anyone to protect us." Asked Bri nervously.

"It sounds really exciting, but even I admit that leaving our home sounds terrifying." Said Aimi.

"Plus there's no way mom would allow it." Sighed Carmen.

"Mom doesn't scare me." Answered Nova. "And I lived with humans for years, Riddian and Wren have been there and also did you forget Teegn IS human? She could be our guide if we needed."

Enzo seemed to be pondering this and finally stepped forward with his thoughts. "I trust Riddian and Nova. They are our future rulers after all. We have to put our faith in them."

Bri gazed over at Enzo with a twinkle in her eye almost as if she was admiring him just then. "He's right. Let's do it."

Once Aimi saw Bri give in it was only a matter of seconds before she agreed to it as well. Carmen refused to get left behind so it was settled. I was to be the one who decided where to go since I knew more about the human world. There was only one place that I could think of that instantly resembled a bachelor/bachelorette party atmosphere. Las Vegas, Nevada.

After the eight of us had a couple days to plan and pack we headed off in two cars. Nova drove with Carmen in the passenger seat and Brianna and Aimi sitting in back. Riddian was driving the second car with Wren and Enzo in the back and me up front. I held Riddian's hand as we passed through the Sprite world threshold and were placed back into the world I had only ever known. Everything seemed to be covered in fog because the skyline wasn't as clear as I was used to. I had never really missed home before now, and being back did not change my mind at all. The royal mansion would always feel like my home now. 

It took us a couple hours until we arrived at the nearest airport. Everyone had their own passports that someone in town had made for us. I even made sure they put Carmen's age as 21 so she could drink or get into clubs. Nova wasn't 100% comfortable with the idea of Carmen partying like that with us but we all reassured Nova that we would look out for her. The flight was about four hours long so we were all relieved after we finally touched down in the Nevada airport.