Daughter of None

7

Lex

He was on the third level, one above our entrance—watching me like he’d ordered the chaos just to see how I’d handle it. Hands braced on the railing, he looked infuriatingly composed. His crisp white dress shirt had been replaced with a black one, taut across his broad chest like it was barely surviving. The sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, exposing tan forearms that practically flexed at me. A few of the top buttons were undone, giving me a peek of chest that was unfairly... sculpted.

My gaze roamed up his neck, that sharp, cut-from-stone jawline brushed with just enough stubble to make a saint sin. And then—

The eyes.

It had to be the strobe lighting. It had to be. Because they were glowing. Actually glowing. Like headlights in a dream—or a warning. Either way, it stopped me cold.

As our eyes locked, the golden haze of the elixir drained from me instantly. Gone. Reality slammed back into me like a slap—and not the fun kind. The two men still grinding on me hadn’t noticed the change, their hands wandering and tugging at my dress with increasingly creative audacity. I flushed, embarrassed suddenly at the spectacle I must’ve made.

When I looked back up, the stranger hadn’t looked away. His eyes were glued to mine as he pushed away from the railing and disappeared into the shadows.

Of course he did.

I turned to find Cas, hoping for some semblance of sanity—but Cas was currently tongue-deep in a silver-dressed siren, fist-pumping the air like a frat god on ecstasy. He looked like he was having the best night of his life. Honestly, I was a little proud.

I started pushing my way toward him, muttering "excuse me" and "oh my god, sorry" at a rapid pace. But the revelers didn’t budge. They were locked in, hypnotized, like sexy, sweaty zombies. I had to start shoving. Firmly. With purpose. Like a woman who has definitely been to a sample sale at Nordstrom.

Each body I elbowed past seemed to trap more heat around me. The temperature was rising, my breath quickening. Panic scratched at the back of my throat.

Get it together. I inhaled through my nose and planted my feet wide. With the grace of a rhinoceros ballerina, I shoved harder. Finally, a sliver of space opened and I surged forward, sweaty, confused, and deeply regretting wearing heels.

Cas was still a blur beyond the bodies, so close and yet impossibly far. I took one last breath and prepared to plunge back into the madness when—

The world tilted.

No, I was being pulled.

The crowd vanished. My skin hit a hard surface—warm, solid. It smelled like citrus, ocean air, summer rain, and a distant crackling fire. What the hell? I shoved back instinctively and looked up, already knowing.

It was him.

My pulse stopped. So did everything else.

He caged me in with his arms, his gaze raking across me so thoroughly I felt like he’d read my browser history and judged nothing. My whole body blushed. I am fully clothed, I reminded myself—though it felt like a technicality.

"You aren’t what I expected," he said.

His voice was deep, rough. Like crushed velvet dragged across bare skin. My bones took that personally. My brain, meanwhile, scrambled to assemble a sentence and came up with nothing but screaming.

"I’ve been looking for you," he continued. "War is coming. And you will be our salvation."

I’m sorry—what? My brows knit together, my face a Picasso of confusion.

He broke eye contact—briefly—his gaze flicking to a point behind me. I turned to see Cas and his sparkly conquest staring at me with concern. When I turned back—

He was gone.

Typical.

I swallowed hard, still trembling, still smelling him somehow (was that bergamot and danger?). I hated that he had any effect on me. I was not here to be undone by cheekbones.

I stomped over to Cas and said, "It’s not fair that you get to take someone home."

Cas grinned and gestured gallantly toward the crowd with a bow. “My lady, the night is young and the options are… excessive.”

Challenge accepted.

It didn’t take long to find the men from before—still shirtless, still eager. One had a jaw that could slice diamonds and shoulders that deserved their own zip code. I downed more of the gold elixir, feeling it coil heat through my body like gasoline on a match.

I grabbed the taller one by the collar and leaned in. “I’d love to get to know you a bit more... intimately.”

He grinned, a devil’s smile, and slid a hand around my waist, his thumb skimming dangerously low. “I wouldn’t want to leave you unsatisfied.”

My spine shivered like a struck tuning fork.

I took his hand and led him back to Cas. He got the message and called for a ride without a word. We climbed the stairs toward the exit, but my eyes—traitors that they were—searched the third floor.

Empty.

He wasn’t there.

And I hated that it made my chest ache just a little.