Here in Heaven

Chapter 8

The ballroom was already filled with people by the time Julianna made her grand entrance. She descended down the grand staircase on her father’s arm to the sound of thunderous applause. There were several tables piled high with gifts. Off to the other side of the staircase was her cake. It was black and white and more beautiful than she ever would have imagined. It almost seemed a shame that they were going to cut it up and eat it.

Her father led her over to the cake table. His eyes glowed red for only a moment as he lit all eighteen of her candles with a snap of his fingers. The live band began to play their own rendition of Happy Birthday. When they were done Julianna sucked in her breath and blew as hard as she could. It took her a few more breaths to blow out all the candles, but no one in the crowd seemed to care. They clapped and cheered, shouting out so many birthday wishes that there was no way for her to distinguish their individual words over the noise.

Trevor offered her his hand, which she was happy to take so that her cousin could lead her out onto the dance floor. Dancing came naturally to Julianna. But even if it hadn’t, she had taken lessons since she was a girl. Trevor twirled her around, showing off the full skirt of her gown and his own skill on the dance floor to the delight of the crowd. By the middle of the song, other couples began to join them. And by the end, Julianna was relieved that they had mostly been swallowed by the crowd.

When the song was over, Trevor led her over to the edge of the dancefloor. Several of his warlock friends were waiting there. Even with their faces half covered with their party masks, Julianna could see how eager they looked. She assumed that they were waiting there for Trevor. They were his friends.

“Could I have the next dance?,” Aiden asked.

Before Julianna could answer, another one of them spoke up.

“Maybe you’d rather have something to drink first?”

“If you want a piece of your birthday cake, I could get one for you.”

Julianna was grateful that her cousin still had his arm around her shoulders. She crowded slightly closer to Trevor, unsure how to react to all the sudden attention. Trevor’s friends were always nice to her. But they never expressed any romantic interest in her. No man had. To have three of them vying for her attention at once was overwhelming.

Aiden was Trevor’s closest friend. When her father handed over control of the Midnight Shadow coven to Trevor, it was likely that Aiden would be his exponent, which was the warlock name for his second in command. Julianna was more familiar with him than she was with the other two young men.

“Uh…,” she stuttered as she glanced at Aiden, “I think I’d like to dance some more.”

Aiden was grinning ear to ear when he offered his hand for Julianna to take. She couldn’t help but smile back as she let him lead her out onto the dance floor. Aiden was shorter than Trevor but still a fraction taller than her, so it only felt a little awkward dancing with him. He held her respectably, leaving space between their bodies. Julianna spotted Nix dancing nearby with a high-ranking warlock from another coven. She smiled and waved at the other girl. Nix waved back. Though Nix was an underling, there was no way for anyone at the party to know that. And she certainly wasn’t dressed like one. Julianna hadn’t considered it before, but she hoped her party was creating the possibility for Nix to make a romantic connection beyond her rank. She was kind and beautiful. She deserved to make a good match. Julianna would be sad to lose her as a companion but she also wanted the best for her friend.

As the song drew to an end, another one of Trevor’s friends had elbowed through the crowd.

“May I have the next dance?,” he asked.

Julianna eyed the young man with hesitance. He wasn’t much older than her and at least a half a foot shorter. He wiggled his eyebrows at her. Then his eyes began to glow yellow as he levitated himself a few inches off the ground, making himself the same height as Julianna. She giggled as she reached to take his hand.

Before their hands connected, Julianna heard a hiss come from behind her. The shorter man took a few steps back, bumping into another couple and almost knocking them to the ground. Then he turned and ran. Aiden held out by her side for another moment before he took off after his friend. Julianna turned around. Fear and irritation were fighting inside her for dominance. She was worried about who she might find standing there and irritated at the person for scaring off her dance partners.

“I believe the next dance is mine,” the stranger told her.

Julianna’s mouth fell open. The man was so tall she had to tilt her chin up to look at him. He had broad shoulders and dark hair that was combed back neatly from his face. His masquerade mask was red with two devil horns sticking up off the top. Even with it on she could tell he was devilishly handsome underneath. His suit was black but his shirt and tie were red to match the mask. His vibrant green eyes stood out as he smiled at her. Julianna quickly snapped her mouth shut.

This man didn’t wait for her to give him permission. He took her hand in his and then wrapped the other arm around her slim waist, pulling her body flush against his. The man certainly wasn’t the blonde-haired angel from her dreams, but he was still dreamy. His body was muscular and he held her confidently as he turned her in slow circles on the dance floor. The other party guests gave him a wider berth than they had given to Aiden. It was as if they could feel the power emanating from the man.

“Julianna Darko,” he whispered, “you are even more beautiful in person.”

Julianna could feel her pale cheeks getting redder by the moment. Her body was tingling. She felt she ought to be afraid to be held so intimately by a stranger but instead she snuggled in closer to him, letting her hand travel up over his impressive bicep to rest on his shoulder.

“I’m afraid you have me at a loss sir,” she whispered back.

The man looked down into her eyes as he intentionally brought just enough of his magic to the surface to show her not who he was, but what he was. First his eyes glowed the crimson red of a fire warlock. When the red glow faded, his eyes turned completely white and his front eye teeth elongated. Julianna inhaled sharply. There was only one man she had ever heard of that had warlock powers and those of a full-fledged vampire.

“You’re Lance Morningstar,” she gasped.

“At your service, princess,” he smugly replied.

Lance chuckled as his fangs retracted slowly back into his mouth. Julianna stared up at him with more fascination in her eyes than fear. Even with the damping charm around her neck, he could feel the power that her luscious body contained. She was gorgeous and brave. She was also possibly the most powerful witch he had ever met. What was strange was that Lance couldn’t get a good sense of which element was the source of her powers. Her father was a fire warlock. And it was fairly well known that her mother came from a long line of intensely powerful water witches. The rumor was they had a distant relative that was a mermaid priestess and had transferred her powers to her half-warlock daughter before she died. But mermaids had been extinct so long there was no way to verify if it was really true. Either way, this was no ordinary little witch in his arms.

Lance moved slowly, giving her the opportunity to pull away if she rejected his advances. He tilted his head, leaning down until he could feel her soft breath against his lips. The party swirled into a blur around them. She closed the last inch that remained between them, pressing her full lips against his. It was all that he had been waiting for. Lance crushed Julianna’s body against his as he plundered her parted lips with his tongue. As soon as his tongue entered her mouth, he shimmered them away to the private room he had prepared earlier, leaving only a puff of smoke and the smell of magic behind.