Page 28 of The Last De Loughrey Dynasty

I caught sight of Maisie and Jesse approaching a table near the side of the ballroom, next to the windows, where cupcakes and scary-looking food were placed.

“Mister Kingstone, you know our policy.” Headmaster Shaw approached us with a laugh that made it obvious that none of us would face any consequences tonight. Maybe it was the fact that the school was so engaged in holidays because the headmaster loved them.

“I’m almost certain that no one will be scared of obvious fake blood, Sir, besides, this party is sixteen and over,” Archer replied, filling himself a cup of whatever drink was in the red bowl.

Our headmaster was costumed as a vampire. It was obvious from the cape and teeth, even though I had to guess before he spoke and flashed his fangs at us.

“Very well, I'll turn a blind eye then. Have a spooky night,” the older man chuckled softly and made his way back to his colleagues. Chadwick stood beside them, his eyes met mine, he nodded with a smile, and I was sure this gesture meant that I should have fun tonight.

Smiling back, I looked around the room while Nathaniel spoke with Archer about how bad the music that was playing was.

Rich people enjoyed dressing up in fancy costumes on Halloween. Everyone looked straight out of a fantasy novel, and it was fantastic. Honestly, Halloween might as well turn into my favourite holiday too if I got to throw such a party each year. But the nobles don’t tend to call tonight a party.Partysounded too casual. Tonight was declared a ball.

Across from me on the other side of the giant room stood a girl in a white dress. Her blond hair looked similar to the style Archer had accomplished tonight—sweaty and wet. She was too far away to admire the details of her costume closely, but it looked like she had white contact lenses in and had made her skin look deadly pale with make-up. There were fake blood stains on her white, dirty dress, and she wasn’t the only one breaking the rules, as I looked around and saw at least six or seven other people covered in the red mess.

“Going against policy isn’t a big thing tonight, is it?” I asked Archer with a chuckle from the side as I poured myself some of that red liquid in the bowl, which I quickly realised was nothing more than strawberry lemonade laced with a tonne of sugar.

“What do you mean?” he wondered, gazing over at me.

I swallowed the sugary drink before I answered, “The fake blood. So many students are covered in it. Why do they even make this policy in the first place if no one complies with it?”

The boy by my side looked away when our eyes met, and his gaze travelled over the room. “Last year, a few kids started cryingbecause the blood apparently disturbed them,” he explained with a frown.

“How many exactly have you seen so far?” Nathaniel asked me, slightly unbothered, looking around the room himself.

I shrugged my shoulders. “Around ten...? I didn’t count.”

Jesse took hold of Naomi's shoulders and dragged her, despite her protests, onto the dance floor. Yet, when he let go of her, moving to stand across from the mesmerising girl, he held out his hand for her, and she accepted her fate and took it.

The two of them were fascinating to me. Naomi and Jesse made it clear for everyone watching that they were polar opposites. It was also clear, however, that this fact didn’t drive their friendship apart in the slightest. I was confident that they would risk their lives for each other. There was just something about them that convinced me their friendship was so deeply rooted in their hearts that no argument, nor anything else, could change things for them. It was the subtle gestures I noticed. For example, Jesse tended to always steal some sort of Naomi’s food during lunch. She pretended that it bothered her, slapping his hands away, but when no one was looking, she subtly pushed it with the back of her hand a little further in his direction.

Maisie appeared next to Nathaniel, handing him a cup of the strawberry lemonade. He laid his arm around her shoulders, carefully not to destroy her wings.

“Do any of you know the tale of the Fox and the Doe?” After Gwyneth had told me the story at the lake, I had looked into it, but without any success. At least the internet didn’t provide any information or a proper story, so I figured it was just a tale spread in Aquila Hall.

“Oh—” Maisie started, but Archer interrupted her.

“Yes, it’s an old tale told by professors to keep the students away from the lake.”

Confusion hit me. “But why? It’s beautiful.”

Nathaniel answered, “No one knows how old the tale is, but everyone figured that no such thing happened after some curious student looked into it and, surprise, no one drowned in that lake. It doesn’t take a genius to figure that the tale is a creative way of keeping students away from a possible case of drowning.”

It looked like the lake wasn’t even that deep, but it made sense, like scary stories you told children to keep them safe in some way, so I let it go.

The music changed from a slower song to a faster one, carrying a beat, and in a matter of seconds, my roommate had grabbed my hand, pulling me onto the dance floor with her. Nearby, Jesse and Naomi's dancing started to adapt to the faster rhythm. Naomi allowed Jesse to take the lead, and it looked almost funny how he swung her around like a puppet.

Maisie twirled me with a laugh, catching my other hand in hers when I was facing her again.

“I don’t want to see that thoughtful face tonight. It’s Halloween, Doe, and I’m determined to see you laugh, smile, and enjoy yourself. I wish you could see how pretty you are when you smile,” she giggled and twirled around herself.

Maisie and I danced through the entirety of three songs before we both ran out of breath and decided, between laughter, that we needed a break. Making our way back to Archer and Nathaniel, who hadn’t yet moved away from the wall they'd leaned on.

My friend began to sway slightly.

I looked at the clock, which hit nine-thirty the second my eyes gazed over the numbers. Tonight, the curfew wasn’t stated. The ball was supposed to go on until midnight. We had plenty of time left, so a break wouldn’t hurt.

When I turned my attention back to Maisie, she suddenly stumbled into Archer, who caught her on her elbow, steadyingher. Nathaniel set his drink on the table instantly and placed his arm gently around her waist, taking hold of her hand with his free one.

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