Page 73 of Sinner
Members of the High Council and the Order were all here, within the Great Hall, acting like there wasn’t any animosity between them. Despite their masked visages, Lake led them to a few, always greeting the person behind the mask by name.
“Did you spy on them or something?” Nix asked out of the corner of his mouth after the fifth person they’d approached ended up being Kori, just like Lake assumed. “Bribe their staff into slipping you images of what they’d chosen to wear?”
Lake chuckled. “I appreciate the faith in me. It’s nothing that impressive, however.”
“He memorizes all the weird little quirks about people he deems important,” West explained, keeping his voice down on Nix’s other side. “Take Sif, for example. I bet he ID’d her from something stupid, like the shape of her earlobes or something.”
“It was the green hair, actually,” Lake drawled, knowing West was teasing him. “She is the only member of the Order who has that shade.”
“But not the only female on campus who does,” Yejun countered.
“All right,” he gave in. “It was also the length of her heels. She refuses to wear shoes shorter than six inches because she’s self-conscious about her height next to her husband.”
“She loves feeling taller than him.” West winked at Nix.
“He loves it too.” Yejun pulled Nix over to one of the long tables set off to the side and picked up a small piece of cake covered in black edible glitter. He held it up for him and thenpaused, realizing the difficulty with the mask in the way. “Oh, I forgot to tell you, this bottom half detaches.”
Nix held still as Yejun pressed a hidden button at the side of the mask, right over his left jaw. The part beneath his nose lowered, and the cake was slipped past his lips before the mask was righted.
Before Nix could comment on the taste, something over his shoulder caught Yejun’s attention, and the Demon stiffened.
“Mother.” June bowed a moment later when a woman dressed in gold and purple, complete with a cape, approached.
“Boys.” She glanced around at them all, face turned toward Nix for a little longer than the rest, though the shielded eye holes prevented him from seeing where her eyes actually rested. “The Feast is about to begin. I suggest you take your places. The Order went through a lot of trouble preparing things for you this year.”
Through the large archway at the other end of the hall, the ballroom had been transformed into a dining room, complete with at least fifty long tables. Up at the head, there were three circular tables set on a slightly raised dais.
Right, Part Two of Demons Passing. The Feast.
While food was actually served, the real point of this part of the evening was to further appease and fool any spirits who might be watching. The dishes were all carefully chosen to fit a theme of carnage and bloodshed, so anything red or meaty was typically added to the menu.
“It’s an eight-course meal,” West warned Nix, turning toward him so Yejun’s mother couldn’t overhear. “Pace yourself. We’ll be front and center. Everyone will be watching.”
And he was the Royal Consort now. Nix didn’t need to be reminded. His palms were a bit sweaty though, and he wiped them nervously on his thighs.
Which of course Sayda Sang homed in on like a sharpshooter.
“Nervous? Perhaps you should sit at one of the Order tables with me,” she made it sound like she was offering for his sake, but Nix could read between the lines.
“Mom,” Yejun took a step closer to him. “The Royal Consort should be at the head table. Obviously.”
“It was just a joke,” she lied through her teeth. “You’re too sensitive, June-bug. You need to toughen up. You’re about to move into the palace.”
“I’m glad you’re aware.Iam moving to the palace. With my friends and my boyfriend. None of whom needs you trying to manage them.”
“With all due respect,” Nix found himself saying, though he couldn’t for the life of him pinpoint where he’d found the gall, “that didn’t really work out too well for the last guy. Speaking of, West, is your dad around? I haven’t seen him yet.”
If she weren’t wearing a mask, Nix was positive they’d see Sayda’s mouth hanging open.
“He’s probably gearing up to make an entrance,” Lake said.
“Or in a corner somewhere kissing ass.” West motioned over his shoulder toward the other room and took a step back. Even though Demetrious was currently under investigation, no one could legally bar him from coming, and they’d anticipated seeing him lurking about. “Let’s go get some grub, Nixie. Later, Mrs. Sang.”
“Yejun—” she tried to stop him, but he shook her off.
“Look, I love you, but if you’re just going to talk about my future or remind me about how you feel about my relationship, just don’t.” June didn’t bother being quiet, and a few people standing nearby stopped chatting and turned toward them.
Noticing their attention, Sayda cleared her throat. “I was just going to say, invite Nix to family dinner this month. I would love to give him a chance and get to know him.”
