Page 59 of The Paranormal Investigation Bureau
Ishould have known shit was going to get weird when Marsden made us sign NDAs in blood. It was tough to tell when he was being weird, or just up to his usual shady Unseelie shit. Until now, he’d just been epically eccentric… and a little horny.
He was definitely up to something though, and I didn’t like that whatever it was had Beyla and Bevan in the crosshairs. He talked like this ballet was special to him, like he desperately wanted us to bring it to an audience, but he was sure as shit sabotaging it just as much as Bellatrix was.
Bellatrix wasn’t even all that mad at Bevan. I knew what her deal was. Bellatrix didn’t even like sharing the stage with one male dancer, let alone multiple men. She preferred the shows Marsden did where she was the only person on stage and could show off what she was actually good at.
So, you can bet that she didn’t want to share the stage with four other leads. Bevan never had a lead before, and wasn’t nearly as famous as the rest of us. She thought he would be an easy target. I had no doubt that she planned to get Julian in rehearsal, and find a way to get the ballet canceled in a way that she wouldn’t be blamed.
I also had no doubt that Marsden spoiled her, but Bellatrix had no soul. Every time I had to look deep into her eyes on stage, and pretend like I was in love, it was like there was nothing there. I doubted she loved him. She loved what he gave her.
I hated Nicolai and Merlin, but they said something at lunch that clicked with me. I rose through the ranks of ballet fairly quickly, but I’d never dated dancers. Some of the many people who followed me on social media weren’t even interested in the videos I posted of me dancing or doing warmups. They just liked what I looked like.
I’d had new dancers ask me to pretend to be their boyfriend to get Marsden’s attention, and increase their chance of getting a role. I had some influencers ask me to crash their selfies for more likes. I said no to all of that. I thought it was stupid.
Maybe they weren’t totally horrible, I mean, Nyx never lied about anything. She told you what she felt, even if it hurt your feelings. If you were feeling insecure, youneverwanted to ask Nyx if the white tights you had to go on stage in made you look fat, because she would probably tell you they did. Nyx called everything like she saw it… and so wouldn’t have told me they were cool with her after she shrieked in Merlin’s face if they weren’t. If they hadn’t been, she would have done it again. Beyla wasn’t a liar. I don’t think she’d tell me my ass looked big in white tights like Nyx would, but she’d been honest so far. She promised to tell us everything she knew tonight. Beyla wouldn’t have invited them if they were being idiots.
I could be civil at dinner for Beyla and Bevan. Bevan liked Merlin and Nicolai, and Beyla thought enough of them to bring them in on this. They looked out for Bevan, so I could force myself to play nice and give them a chance.
I walked over to Beyla and Nyx’s apartment early. I wanted to get some time with her alone, before everyone else arrived. I let out a little growl when Nyx let me in because Nicolai and Merlin had the same idea, and Merlin was sitting in my chair.
“Where the fuck is Bevan?!” I growled.
Nyx just rolled her eyes.
“Beyla changed her mind about dinner. She knows people who took cooking lessons with Old Scratch, back when he was still alive. So she’s making a magical dinner. Bevan nerded out and wanted to learn. He’s in the kitchen.”
“He brought his latest batch of moonshine,” Merlin said. “He was experimenting with strawberries and rhubarb since it’s his favorite pie flavor. He insists he’s finally nailed it. It tastes just like pie, and of course will get you super drunk like all of his moonshine does.”
I took a step towards the kitchen, and Nyx let out a little banshee shriek. Merlin and Nicolai clapped their hands over their ears, and I stopped dead in my tracks. What now?
“Don’t you dare go in there, Arden. There’s barely enough room for one person in our tiny kitchen. Old Scratch was supposed to be this miserable old bastard who banned people from his restaurant if they asked for salt, but he was also supposed to be an amazing chef. I don’t have to cook tonight, and Madame Lucinda tried to kill us in class. I agreed to listen to your nutty conspiracy theories. If you go in there and ruin dinner, I’m going to ban you from my apartment for a month.”
Fucking Nyx. Her voice was her weapon, and she knew where to hit me where it hurt. I had an invitation to Beyla’s bed now. Girls stuck together about everything when it came to men. If Nyx banned me, Beyla was going to follow suit in solidarity. Now that I’d slept with her in my arms, there was no fucking way I could sleep alone in my bed.
“You’re evil, Nyx,” I said, as I plopped down on the couch.
“No, I’m hungry. There’s a difference.”
“Never piss off a woman when she’s hungry,” Nicolai said. “Someone did that to my sister once, and she bit his finger off.”
“Your sister scares me when she visits,” Merlin said.
“She scares everyone. She’s going to take over the family business. I love her to death.”
“Tell me, what would you do to a man who treated your sister the way you two treat women?” I asked.
Nicolai just looked at me coolly.
“Not a damn thing, unless she asked me to. Consent is vital, including not assuming what women want or what they are thinking. Not every womanwantsyou to swoop in and avenge her. My sister and plenty of other women are capable of doing that themselves. If a woman is intent on revenge, and you blow it by trying to play hero, you’ve just made an enemy for life.”
“He’s not wrong,” Nyx said. “You can make it hurt way worse and way longer than a beating. It needs to be done strategically, from a distance, and it can’t be traced back to you. If some troglodyte barges in and lands him in the hospital, it’s definitely going to look suspicious when his entire life gets ruined a few months later. I get you have this honor code, Arden, but shit… learn to read a room.”
I grumped because Nicolai made a good point, and Nyx had just confirmed he was right. Consent was major for me, too. It was one of my major rules when playing with someone. It was the entire point of having a safe word. It was in my nature to be protective, and I’d beaten the shit out of some fake doms at the club for hurting people.
“You seemed to like the fact that I stepped in and beat Julian, and Bevan still got his revenge.”
“That’s different. Julian had it coming,” Merlin said.
I threw up my hands in frustration.
