Page 57 of Insurrection
My gaze found my father, who was watching all of this with calm amusement. My mother, on the other hand, wasn’t even looking at the fight. Instead, her eyes were narrowed on the door behind me. Normally, they would have found this type of thing exciting, but instead, they looked…Well, I didn’t know how to describe it. There was an edge of both disappointment and expectation, as if they were waiting on something.
A gut feeling told me to go after Ama.No. She wouldn’t want anything to do with us after tonight.The woman had already felt out of place at the Summit, and now we had caused a far larger issue for her, making her a source of entertainment because of the brutal way we’d been fighting over here.
Damn. We had really fucked up.
My chest squeezed, feeling a level of concern for Ama that I’d never felt for anyone else. I wasn’t good when it came to emotion, and when it came to physical intimacy, I usually kept any emotion far away from it. I felt a lot for Ama, though—far too much for the time I’d known her—and it was causing me anxiety. I cared about what she thought about tonight. I cared about whether she was hurt or angry. Shit. I cared far too much for her to be just some woman I was attracted to.
I watched as my father turned from the scene, and it was like the tension from the moment completely popped, exploding like a water balloon. I’d been so caught up in the moment, I hadn’t even realized how present his magic had been until it was gone. Gone, and leaving in its wake the realization that my father had something to do with the emotional turmoil that had affected the group. Why would he do that? For fucking kicks? I mean, the man was a sick bastard, but that was ridiculous even for him.
Walking towards the others, I spoke harshly, “Cut the shit. Ama is gone. She’s gone because of us.” Without another word, I walked towards my family table, smoothing out my emotions so that my parents wouldn’t notice how concerned I was about Ama. I wouldn’t call my parents abusive, but they were definitely emotionally manipulative. Anything I cared about was held on the line if I wasn’t doing what they wanted.
“Good job, Nicolas.” My mother offered me a pleased smile. I blinked at her in confusion as her grin turned into something that was nearly evil.
“Seducing her, causing chaos amongst the others, very tactful,” she praised as my father kept his eyes over my shoulder on the rest of the ballroom. For someone who had been acting so light-hearted and nearly tipsy earlier in the night, he seemed almost eerily alert now. I really didn’t like how he was acting, and that prickle of concern for Ama continued to grow into something that caused my throat to tighten with worry.
“I don’t consider it a job well done because the girl is still very much at large and perfectly healthy,” my father clipped, causing my chest to tighten. What the hell was he saying?
“What?” My voice was rough and almost choked.
His smile grew as he offered me a sinister smile, “Come now, Nicolas, you didn’t think we would ever let that hybrid whore make it to the voting ceremony, did you?”
Fuck.
“Of course not,” I mumbled, staring at the table and counting to ten before looking up, finding both of my parents already entertained by other members of our house. Mumbling an excuse about using the bathroom, I immediately crossed the room back towards where the other guys were, the fight seeming to have de-escalated but the anger still prominent.
“Something is wrong,” I announced immediately, and they all snapped their gazes my way. I didn’t wait for them to respond before I turned down the long hall and began to make my way towards the House of Death’s quarters.
“What the fuck do you mean, ‘something is wrong’?” Drayven’s hand on my shoulder had me turning around and stepping into his space, a low rumble breaking from my chest.
“Do not fucking touch me,” I snapped, feeling my anger at this situation peak. “I am telling you something is fucking wrong. Ama is in danger.”
That last part seemed to be all I needed to say for the four of them to follow me. I had never been to the House of Death’s suites, but the faint scent of Ama’s Succubus magic was one I wouldn’t soon forget. I turned a corner and, as we reached the staircase, stopped momentarily, narrowing my eyes on Samuel, of all people.
“Prince Nicolas.” He offered me a good-natured smile from where he leaned against the railing, smoking a cigarette and looking completely at ease. The man was a complete slime ball, so the fact that he wasn’t in the ballroom meant he was undoubtedly up to no good.
I didn’t offer him a greeting in return, simply stalking past him as he let out a chuckle, making me shake my head. I had always found him particularly annoying, but tonight he was making me furious. After I checked in on Ama, ensuring her safety, I would come back and work out some of my frustration on his face.
Shit. I really wasn’t normally violent. But I also wasn’t normally a lot of things that I was with Ama. The woman changed me, and it was both terrifying and like a shot of adrenaline to the heart. Would I ever get used to the effect she had on me? Did I want to?
Incubi, by nature, indulged in whatever they wanted, and I very much wanted to indulge in Ama and everything she had to offer. That was, if she was even offering, which, after tonight, was highly doubtful.
When I turned down the hallway towards her suite, I immediately knew something was very wrong.
“Fuck.” Drayven’s words had my jog turning into a full-out sprint as I tugged her door open.
Ice crawled up my spine as I stepped into the room, an onslaught of different things hitting me at once. For one, there was a dead man with his throat torn out lying near the door of her bedroom, easily visible from the living area.
Secondly, there had clearly been a struggle. I could smell fear lingering in the room, and Ama’s Succubus magic had left an imprint on the energy of the space. Had she used her magic? Why?
I watched as Finias turned the body over in the pool of blood, his face completely blank of emotion as he looked around. That was dangerous. Far more dangerous than Drayven, who after a sweep of the room, returned from the bathroom holding Ama’s torn dress and looking like he was about to break someone's neck.
What the hell had happened here? Where was Ama? The man was clearly dead…I didn’t want to consider whether she had been injured. I had to believe she was alright. Where was she, though? I stayed perfectly still, not knowing how to handle the emotions coursing through me.
“Damien was here,” Adrien’s voice was hard and sharp. I looked over at him and found the man looking almost panicked, which was extremely unusual for him. In fact, I think this was the first time I’d ever seen emotion from him at all.
“Someone tried to have her killed,” Colt’s voice was choked. I looked over at him and found him staring at the body. “Damien must have gotten here and stopped him…which means they are together.”
“This man is from my house,” Finias said coolly, looking down at the body.
