Opal

Chapter 35

On the afternoon before prom, Dee stood in my bedroom, twisting my hair around a medium-barrel curling iron. While the conversation started off a bit awkward, it eased up about halfway through the styling process. The conversation was light and easy by the time she’d pinned my hair up in an intricate design that showed off all her hard work.

I was applying my own eye makeup when she sat on the edge of my bed, her hands clasped in her lap. She’d gone with a simple twist—a ponytail with her hair wrapped around it in a thick bun, a classic look that showed off her angular face perfectly.

Rubbing my pinkie under my eye, I blended the brown eyeliner. “Are you excited about tonight?”

She shrugged. “I just want to do it, because, you know, it’s our last year. It’s probably going to be our last year together—all of us—and I want to experience it. I know Adam would want me to go and have fun.”

I placed the eyeliner in my bag and rooted around for my mascara. “He would,” I said, glancing back into the bedroom. “He seemed like the kind of guy who would want the best for you, no matter what it meant for him.”

A smile flickered and faded. “He was.”

With a sense of sadness, I turned back to the mirror and my gaze dropped to the golden tube. She should be with Adam tonight. “Dee, I’m—”

“I know.” One second she was on the bed and the next she was standing in the doorway. Her lower half faded out and wow, was that weird to see. “I know you’re sorry. I know you never intended for Adam to die.”

I turned toward her, twisting the piece of obsidian between my fingers. “I would change everything if I could.”

Her gaze flickered away from me, settling over my shoulder. “Are you scared about tomorrow night?”

Facing the mirror once more, I blinked back tears. For a moment, it had felt like we’d come so far, but then the door had been slammed in my face. Okay, maybe we had come somewhere, but not as far as I wanted to.

So, stop being a wussy, I ordered myself. That’s a lot of makeup to waste.

“Katy?”

“I’m scared,” I admitted with a little laugh. “Who wouldn’t be? But I’m trying not to think about it. That’s what I did last time, and I was so freaked out.”

“I would be freaked out no matter what—I am freaked out, actually, and all I’m doing is waiting by the car.” She disappeared from the doorway in a flash and reappeared by the closet. She lovingly unwrapped my prom dress. “Just be careful and keep my brothers safe. Okay?”

My heart tripped and I didn’t hesitate. “Okay.”

Switching places, she finished with her makeup, and I slipped on my dress. Mom appeared in my bedroom, camera in hand, and here we went again. She snapped pictures of Dee and me, got all teary eyed, talking about how I used to play dress-up in her shoes and run around the house naked, and that was all before Dee left and Daemon arrived.

It could only get worse from there.

But when Daemon stepped into the living room where I waited, fiddling with a small clutch Mom had given me, I was struck speechless.

Daemon looked good in just about anything—jeans, sweats, a lumberjack outfit—but in a black tux tailored to his broad shoulders and narrow hips, he was absolutely amazing.

Dark waves fell across his forehead, swept to the right. He held a pretty corsage in one hand. As he straightened his tie, his gaze started at the tips of my shoes and made the slow perusal up, lingering in a few spots I hoped my mom didn’t notice. His fingers stilled around the tie, and I flushed, feeling the intensity in his gaze and his approval.

Daemon did like the color red.

My cheeks had to match my dress by then.

He walked up to me with that rock-star swagger and stopped a foot before me, bent his head, and whispered, “You look beautiful.”

A deep flutter started in my stomach and spread. “Thank you. You don’t look so bad yourself.”

Mom fluttered around like an erratic little bird, taking pictures and fussing over us. Whenever she looked at Daemon, she got the doe-eyed look on her face. She was totally smitten with him.

She took a lot of pictures of him taking the corsage out and tying it to my wrist. The corsage was a simple rose in full bloom surrounded by green leaves and baby’s breath. Beautiful. We posed for Mom’s pictures and the whole process was natural, nothing like Simon and homecoming. My thoughts wandered to Simon as we did a couple more pictures and Daemon swapped out the camera so we could do some of the mother-and-daughter bit.

Was Simon alive? Blake had sworn that the last he’d seen Simon, the boy had been alive as the DOD carted him away. Whatever happened to Simon was because he had seen me lose control of the Source. Another possible death linked to me, and Simon had to be dead, because what would the DOD or Daedalus want with him alive? He was just human…

I thought of Carissa.

Daemon placed his hand on my lower back. “Where are you at?”

I blinked, drawn back into the present. “I’m here, right with you.”

“I hope so.”

Mom came up, pulling me into a hug. “Baby, you look so beautiful—you two look so beautiful together.”

Daemon stepped away, grinning at me over her shoulder.

“I just can’t believe this is it. Your senior prom,” she said, sniffling as she backed up, facing Daemon. “It was just yesterday when she was running through our house, tearing off her diapers—”

“Mom,” I snapped, finally jumping into the conversation. Her telling any baby Katy stories was bad enough. Anyone hearing them was mortifying. But with Daemon it was about a thousand times more horrifying.

Daemon’s eyes lit up with interest. “Do you have pictures? Please tell me you have pictures.”

Her face broke out in a wide smile. “Actually, I do!” She spun toward a bookcase in the corner, stock full of humiliating pictures. “I chronicled every—”

“Oh, look at the time.” I grabbed Daemon’s arm and pulled. He didn’t budge. “We really need to go.”

“There’s always tomorrow,” he said to my mom, winking. “Right?”

“I don’t go to work until five.” She grinned.

That was so not happening. On the way out, she stopped and gave me another hug. “You do look beautiful, baby. I mean it.”

“Thank you.” I squeezed her back.

She held on like she was never going to let go and I didn’t mind, because after tomorrow night, there was a chance that I may not come back. So I needed my mommy’s hug and I wasn’t too proud to admit that.

“I’m happy for you,” she whispered. “He’s a good boy.”

I gave a watery smile. “I know.”

“Good.” She pulled back, patting my arms with both hands. “Curfew?”

“I—”

“You have none tonight.” To my shock, she smiled. “Just behave and don’t do anything you’ll regret in the morning.” Her gaze drifted over my shoulder, and she muttered, “Wouldn’t be much.”

“Mom!”

Laughing, she gave me a light shove. “I’m old, not dead. Now get going and have fun.”

I left as fast as I could. “You didn’t hear that last part, right?”

Daemon grinned.

“Oh, God…”

Tipping his head back, he laughed as he took my hand. “Come, milady, your chariot awaits.”

I laughed as I climbed into Dolly and once he was inside, we argued over the radio until we were halfway to the school and Daemon sent me a sideways glance. “You really do look beautiful, Kitten. I mean it.”

I smiled, running my fingers over the beads on my clutch. “Thank you.”

There was a pause. “I thought you looked beautiful homecoming night, too.”

My head snapped toward him, clutch forgotten. “Really?”

“Hells yeah. I hated that you were with someone else.” He laughed at my expression and then refocused on the dark road. The easy grin tugged at my heart. “When I saw you with Simon? I wanted to beat the ever-loving crap out of him and snatch you away.”

I laughed. Sometimes I forgot that during those tumultuous first months of knowing each other, a teeny tiny part of him may have liked me.

“So, yeah, I thought you were beautiful then.”

I bit my lip and then hoped I hadn’t smeared my lip gloss. “I always thought you were…” Beautiful wasn’t exactly a manly descriptor, so I went with, “Very handsome.”

“What you mean is that you always thought I was incredibly hot and you couldn’t take your eyes off me.”

“We really need to work on your modesty.” The woods blurred outside the windows, and I could see my grin in the reflection. “But God, did you ever tick me off.”

“It’s a part of my charm.”

I snorted.

The prom was held the same place homecoming was—the high school gymnasium. Real fancy here. The parking lot was packed and because we were running a little late, we had to leave Dolly in the nosebleed section.

Daemon took my hand as we strolled up to the school. The air was warm with just a hint of coolness. The nights were still pretty cold here in May, but I didn’t need a shawl or anything, not with Daemon beside me. He always blew off an incredible amount of heat.

At homecoming, the gymnasium had been transformed by all the fall festive decorations, but for prom, white lights had been strung along the ceiling and down the closed bleachers, forming a dazzling waterfall effect. Large, leafy potted plants had been brought in, surrounding the white-linen-covered tables sitting at the edge of the matted dance floor.

Music was loud, and I could barely hear what Daemon was saying to me as he tugged me forward. Lesa appeared out of nowhere, taking my hand and pulling me toward the floor. She looked awesome in a deep blue trumpet dress that flattered her hourglass curves. Out on the floor other girls surrounded us. Laughter mingled with the beat and I thought of the club in Martinsburg and the cages.

Totally different worlds.

Daemon reappeared, stealing me away from the girls. It was a slow dance and his arm fit perfectly around my waist. I rested my cheek on his shoulder, glad that he and Dee had convinced me into doing the prom thing. Getting out and doing this felt great, like a seven-ton weight was lifted from my shoulders.

Daemon hummed along with the song, his chin brushing my cheek every so often. I liked the way his chest thrummed against mine, reminding me of the natural way his body felt.

Toward the end of the song, I opened my eyes and they locked with Blake’s.

I sucked in a sharp breath. Hadn’t expected him to be here, so seeing Blake caused quite a bit of shock to shoot through me. Was he with someone? No girl was near him, but that didn’t mean anything. Something about the way he stood there watching us was above the acceptable creep factor for my taste.

A couple moved in, laughing as the boy pawed at her hips. When they passed on, Blake was gone, but a weird, icky feeling had popped up in my stomach. The feeling I got whenever I saw Blake, which meant I tried not to think about him at all.

Seeing him made me think of someone else, though. I lifted my head. “Dawson didn’t come?”

Daemon shook his head. “Nah, I think he’d feel like he was betraying Beth if he did.”

“Wow,” I whispered, unsure of what to think of that. His dedication to Beth was more than admirable—it was sort of awe-inspiring. Maybe it was the alien DNA.

Daemon’s arm tightened and the tux pulled taut across his shoulders.

Yes, definitely the alien DNA at work on many, many aspects.

After the slow dance, Andrew and Dee joined us. She looked as divine as I thought she would in her dress and fresh, clean look. I noted that Dee and Andrew kept a discreet distance between each other. To me, it was clear they were just friends—more only because they shared something they lost.

When Daemon left to find something to drink, I was blindsided by Ash and her human date…and her little black dress.

Ash grinned like a cat that ate an entire family of canaries. “David, this is Katy. Don’t worry about remembering her name. You’ll probably forget.”

I ignored her and offered a hand. “Nice to meet you.”

David was handsome—very handsome—and could easily hold his own with the Luxen. He had curly brown hair and his warm whiskey-colored eyes were friendly, too.

He gave a good handshake. “My pleasure.”

And polite. What was he doing with Ash?

“I have certain talents,” she whispered in my ear, as if she read my thoughts, and I frowned at her. “Ask Daemon. He can tell you all about them.” Straightening, she laughed.

Instead of hitting her, which was something I really wanted to do—and I could feel the Source begging me to be used—I smiled sweetly as I brushed past her and placed my hand on the exposed length of her slender back. A high-charged electric surge passed from my hand to her skin.

Letting out a low shriek, Ash jumped and spun around. “You…”

Beside her, David looked confused, but behind him, Dee busted out laughing. I kept smiling, giving Ash a little wink before turning around. Daemon stood there with two cups, one eyebrow arched.

“Bad little Kitten,” he murmured.

Grinning, I stretched up and kissed him. It was an innocent one—or maybe it was on my end, but Daemon totally took it there. When we parted, I was breathless.

Leaving the group behind, we danced again, so closely that I kept waiting for a teacher to come around and break us apart. Several times I danced with Lesa and even Dee joined in once. We all looked ridiculous, flailing around and having fun.

By the time I was back in Daemon’s arms, we’d been at the prom for about two hours. Some of the kids were already leaving, heading out to the notorious field parties held on farms.

“You ready to leave yet?” he said.

“Do you have something planned?” Oh gosh, did my mind go wild then.

“I do.” He smiled mischievously. “I have a surprise.”

And my mind went far, far south at that point. Daemon and the word surprise in the same sentence usually was an entertaining adventure.

“All right,” I said, hoping I sounded adult and cool while my heart was doing the stupid happy-girl dance.

Finding Lesa, I told her we were leaving and gave her a hug. “Did you guys get a hotel room?” she asked, eyes glittering in the white lights.

I slapped her arm. “No. God. Well…I don’t think so. He says he has a surprise for me.”

“Totally the hotel room,” she yelled. “Oh my God, you guys are going to have, you know, the three-letter word.”

I smiled.

Lesa’s eyes narrowed and then flew open. “Wait. Did you guys—”

“I’ve got to go.” I started to pull away, but she followed.

“You have to tell me! I need to know.” Behind her, Chad watched on curiously.

Getting away, I shook my head. “I really need to go. I’ll talk to you later. Have fun.”

“Oh, we’d better talk later. I demand it.”

Promising to call her, I then looked for Dee but all I found was Ash, and after I zapped her earlier, she was looking like she wanted payback. I veered in the other direction, scanning the floor for the willowy raven-haired girl.

I gave up when I saw Daemon again. “Have you seen Dee?”

He nodded. “I think she left with Andrew. They decided to go to the diner or something and eat.”

I stared.

Daemon shrugged.

Now I was unsure about my earlier conviction when it came to their relationship. Adam and Dee were notorious for doing things like that. Then again, Luxen liked to eat…all the time. “You don’t think they’re…?”

“I don’t even want to know.”

Me neither, I decided. Taking his offered hand, we headed back out of the steamy gymnasium and down the streamer-laden hallway. The temps had dropped outside, but the cold air felt good against my flushed skin.

“Are you going to tell me about the surprise?”

“If I did, then it won’t be a surprise,” he replied.

I pouted. “But it’s a surprise now.”

“Nice try.” He laughed, opening the door for me. “Get in and behave yourself.”

“Whatever.” But I climbed in, primly crossing my legs. Daemon laughed again as he loped around the front of his car and got in.

Casting me a glance, he shook his head. “You’re dying to know, aren’t you?”

“Yes. You should tell me.”

He said nothing and remained quiet the whole way home, much to my surprise. Nervous excitement built inside me. There’d only been a few minutes here and there of being alone together since that fateful Saturday night.

Strange how something so terrible and so beautiful could happen in one night—the best and the worst day of my life, I realized.

I didn’t want to think of Will.

Daemon parked the car in his driveway. The living room light was on in his house. “Stay in the car, okay?”

When I nodded, he got out and disappeared—gone in a flash. Curious, I twisted around in the seat, but I didn’t see him or anyone. What could he be up to?

Suddenly, my car door opened and Daemon extended his hand. “Ready?”

A little knocked off-kilter by his reappearance, I gave him my hand and let him swoop me out of the SUV. “So my surprise…?”

“You’ll see.”

Hand in hand, we started walking. I thought he was going to lead me to his house, but he didn’t, and when we passed mine and made our way down the road, I had no idea what he had planned. That was, until I saw that we were heading to the main road and when we stopped there, I was taken back several months to the first time I learned about Daemon’s kind.

I’d walked out in front of a truck.

Yeah, idiotic move, but I’d been upset and hadn’t been thinking. Douche-version of Daemon had been to blame.

Crossing the road, I got a general idea of where we were heading. The lake. Squeezing Daemon’s hand, I fought back a stupid grin.

“Do you think you can walk in those heels?” he asked, frowning as if he’d just thought of it.

Doubtful, but I didn’t want to ruin any of this for him. “Yeah, I’ll be fine.”

He took it slowly anyway, making sure I didn’t fall flat on my face or break my neck. Incredibly sweet, actually, as he made sure to get all the low-hanging branches out of the way and at one point, he even let a part of his true form take hold. White light surrounded his hand, casting over the uneven ground.

Who needed a flashlight when you had Daemon?

It took a little longer than normal to get to the lake, but I enjoyed the walk and his company. And when we stepped out of the last stand of trees and the scene before me unfolded, I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.

Moonlight reflected off the calm waters and several feet away from the bank, next to the white wildflowers that had started to bloom, were several blankets spread out and piled atop one another, creating a comfy-looking sitting area. There were a few pillows and a large cooler. A fire crackled closer to the lake, surrounded by large stones.

There were no words.

The whole setup was exceptionally romantic, sweet, awesome, and so, so perfect that I wondered if I were dreaming. I knew Daemon was capable of surprising me—he always did, but this…? My heart swelled so quickly I was sure I would float away.

“Surprise,” he said, stepping ahead, his back to the fire. “I thought this would be better than a party or whatever. And you like the lake. So do I.”

I blinked back tears. God, I needed to stop crying all the time, especially tonight, because I had loaded my lashes with mascara. “It’s perfect, Daemon. Oh my God, it’s wonderful.”

“Really?” A bit of vulnerability crept into his voice. “You really like it?”

I couldn’t believe he had to ask. “I love it.” And then I started to laugh, which was better than crying. “I really love this.”

Daemon smiled.

I launched myself at him, wrapping my arms and legs around him like a demented monkey-girl.

Laughing, he caught me and didn’t stumble. “You really love it,” he said, walking backward. “I’m glad.”

So many emotions were running through me that I couldn’t settle on one thing, but they were all good. When he put me down, I kicked off my shoes and moved to the blankets. They were soft under my toes, luxurious.

Sitting down, I tucked my legs under me. “What’s in the cooler?”

“Ah, the good stuff.” He flashed out and appeared beside the cooler, kneeling down. He cracked it open, pulled out a bottle of wine and two glasses. “Wine cooler—strawberry. Your favorite.”

I laughed. “Oh my God.”

He popped the cork with some kind of weird alien-mind-Source-Jedi power and poured each of us a glass. I took it and sipped the fizzy liquid. I liked the wine cooler because it didn’t taste like alcohol and I was really a lightweight.

“What else?” I asked, leaning over.

Out came a canister and he carefully peeled the lid off and tilted it toward me. Chocolate-covered strawberries rolled temptingly.

My mouth watered. “Did you make them?”

“Ha. No.”

“Uh…did Dee make them?”

That got a laugh. “I ordered them from the candy shop in town. Try one?”

I did and I think my mouth died and went to heaven. I may’ve even drooled on myself. “They are so good.”

“There’s more.” He pulled out a plastic container full of sliced cheese and crackers. “Also pre-made from the store, because I am not a cook or whatever.”

Who cared how he got the stuff? He did this—this was all him.

There were also cucumber sandwiches and a veggie pizza. Perfect munchie food, and we dug in, laughing and eating while the fire slowly died off.

“When did you do all of this?” I asked, reaching for my fifth or so slice of veggie pizza.

He picked up a strawberry, inspecting it with narrowed eyes. “I had the stuff in the cooler down here and the blankets wrapped in canvas. All I did when we got back was come down here real quick, spread the stuff out, and start the fire.”

I finished off my slice. “You’re amazing.”

“I know it didn’t take you this long to realize that.”

“No. I’ve always known it.” I watched him root around for another strawberry. “Maybe not in the beginning…”

He peeked up. “My awesomeness is all about the stealth.”

“Is it?” The temp had dropped and I huddled closer to Daemon and the dying fire, shivering but not anywhere near ready to head back.

“Uh-huh.” He grinned, closing the bowl and placing the rest of the food back in the cooler. Tossing me a soda, he cleaned everything up. We’d moved on past the wine coolers a while ago. “I can’t show all my dynamic sides at once.”

“Of course not. Where’s the mystery in that?”

He picked up a throw blanket. “There is none.” Draping it over my shoulders, he then settled back down next to me.

“Thank you.” I pulled the soft material close. “I think the general public would be shocked to know how deep your sweetness runs.”

Daemon stretched out, resting on his side. “They can never know.”

Grinning, I leaned forward and kissed his lips. “I’ll take the secret to my grave.”

“Good.” He patted the spot next to him. “We can go back whenever you want.”

“I don’t want to leave.”

“Then get your happy little hybrid butt over here.”

Scooting over the remaining space, I laid down beside him. Daemon moved a pillow down so that it was under my head. Snuggled close to him, it would take an army of Arum to split us apart.

We talked about the dance, school, and even the university in Colorado. We talked well beyond midnight.

“Are you worried about tomorrow at all?” I asked, running the tips of my fingers along the curve of his jaw.

“I’m worried—but I’d be insane not to be.” He kissed my finger when it drifted too close to his lips. “But not about what you think.”

“What, then?” My hand drifted down his neck, over his shirt. He’d taken off the jacket a while ago. His skin was warm and hard underneath the thin material.

Daemon shifted closer. “I worry that Beth won’t be like Dawson remembered.”

“Me, too.”

“I know he can handle it, though.” He joined in, his hand sliding under the blanket, curving on my bare shoulder. “I just want the best for him. He deserves it.”

“He does.” I held my breath as his hand traveled south, over the dip in my waist then the flare of my hip. “I hope she’s okay—that everyone is okay, even Chris.”

He nodded and gently eased me onto my back. His hand smoothed over the skirt of my dress to my knee. I shivered. He smiled. “Something else is bothering you.”

When I thought about tomorrow and what the future might hold, a lot of things were bothering me. “I don’t want anything to happen to you.” My voice broke. “I don’t want anything to happen to anyone.”

“Shh.” He kissed me gently. “Nothing will happen to me or anyone.”

I balled my hands around his shirt, holding him, as if I could somehow stop the worst-case scenario from coming to fruition just by keeping him close. Silly, I knew, but holding him there kept the most horrific of fears at bay.

That I would walk out of Mount Weather, but Daemon wouldn’t.

“What happens if we do succeed tomorrow night?”

“You mean when we do?” His leg brushed over mine, settling in between. “We go back to school on Monday—boring, I know. Then we hopefully pass our classes, which we will. Then we graduate. And then we have all summer…”

His weight did wicked things to my thoughts, but panic loomed too close. “Daedalus will come looking for Beth and Chris.”

“And they won’t find them.” His lips pressed against my temple and then the curve of my brow. “That is, if they get close enough.”

My stomach churned. “Daemon…”

“It’ll be okay. Don’t worry.”

I wanted to believe. More like I needed to.

“Let’s not think about tomorrow,” he whispered, his lips grazing my cheek and then my jaw. “Let’s not think about next week or the next night. It’s just us right now and nothing else.”

Heart racing, I tipped my head back and closed my eyes. It seemed impossible to forget all that was coming, but as his hand traveled over my knee and up under the hem of my dress, it really was only us and nothing else.