Page 26 of Devious Knight
Tiffany gives Mackenzie a sly smile, then she looks at me and her expression turns sour. “Isabelle will serve the drinks. I think I’ll enjoy watching her squirm every time she sees Kade. Now go. Get back out there.”
She tosses me a hard stare and my insides crumble.
I can’t fight this. Fighting isn’t worth the trouble it will cause me.
Mackenzie and I hustle ourselves past Tiffany out of the room and make our way into the hallway.
“Don’t worry,” Mackenzie mutters under her breath when we’re out of Tiffany’s earshot. “Just ignore Kade and you’ll be fine.”
“Yeah, sure.” I can’t keep the sarcasm out of my voice.
“It’s just till midnight, then we can go.”
Yes, but a lot can happen in three hours, Mackenzie. Like I could go crazy.
“I’ll be fine,” I tell her instead.
“Let’s go to The Verge after and hang out for a while. Cleanse the horror of the night from our minds.” She nods, sounding more like herself. “I also have drinks in my secret stash.”
We’re way underage and I’m not usually a drinker, but tonight I won’t say no to a glass of wine.
“Cool. Sounds like just what I need.”
“Then it’s a plan.”
When we reach the function hall Mackenzie heads over to the buffet table where Annika and the twins are taking care of the food. At least she’ll have them to keep her company. I’ll be on my own.
Shaking off my nerves, I make my way over to the bar. On seeing me the bartender makes up a tray of fruit cocktails for me to take.
I pick it up and the moment I turn around I spot Kade and his friends walking through the doors at the far corner of the hall.
Dressed for tonight’s black-tie event in Brioni suits, the four look like models walking off the runway at Fashion Week. And of course, as luck would have it, Kade spots me at the same time I do them.
Shivers erupt all over my body and my nerves reach for the sky.
My body is thrown out of sync and becomes such a mess that I fear I might break out in a serious case of hives. When I was younger that used to happen to me when I got nervous. I grew out of it but I wouldn’t be surprised if Kade reawakened it in me.
Someone clears their throat in an exaggerated manner across from me. It’s Tiffany. Furiously, she points to where Kade and his friends are standing and mouths the word ‘go’.
People around glance curiously at her and me, and I can’t even be bothered to feel embarrassed that she just treated me like a child.
Being anywhere near Kade is the bigger problem I need to worry about.
I swallow past the lump in my throat and move my shaky legs. I carry the tray of cocktails with the same caution you’d use with a crate of eggs. There aren’t that many glasses on the tray but it’s me who needs to be handled with care.
When I get closer to them Kade, Logan and Dmitri focus on me, giving me intense stares. Alek is the only one who doesn’t look at me as if he wants me to shrivel up and die. That suggests Dmitri and Logan are in on whatever is going on with Kade.
They might have excluded Alek because he’s new to the crew. He’s also Lucian’s cousin so I don’t expect him to be an ass.
Lucian is just as badass as all the other guys in the Knights but he has a heart of gold—especially when it comes to Eilish, who has always been a friend to me.
Kade, Dmitri and Logan have always been so close that I’m sure they keep Alek at arm’s length and only allow him as close as they need to for the sake of appearances. Under the law of the Knights the elite four are bound by the Blood Oath to work together as a unit forever. That doesn’t mean they have to like each other or get along.
I weave through the group of students in front of them then, my God, do I try to act like everything is fine and nothing untoward has ever happened between Kade and me.
“Drinks, my lords?” I summon my usual chirpiness, pushing down the urge to vomit.
Because they’re in the elite they’re the only freshmen we’re supposed to refer to as lords in a formal setting such as this, or when they request it.