Have you read Neon Fae Part Five - Dim?
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“Have this.” Blaze nudged Ki who was still staring at the empty doorway.
Blaze pushed a shot glass of amber liquid into his hand before tipping his head back and downing his own. Ki copied him. The tequila scorched his throat, but he welcomed the burning trail it left through his numb body. His eyes followed Blaze who had grabbed the empty shot glass from him and headed back to the tequila bottle on the coffee table.
“How do you know what’s happening in the Emerald District? The situation’s so tightly under wraps I thought only those living in the Emerald District and the Cerulean parliament knew what was happening,” Ki asked.
Blaze poured another shot and gestured for Ki to sit with him on the couch. Ki closed the front door before joining him. Blaze downed his shot. “I’d say only a handful of us outside the Cerulean Kingdom know what’s happening.”
Ki turned Blaze’s statement over in his mind. He clearly wasn’t the only one keeping secrets. He downed his shot. Fuck this shit. “How do you know about the Emerald District? How do you know a Surgeon General? How did you recognise Luna, I mean Raven? And you don’t even seem surprised to find out who I am.”
“It’s my job to know these things,” Blaze said simply, pouring another couple of shots.
“Wait so…”
“I’ve known who you are the whole time we’ve been friends,” Blaze said, before downing the shot.
What the actual fuck. Ki downed his shot, finally feeling his body loosen up under the influence of the alcohol. He turned to Blaze. “How the fuck have you known who I am this whole time, but I have no idea who you are?”
Blaze smiled. “Because I’m good at my job.”
“Are we even real friends?” Ki asked, his stomach clenched at the thought of losing another friend.
Blaze looked at him, seeming to weigh up something. He poured another couple of shots, the tequila bottle now more than half empty. “I won’t lie, when we first met at the Darkness Festival, I knew who you were. I was intrigued as to why you were there, but you quickly proved to be a useless source, you’ve been very good at keeping your identity hidden.” Blaze paused, swallowing the next shot. “But I also realised you’re my kind of fae,” Blaze smiled. “You’re trying to make a difference in the world. When I realised that, I realised you were going to be my best friend.”
Ki stared at Blaze. How the hell did he know so much, and why had he kept it from him for so long? He downed the shot in front of him and leaned back into the couch. “Who are you?”
Blaze frowned. “Ah, I’d love to tell you, but it’s classified. I’m sorry man.”
They lapsed into silence. It pressed in around him. So many questions swirled around his mind, muddling together with the effects of the tequila. He unconsciously grabbed Ember’s discarded halo from the table, fiddling with it just so he had something to occupy his hands. Next to him Blaze poured another couple of shots.
“Look dude, I know shit’s just completely blown up in your face, but we’ve got one day of the festival left before we have to go back to reality. The dawn gig starts at the Cave Stage soon, wanna go?”
Fuck, he really didn’t want to go back to the palace and his infuriating mother. He threw the halo back on the table and grabbed the tequila bottle, chugging the last of it. Shuddering, he set the empty bottle on the table with a clunk. “Fuck it, let’s go.”
“Fuck yeah,” Blaze smiled, downing the two shots on the table and standing. He headed to the front door, lighting a cigarette as he went. Ki stumbled after him.
The corridor outside was quiet. The sky had the slightest pale tinge of dawn on the horizon. They made their way along the corridor, down the stairs, and through the forest in silence. They passed the odd bright eyed fae, ready for the final day of partying, but the majority of them looked as shitty as Ki felt.
Vetra appeared at the entrance to the Cave Stage, sporting huge flashing wings. “There you are! Where the hell were you?” she asked Blaze. She peered over his shoulder, her pale blue eyes piercing Ki. “You look like shit.”
“Then I look like I feel,” Ki slurred. “Where the hell have you been?”
She ignored him. Great, another question to add to his every growing list. Vetra’s eyes snapped back to Blaze. “The others have left,” Blaze said. Vetra raised her eyebrows. “They found out about Ki.”
“Shit. I take it that didn’t go down well?” she asked.
“What the fuck. Did you know too?” Ki asked.
They ignored him. “You could say that,” Blaze murmured to Vetra as a group of chattering fae walked past them into the cave.
Vetra turned back to Ki. “Shit, I’m sorry dude,” she said, clapping him on the shoulder. “Blaze and I have your back.”
“And Kiran,” Blaze added.
Vetra’s face took on a thoughtful look. “Not entirely surprising I guess. He’s gone with Laurel though?”
Blaze nodded.
“I suppose the reason you know so much is also classified?” Ki asked dejectedly.
Vetra’s frowned. “You could say that,” she said slowly. “From the look of it you’re going for the drowning-your-sorrows solution?”
“You know it,” Blaze laughed, as bass started pumping out of the cave behind them.
Vetra’s face split into a smile. “Good, I’ve got just the thing.” She grabbed Blaze’s hand and dragged him into the cave. Caught by surprise Ki hurried after them.
He stopped dead as they entered the main chamber of the cave, his mouth dropping open as his head tilted back. The roof of the dark cave was splattered with blue stars. Wait, not stars. Glow worms. He’d seen them before but never at this scale. The chamber was huge, there must have been millions of glow worms. They lit the space with a soft blue glow, which danced on the heads of the crowd facing the stage. A fae in a light up mask was going hard at the decks on stage.
Vetra suddenly appeared in front of him, holding out a glass. “Jager bomb time dickwad,” she laughed, pushing it into his hand. Blaze appeared next to her with his own glass.
Ki looked between Blaze and Vetra. His friend group may have just exploded, but at least he still had these two crazy assholes. His face split into a grin. “Cheers,” he said, bringing his glass to the middle.
They smiled back, clinking their glasses against his. Ki threw his head back, chugging the drink in one go.
“Let’s dance!” Blaze said putting his glass on a nearby table. He turned and headed off into the crowd, Vetra on his heels. Ki followed.
Weaving their way deeper into the cave Ki gave himself over to the alcohol coursing through him. His body moved in time to the bass, head bobbing as he squeezed his way through the crowd behind Vetra. Eventually Blaze stopped in a small gap in the crowd. The three of them formed a circle, each one moving to the music as balls of light flashed around them. Ki closed his eyes, letting go of his worries about Forrest, Laurel, Ember, and Raven, letting go of his questions about Kiran, Blaze, and Vetra, and letting go of his dread about going back home tomorrow.
The music filled him as his mind went blank. He sang the lyrics, moving to the music. The song built and built, the anticipation sizzling through him. As the drop hit, he smiled to himself, letting loose. Suddenly the image of Luna popped into his head. He opened his eyes. A blur of purple and blue hair caught his eye further into the crowd. He felt the pull in his chest.
Luna hadn’t seen him yet. She was dancing with her eyes closed, arms in the air. Ki opened his mouth to tell Blaze he was going, but when he looked at Blaze he was making out with Vetra. Blaze held her tightly around the waist, Vetra’s lightning covered hands running through Blaze’s hair making it stand up on end. Ki laughed to himself as he turned and made his way through the crowd toward Luna.
As he approached, her head snapped around. Her eyes quickly darted around him, no doubt searching for Ember. When she found nothing, her eyes darted to his smiling face. She looked unsure but turned to him. Her eyes searched his as he stepped in front of her. As he looked into her eyes clarity suddenly ran through him. He didn’t care who she was, or who he was. He didn’t care about anything. He had one day left and all he knew is that he wanted to spend it with her. She must have seen something in his eyes, because she smiled at him.
He bent down, bringing his mouth to her ear, breathing in her lavender scent. “Let’s get out of here.”
***
They sat side by side on the beach watching the fiery red tip of the sun peak up over the flat sea. The horizon was a band of red blurring into yellow and then into the grey of the night sky which still had a few stubborn stars twinkling in it. Ki peered sideways at Luna. She had her knees drawn up to her chest, arms crossed on her knees with her chin resting on them. The glitter on her face shimmered in the sunlight. He tried to memorise the curves of her profile as she stared out to see, the lines of her nose, the fullness of her lips, the point of her chin.
“What?” she asked, not unkindly but her voice did have a slight edge to it.
He tried to imprint the musical sound of her voice to memory. When he didn’t answer she turned to him. She wasn’t wearing her contacts, her eyes now the deep purple he knew from their meeting several months ago at his palace. Sitting so close to her he noticed they had flecks of black in them.
“You know who I am,” she stated.
He nodded but stayed silent.
“It doesn’t bother you? Who I am? What I’ve done? That I didn’t tell you?” she asked quietly.
He shook his head. “No.” He looked at her. “You told me that so many tried to stop the war, so many were coerced into it, and so many still feel the pain and shame of their decisions all these decades later. I’m guessing you were speaking from experience?”
She gave him a sad smile.
“I understand why you didn’t tell me. I imagine it’s the same reason I didn’t tell my friends who I am.” Her eyebrows shot up. He laughed but it sounded hollow. “It all went to shit last night. They found out and half of them hate my guts now.”
Her face was full of concern as she laid a black nailed hand on his arm. Tingles shot up his arm. She must have felt it too because her squeezed his arm. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you who I am. It’s my fault you’re in this situation.”
“No, it’s not. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you either, although I’m guessing you knew who I was all along?”
She smiled at him, a genuine smile. “Yeah. You’re completely different though.”
He huffed a laugh. “Yeah, well I don’t have to pretend I have a stick up my ass here.”
She laughed. “Yeah, I feel like that too. It’s nice to just be yourself for a bit.”
“You’re terrifying when you’re pretending to have a stick up your ass. I saw you training when you stayed at the palace.”
She raised her eyebrows. “Were you spying on me?” she said, laughter in her voice. “You could join me next time. I’m meeting with your queen again in a few months.”
Ki shuddered at the thought of his mother. “Join one of the most formidable fighters on the continent? You’ll kick my ass, I won’t be much of an opponent.”
She stood, putting her hand out to pull him up. “How about this, I’ll teach you everything I know about combat, and you’ll teach me everything you know of politics. If we work together, we might have a shot at making our dream a reality. We might be able to unite the kingdoms.”
“It’s a deal,” he smiled, holding his hand out to shake on it.
She returned the smile, but instead of shaking his hand she stepped closer. His heart thundered as she laid her hand on his chest. He cupped her face. She didn’t pull away and his stomach flipped when her eyes found his. He brought his lips to hers, letting the lavender scent envelop him. Her lips parted with his, moving slowly as they savoured every moment, every taste of each other. Her arms wrapped around his neck sending shivers down his spine as her fingers ran up into his hair. He grabbed her waist, pulling her into him, revelling in the powerful curves of her body against his.
“It’s a deal,” she smiled against his lips.
***
Thanks for reading! Want more? Check out Red Reaper Part One - Vanity out now!