In Fury Lies Mischief

Turning to face Val I watch as she pulls out a black sequin dress that only barely covers my ass, let alone hers. She’s so much taller than me. I ask the question I’ve been wanting to ask for a while. “Did you know who it was that lived here before?” I don’t remember Val as a kid, but that’s no surprise. We ran in completely different circles. No one knew me.

Val shrugs. “The last people that were in here left when I joined Midnight Mayhem at thirteen. They were the oldest Dragavei to live. Must have been your great grandparents.”

It’s strange, because my mother and father lived a very modest life within the community. Actually, modest is probably being generous.

“It’s just weird,” I whisper, making my way to where she’s slipping into my dress. Sure enough, it barely covers her upper thigh.

“How so?” she calls out from the bathroom.

“Well, I was a Royal, not a Dragavei. Delila isn’t telling me much and I don’t really know who to ask.”

My fingers flex over a white crop top that dips deep into my cleavage and straps around me like a bra. I pair it with black wide leg pants that are tight around my waist but loose around my legs.

“You’re wearing the genie pants? Good choice with that crop,” Val says, coming back to rummage through my shoes. “And if you want to ask anything, I’d go to Jessie, aka Lucifer. He’s almost forty-years-old and knows about as much as Delila’s old ass.”

“Jessie’s forty?” I ask, shocked. He doesn’t look it. He looks old, but I originally pegged him as early to mid-thirties.

“Yeah.” Val smirks. “Wears it well, huh?”

“He does,” I agree, finding the black heels I want to pair with my outfit. “I’ll do my makeup and then we can leave. Can you go downstairs and find us some liquid courage?”

Val flashes me a wide grin. “Oh, I’d be honored.” She flicks her long blonde hair over her shoulder, disappearing out of my room like a tornado of destruction. I’ve come to warm up a lot to Val. I’ve found her easy to talk to, and aside from Ken, she’s always there for me. I know Perse would be too, but I also know that she’s King’s lady, which means I can’t talk to her about everything because there’s a high chance that she will go back and tell King.

I work on my makeup, turning some music onto my portable speaker. “Flawless” by Beyoncé and Nicki comes on as I’m flicking my top liner. I start dancing and ru

Val comes into the bathroom, slapping my ass and handing me a drink of—“What’s this?” I ask, taking a small sip. Instantly I recoil, my face scrunching up in disgust. “Oh, it burns!” I stick my tongue out dramatically, waving the heat off.

“It’s a Long Island Iced Tea…” she finishes off. “With a little bit of Fire Ball.”

“God! Are you trying to kill me?” I scold her.

Her face falls. “No. You’re the only real friend that I have here.”

I pause, placing the glass of poison on the bathroom bench. “You have so many friends, Val.”

She shakes her head, her eyes coming up to meet mine. “I don’t really. The only true ones I had was Maya and Mischa. I fucked Maya, and Mischa took her side, so… I have you.”

I sigh, picking up my glass. “Well, cheers to us!” We clink our glasses together. “And for the record, friends don’t validate who you are as a person. Some of the best people I know are the ones who have fewer friends.”

Val smiles at me. “You’re so different, Sass. I mean, your personality is a complete contrast to your appearance.” She turns and heads out of the bathroom.

“Did you just say that I looked like a bitch?” I yell out over the music.

“I did!” she shouts back.

I laugh, shaking my head, and continue with my makeup. I decide to leave my hair in its natural state—long waves that drop to my tailbone. My father was darker than my mom, and had the best full head of hair, so I’ve always claimed I got my long, thick hair from his side, since he rocked the shit out of his curls.

Heading back into the room, Val whistles. “Now, if I hadn’t ruined one friendship by sleeping with her, I’d definitely hit on you.”

I shove her playfully. “I’m straight—you dick.”

She laughs. “Mmhmm, so was I until I wasn’t.”

I roll my eyes.

She pulls out her phone and comes in close. “Let’s take some photos, drink these, and go cause some havoc.” It was like she was reading my mind.

We took a ton of selfies, a whole lot of mirror selfies, and single shots taken on the balcony that leads off the small lounge upstairs.

They were amazing photos.

More than amazing.

I decide to upload one of the photos Val took of me on the balcony, looking candidly out to the side, posting it on my Instagram feed, and chose one of our selfies to publish on my story. I start heading back downstairs, checking on my Instagram profile while I’m here.

I falter in my steps. 146K Followers.

“How the hell did my followers on Instagram jump up so high?” I ask Val as I enter the kitchen.

She shrugs. “Welcome to Midnight Mayhem. Also, when Killian posted that photo of you, even though he didn’t tag you, his mob of loyal followers would have stalked his following and put two and two together.”

My eyes shoot to hers. “What photo!” I quickly click on his profile, finding the photo she’s talking about. “Oh my god.” It was the photo he snapped in Mayhem. The very one of me flipping off the camera and wearing his bandana. He captioned it Tell her she’s pretty or I’ll kill you.

“Girl, you had his rag on. That isn’t fucking light, and also, you’re the first girl he has ever posted on the gram. People are losing their minds over it.”

I slam my phone onto the counter, heading for the pantry to find something else to drink. Something that won’t kill me, but will maybe ease the pain a little.

“Are we ready, Little Dragon?” Val laughs. Her phone is pointed on me.

“Are you recording?” I narrow my eyes at the lens.

“Of course I am! You look hot as fuck and if Killian is going to ignore you, I’ll make sure my two point three million followers don’t!”

I freeze, gaping at her with my eyes wide. I can’t believe she just said that.

She must flip her camera to selfie mode because now she’s talking into her phone. “Was that her orgasm face, Killian Cornelii? I’m impressed.”

“Val!” I yell at her. Now the whole damn world will know if they didn’t already.

She laughs, pushing her phone into the front of her bra. “Okay, okay, no more torment. For now.”

“Wait!” I start walking toward the garage, where I remember seeing a car inside through the glass doors. I push open the door and gasp.

Val comes up behind me. “An RT Charger?” She whistles. “I’m impressed. I don’t remember seeing this driving around.” The car is licked in gloss black, with black rims and tints. There’s a silver motor looking thing that’s sticking out of the hood. It looks lethal.

Val grabs the keys that are hanging on a hook, tossing them at me. “Found our ride!”

“Maybe I shouldn’t drive because of that drink? And King’s is only like a twenty-minute walk up the road?”

“The dirt road. We can’t walk on a dirt road in these heels.” She jogs to the passenger side and slips inside. “Come on.”

“Fine!” I call out, squeezing the keys in my hand. She’s right about the heels. I sink into the thick leather seat and push the key in, twisting it to start. The loud rumble vibrates beneath my seat and Val laughs hysterically.