Under an Onyx Sky (Elemental Enchanters Series Book 4) (10 page)

After a week of staring at the blue dress, Ava finally put it on. When she was finished dressing, she glanced in the mirror and almost didn’t recognize the woman who stared back. She was beautiful in her long, blue dress with her red hair pulled up except for one strand which curled along the side of her face. She wished she was going to the prom with Gabriel. Or some other event. She didn’t care, as long as she could be with him.

Taking a deep breath, she opened her door and left the room. She walked slowly in the heels, and remembered the last time she wore heels. She and Peter had tried to go out on their first date. That had been a disaster, but it ended on a good note with them swimming at the waterfall. That seemed like a lifetime ago.

Her heels clicked with every step as she made her way toward the Great Hall. Once she entered, a few people turned their heads. She felt a little self-conscious.

“You look beautiful,” she heard Thomas behind her.

She cocked her head in his direction. Thomas was in a black suit, his strawberry blond hair had been pulled back in a small ponytail. She had never seen his hair pulled back like that. “Thanks. You don’t look bad yourself, handsome.”

“Thanks. Wish Moira was here,” he mumbled.

“I know.” They started walking toward one of the tables.

“Did you see him?”

“Who?”

When he didn’t answer, she glanced at him, and he gave her a knowing look.

Her heart skipped a beat, and she slowed her walk for a second but recovered quickly. She frantically searched around the room for him, and when her eyes landed on him, she wanted to run to him and wrap herself up in his arms. He was wearing a black suit, and looked as hot as ever. He had shaved off all of his facial hair, revealing his smooth skin. He was sitting next to Eve, laughing, and seemingly flirting. Her heart dropped to the pit of her stomach like an anchor. She hated that Eve sat so close to him, touching him. He appeared to be happy, unless he was faking. He seemed to have been healed, especially since Eve kept touching his back.

Gabriel glanced up, and their eyes met causing her pulse to quicken.

Thomas guided her by the elbow and made her keep walking toward the chair. She wanted to sit next to Gabriel. Or faint.

He pulled out the chair for her, and she sat down, facing away from Gabriel. He dropped down next to her. “It’ll be okay,” he whispered, staring straight ahead. “He’s not a prisoner anymore.”

That was one thing she could be happy about. But he acted like he and Eve were together. Her stomach coiled itself in knots. It wasn’t real. He was faking.

“I thought for so long we’d get to dress up like this for prom,” Thomas said, putting his elbows on the table.

“I know,” she said, thankful for the distraction.

“Remember the homecoming dance our sophomore year? Before all this began?” he spoke low.

She let out a small laugh. “Yeah. You were the homecoming king and Nicole was the queen. You wore that stupid crown all night.”

“That crown was awesome. It was like a real king’s crown.” He shook his head. “Amazing how that stuff isn’t important as you get older.”

“I always hated those dances.”

He lifted a shoulder. “We still had fun.”

“Yeah we did.”

Melissa, Lance, Link, and Nicole filled in the chairs near them. Nicole looked stunning in a silky white spaghetti strap dress. There was a large silver brooch in the center of her chest and she had curled her brown hair. Melissa was beautiful in her shamrock green dress. Her blond tendrils fell past her shoulders in long sexy waves. Ava noticed Lance had a hard time keeping his eyes off of her.

Lance smiled at Ava. “You look beautiful.”

“Thanks.”

“That dress is perfect on you,” Nicole said.

“So is yours.”

Nicole gave an appreciative smile. “Where are Gillian and Jeremy?”

“Sitting at another table,” Melissa said. “We can’t always sit with each other.”

As Ava scanned the room, she saw so many pretty dresses on the feminine women like Gillian, but also on females that she never thought would ever wear a dress, including herself. Just over her shoulder, she saw Gabriel with an easy smile talking to Eve in what appeared to be a deep conversation. More people joined his table including Eric and Anais.

Ava felt a little better seeing Eric near Gabriel. Though she hoped it wouldn’t raise any flags.

“Stop staring,” Thomas mumbled under his breath.

Ava turned back and stared at the white china plate before her. Wanting to sit next to Gabriel, or even touch him, was like an itch that needed scratching. But she had to pretend she didn’t know him.

The tables began filling quickly, and some couple sat next to Ava. The loud chatter hushed as Havok strode down the center aisle flanked by Xavier, Sorcha, and Maggie. Havok, for once, wasn’t in robes. He actually wore a suit, as did Xavier. Ava had to admit he looked handsome in a suit. Maggie wore a long red dress with a single strap, and Sorcha walked like a model on a runway in her short black fitted dress. It was low-cut, and her chest bounced with every step.

Once they were seated, men and women in white uniforms served everyone. Ava found the whole thing ridiculous. But the food was delicious.

After they ate, Havok stood from the main table at the front. “Congratulations,” he said, smiling like he had just given them the greatest gift of all. She wasn’t sure why he was congratulating them. “You all passed the training, and I’m pleased to announce your tasks.”

Was he serious? Who would be happy and excited to pass that training? But the crowd erupted into applause, so she joined in, acting just as enthusiastic.

“First, let me say that I am eager to see how well you all perform in your new roles. Please come up as your name is called. As for my primary army, Melissa Rollins.” She scooted her chair back, stood, and walked to the front as a few people applauded, including the Elementals. “Jeremy Stahl.” He made his way to the front. “Ava Hannigan.” Her heart lodged in her throat. She knew her name would be called, but it still made her nervous. As she made her way to stand next to Jeremy, she barely heard the applause. Once she got there, she looked out into the sea of Cimmerians, glancing at Gabriel. Havok called the rest of the Elementals. Then called up Eve Samaris, Anais Kovalevsky, Link Harris, and finally Nicole Eckrich.

“Of course, you will all be led by Xavier.” Havok clapped his hands, and everyone followed suit. The ones mentioned applauded, but Ava could hear a few people near them talking about what a joke it was that the Elementals had a mere month or so to train and were suddenly part of his army. Didn’t they see how powerful the Elementals were? Didn’t they grasp the concept that they were the strongest coven ever? “Your job will be to annihilate the Ephemerals and to recruit new members for the army. As for my bodyguards, of course, Maggie and Sorcha, but also Peter McNabb, Katarina, Eric, and Kira. You will all serve and protect me as well as your fellow army and citizens.”

Havok acted like they had all tried out for a place like it was some sort of play. Some of the grumbles from the crowd disgusted Ava.

She couldn’t believe Peter, Katarina, Eric, and Kira had been made bodyguards. That meant she would probably rarely see them. She hated that. Eric had helped so much in keeping her sane.

“As for the new Recruiters. Donovan. Zeke. Mallory. All will be led by our very own Gabriel Dacosta. There was an applause as Gabriel stood with a proud smile and made his way toward the front.

Once the applause died down, Havok raised his hand. “And now, I would like to invite you all next door to continue the celebration.”

Two men in white opened the tall doors that led to a ballroom. Havok had to be kidding. He wanted them to have a ballroom dance now? It just kept getting more and more ridiculous. But everyone piled into the ballroom, and the live orchestra began playing classical music.

Ava made her way to the back, wanting to remain unseen, but with Xavier headed toward her, that was impossible. Ava wanted to rip his head off. Or shoot water at him. But she acted like a naïve girl with a crush instead.

He gave a light smile as he approached her. “Congratulations.”

She returned the smile. “Thank you.”

“You look very beautiful tonight.”

“Thanks. You look handsome.”

He lifted a shoulder, and moved beside her. “I’m ready to get out of these clothes.”

Xavier’s hand brushed against hers, and she moved it so fast it was like she’d touched a burning coal. She had to follow through. Gritting her teeth, she brought it back to her side, and he intertwined his long fingers with hers. She wanted to throw up. His hand was cold and clammy, but soft. Maybe she could tell him her hand got sweaty. Or that she was allergic to him.

The dance floor began to fill with couples, and Ava wanted to go back to her room. She looked above the band at the balcony and saw Havok peering down at the dancefloor with his new bodyguards. He nodded to them, and they left him and joined the dancers.

“So besides drinking, what else is there to do?” She couldn’t imagine any of these people actually enjoying their life here. All they did was train, and then massacre innocent people. How did they become shop owners? Or part of a band? Or have families? She didn’t see too many children in Caprington though. No one in the army seemed like they did much of anything else.

Xavier shrugged. “Since we belong to the army, we don’t get a lot of the same privileges as others. Rather, this is our life. The army is our privilege.”

That explained a lot. “That doesn’t seem fair.”

He turned to her. “Don’t ever repeat that. We are the elite. Royalty. We protect our home so the people can live their lives.”

“Protect it from what? Aren’t the bad guys locked up?”

“Protect it from the Ephemerals.”

She almost laughed, but was able to keep it down. It was hard to believe Cimmerians were afraid of Ephemerals. “Do they attack us?”

He frowned, and looked off in the distant. “Yes.”

“What is it?” She squeezed his hand. “Your parents. Were they killed by Ephemerals?”

He sighed. “Yes. And yours too.”

Ava wanted to slap him hard. How dare he say Ephemerals killed her parents? Her father was a Halfling. Her mother had fallen in love with an Ephemeral. She clenched her teeth, but then she relaxed. She needed to do a better job of keeping her emotions in check. She couldn’t turn them off completely, because she needed to have some humanity in Xavier’s presence. But it wasn’t easy. “Why don’t I remember anything?”

He looked away again. “Your mind has been altered so much.”

“Why?”

“Would you like to dance?” Xavier asked.

“I don’t know this dance.” She could hear the hint of annoyance in her voice. Why couldn’t he tell her the truth?

He chuckled and shook his head slightly. “It’s easy. Just follow my lead.”

He took her hand, and led her to the dancefloor. He pulled her close to his body, and she hated it. She hated how his eyes gazed into hers. Xavier and Ava began dancing around in fluid movements. She never would have guessed Cimmerians were civilized enough for such an elegant event. But judging from the proud smile on Havok’s face, this was a pretty important event in their lives. It just didn’t match anything else they did or how they acted outside of Havok’s range. They were savage people who cared about nothing and no one else but themselves.

“Don’t worry,” Xavier said. “We only do this once a year.”

She looked at him, confused.

“You kinda look like you aren’t having any fun.”

“Oh, no it’s fine.”

She glanced to the side and saw Gabriel and Eve dancing.

“What’s up with him?” she asked Xavier.

“Who, Gabriel?”

“Yeah. Isn’t he a prisoner?”

“He’s done with his punishment.”

“So now he gets promoted?” She acted offended. She was sure other Cimmerians weren’t thrilled about his sudden promotion.

“He’s good at recruiting. It’s good to have him back though. The Elders took him too and brainwashed him. But Klaus altered his mem—.” Xavier stopped and cleared his throat.

“What?”

He shook his head. “Nothing.”

Had Klaus really erased his memories? Was that why he acted like he fit right in? It couldn’t be true. She had seen him in Eve’s room the other day. He had looked at her, or had she imagined it?

She leaned in closer to Xavier. “Did they erase his mind?”

“I can’t talk about it. And you shouldn’t ask questions.”

“So what makes him so privileged?”

“I wasn’t born when he was around, but I’ve heard nothing but good things. They told me he recruited a lot of our best soldiers.”

“Eve seems happy.”

“Yeah they’re like a thing or something.”

“Oh.”

“We’re about to switch partners, okay?”

“What do I do?”

He smiled at her. “You’ll be okay.”