Total pages in book: 187
Estimated words: 184867 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 924(@200wpm)___ 739(@250wpm)___ 616(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 184867 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 924(@200wpm)___ 739(@250wpm)___ 616(@300wpm)
“Nice to see you finally made it,” I say, winking.
“So Felix got us in?” Kayla asks her.
“Dylan. One of these guys is an old friend of his. I don’t know who, and I don’t care. As long as I don’t have to ever associate with any of them, I’m good.”
“What do you mean?” I ask.
Kayla leans in. “Tartarus guys are dangerous. More than the Phantoms because they don’t even care who they do business with as long as it gets them more money and fame. Good guys, bad guys, they don’t differentiate. I don’t trust them.” She grabs my shoulders and turns me around. “Look. There they are.” She points at three boys standing on the balcony.
One is as tall as can be, with long black hair with a soft curl in it, who looks like he just stepped out of a haircare commercial. He’s clutching a glass of champagne as he stares off into the distance with that God-like chiseled face of his, thin lips smiling arrogantly, like he knows everyone thinks he’s handsome as hell.
Another one grips the banister behind him tightly as he chats away with someone inside the house, while his other hand runs through his undercut and dark blond hair. His cheerful demeanor and upturned grin complete with lip piercing are in stark contrast to all the scary tattoos marking his skin.
The last one stands with his back toward us, his black hair styled in a comb-over, arms casually draped over two girls like they’re his entourage. And even though I see the least of this guy, he has a certain threatening aura around him, like he could turn around and choke the life out of those girls if they said a single thing that displeased him.
“Ares.” Kayla points at the one with the two girls and the black, combed-over hair. “Caleb.” The heavily tattooed one with the blond hair. “Blaine.” The one with the long, flowing hair who looks like he just stepped out of a commercial. “ABC. That’s what some people here call them because they’re always together, but I prefer devils from hell.”
Penelope snorts. “Appropriate.”
“Right?” Kayla says. “People don’t just join Tartarus for the fun of it. They’re literal demons.” She looks up at them standing on the balcony and whispers, “If you interfered with their plans, they would make you beg to forget it ever happened.”
I gulp.
I’m starting to think coming here was a bad idea.
“Ahhh, don’t worry.” Penelope throws her arm around my shoulders and tugs me away from Kayla. “They won’t bother with us if we just dance and have fun. So are you two up for some drinks?”
Someone turns up the music even louder, and the crowd behind us bursts into cheers. The music fills my bones with excitement, and my limbs move automatically to the rhythm.
“I wanna dance!” I say as I throw Penelope’s arm off me and drag them to the dance floor. “C’mon!”
Dancing like this makes me feel like I’m floating to the moon, so I let myself go on the beat, dancing away like a girl high on drugs, but I don’t care what I look like. I just wanna have unbridled fun and turn off my brain so I don’t have to think anymore.
“God, I’m getting thirsty,” Penelope yells over the music after a while. “Anyone wanna grab some drinks from that table over there?”
She points at the table filled with delicate bites and small drink glasses.
“Sure, let’s see what’s on the menu.” Kayla rubs her hands together like she’s hungry.
But when I look at the table near the door to the house, those three boys walk out, and my blood runs icy cold. On Ares’s shoes is an emblem of fire and horns, and my mind stops working for a moment. Images of blood splatters on the pavement and fire mix into one, and then disappear a second later.
I swallow.
“I’m gonna stay here and vibe to the music some more,” I tell the girls, clearing my throat. “I don’t wanna stop dancing. You go ahead.”
Kayla and Penelope nod and head to the table, and when they’re out of sight, I turn around and walk toward the same pebble path those boys just headed down through the rose maze. The path goes all the way around the house to the front, where a gate blocks out anyone who dares to step inside.
The three guys standing on this side instantly make my heart pump faster. Their ominous figures cast a shadow on the road behind the gate, and one of them clearly carries a weapon.
“You know who we are,” one of the guys behind the gates says.
“We don’t care,” Caleb growls, running his fingers across his undercut and through his dark blond hair.
“Let. Us. In,” the other guy says, and he flashes a gun behind his coat.