Friends with the King of the Underworld | Book 1

Chapter Sixteen

The girls erupted in laughter as Leah wrapped her arms around his neck and brought him down to her height. She pressed her lips against his and pulled him closer still, sharing an intimate kiss.

I quickly walked away, uncomfortable at the show of intimacy.

Mia laughed, "You're such a prude, Emmy!"

I walked away and sat on the couch furthest away, watching the crowd below, silently hoping that Damien would soon tell me why he was there.

It seemed that my concerns were unfounded, Damien didn't make his way towards me until much later and it was because Leah finally went dancing with her friends.

I was on the private balcony over the party when Damien approached. Being his usual Damien self, he gave a charming smile and shouted over the music, "I didn't think I'd ever see you here."

I raised an eyebrow. "I'd say the same thing about you."

He seemed to sigh, though I could have imagined it since I could barely hear or see anything over the pounding music and strobe lights. "Leah was ... persistent. I told her I'd show up for a little while."

I wanted to get information from Damien - being mad got me nowhere. I laughed. "You know, I think she's showing you off."

He laughed too. "Can you blame her?"

I cleared my throat. "So, what have you been up to? You've been ignoring my calls and texts, you better have a good story."

He laughed and looked down at the bourbon in his hand - when did he get that? He swirled the large ice cube in the glass several times before speaking again. His dark lashes hid his eyes then they shifted up to me showing me the strange shade I'd gotten so used to.

"I've been wooing her this entire time."

I laughed settling back into the way things used to be. Before finding him a Queen before the nightmares, before I found out he was having me followed. "Hard to believe it took two months to charm her. Where did you guys go? You mentioned Bali, Paris -"

He nodded. "In the beginning, I showed her around the realm, the kingdom - we found her family."

I nodded and turned towards him resting my back against the small railing. "How did that go?"

He shrugged. "Fine, I suppose. They gave her up during my Uncle's reign."

I froze. He mentioned his Uncle. He never mentioned him.

"They feared they wouldn't make it and thought that was the best chance for her at the time. So she was raised by humans. There were a lot of tears."

I tried to look and sound natural but all I could do was nod. His Uncle's mention made by neck tingle strangely. Instinctively, I reached for my neck and looked away. Should I tell him?

He grabbed the hand at my neck and gently took it. "I'm sorry I was gone all that time. I wanted to make sure nothing went wrong - there's just so little time. The Blood Moon is so close." Damien was usually guarded with his feelings, there were very little times that he actually showed what he was thinking. Even with the dim lighting of the annoying club I could see he really meant the apology.

I nodded, glad to have my friend back. "I know. You've been busy. When is the wedding? Where is it?"

He let my hand go abruptly and took a drink. He swirled the large ice cube in the small glass as he stared at it. "In five days. Royal Weddings are in the Underworld. Binding for eternity."

Leah appeared suddenly, grabbing my hand. "There you are! Come on, let's go dance!"

I watched Damien as Leah pulled me away back to the private room that led to the stairs. He wouldn't turn to me as I left.