Smolder Chapter 23

"How have we not known about this?" Aiden asked Benjamin.

"It's kept very private and a rare event. I can't believe that this is what Skye is here for. I don't even know if more than three have been held in my lifetime."

"And is it true? How can you be certain all the demons invited have enslaved Seraphina?" Aiden leaned forward; his face brow furrowed in concern. Trapped Seraphina was the exact thing he had been taught to fear for his entire life the one thing everyone was told could mean the end of the world.

"There's a test, the host will welcome each guest with his own enslaved one, in the case of the red rose ball, a Vindicator. If the guests can walk through the Seraphina flames, they live and enter. If not, they die. It's not a gamble most demons would be willing to risk."

"Which means Skye found herself a one?" Jade asked.

"I don't think so," Benjamin said, "but there's no other explanation, is there?"

Jade thought back to the way Skye had been acting. Before Theron showed up, she had been nervous. When he got there, she acted sort of like a lovesick girl and as soon as he left, she became calculating again. And what he had slipped into her hand at the last moment?

"What if she doesn't have one? What if she's just made friends with the right people?" They both looked at her, waiting for her to continue. "I think Theron gave her a vial of Vindicator blood, to cheat the system so she could come to the ball. I think maybe they've been dating."

"Isn't she, you know, a little too evil to date?" Aiden asked while pretending to act like the killer in a slasher movie.

"It makes sense in a way," Benjamin said. "She must have gotten wind of the ball and come up here after everything happened that day last year. We stopped Owen and Shaun, so she had no one to run to. Why not cozy up to a head demon with connections and means of protecting her?"

"And means of sneaking her into the ball," Jade added.

"But why? I mean, I get that this ball is some huge demon event," Aiden chimed in. "But why go to so much trouble for a party?"

"That's exactly what we need to find out," Benjamin said.

"How?" Jade asked.

"I need to go to that ball," he said looking over at Jade sadly. At first, she didn't understand why he looked so distraught, but after a moment.

"My blood," she said softly. "My blood will get you inside." This is not a big deal, Jade thought quietly to herself, Benjamin's a demon and I'm his girlfriend and it's just a little blood. But, sometimes she found herself forgetting he was a demon. Well, not forgetting, but pushing it from her mind. Super strength and reflexes, even his age and immortality never bothered her. She found it cool and sexy.

But the blood thing was a little too much to think about, a little too disgusting sometimes. She would make excuses like he never ate around her because he wasn't hungry. They had even turned the fact that he couldn't come over for a meal with her parents into an inside joke. But now, with the thought of him doing it and staring her in the face, she couldn't help but feel a little queasy. Or maybe, she thought hopefully, it was just Aiden invading her brain again.

Realizing she had been quiet for a little while; she nodded an affirmation in his direction to let him know he could of course have her blood. It was no big deal. Everything would be fine, but she couldn't keep another thought from creeping into her mind, a lingering doubt from months before.

"Can I ask you one question first?" she said hesitantly. He nodded, telling her to continue. "Well, I thought Seraphina's blood was supposed to affect demons and make them lose control, you know go a little crazy, but you seem to be fine with it..." She trailed off, not sure what question she was even asking. All she could picture was the sight of him chained up, swallowing her blood as Skye looked on with glee. Jade never understood why he hadn't been affected that day, why he didn't go crazy, and there had never seemed to be a good time to ask until now.

"Oh that," he said quietly, unable to meet her eyes. "Seraphina blood only affects demons if they aren't used to it. But, I've had it before."

"What?" She said in disbelief. She fought the urge to jerk away from him.

"Not like that," he said quickly, "Myron forced me to when I was newly turned and wanted me to be strong enough to help him capture new Seraphina when the time came. I left before he could use me like that, but I've been exposed to enough of the blood that it will never affect me like that again."

She understood she did, but she couldn't quite fight the sense of betrayal in the back of her mind. He had drunk the blood of other Seraphina and enough of it to last a lifetime? It just seemed wrong. But could she be angry with him for something that happened so long ago?

No, it wasn't fair to be mad at him, the only reason any of them survived the eclipse was because her blood hadn't turned him. I won't let it affect our relationship; she promised silently, I won't think of him differently. But still, she found herself purposefully looking across the room to avoid meeting Aiden's eyes to avoid facing the disgust she knew they held.

"Just one problem," Aiden said from his chair, speaking into the silence and smoothly changing the subject. "We have no idea when the ball is."

"I think I do," Benjamin spoke up. "Theron has been lying to me for the past two days, not unheard of in my world, but he mentioned he would be gone this weekend. I think it was to keep me from unexpectedly dropping in. Friday at sundown that'll be when it starts."

"I need to go," Aiden blurted out springing up from his seat like a slingshot finally being released. "I'm calling an emergency meeting. If Benjamin's crashing the party, we can too."

"What do you mean?" Jade asked.

"Hierophants, we need to go in. We need to find out where these trapped Vindicators are and rescue them."

"You'll need every Seraphina in the area to trap these guys, Aiden," Benjamin warned. "They're some of the most powerful demons in the world. I'm not sure you know what you're up against."

"Don't worry about me," he said while grabbing his cell phone, "I'll be back later." He disappeared out the door with a determined expression. Jade could almost see the wheels spinning in his head. Aiden had two days to amass an army, and it definitely wouldn't be easy.

Jade leaned into Benjamin's chest. He responded by hugging her closer and absently rubbing her arm with his fingers. She held his free hand, letting her fingers dance along his palm, but her mind was elsewhere.

At best, her mother was being held captive by some demon and at worst she was dead. Or maybe it was the other way around. Should she be hoping to find out her mother was dead and that she had been spared that sort of slavery? She couldn't help but wonder if her mother had been the ticket to get someone into a white rose ball, some meal, and a display of power.

But, she didn't want to go down that path of thought. The endless wondering would get her nowhere.

Instead, Jade focused on Skye the demon completely determined to destroy her life. From the moment she had laid eyes on Jade, she had hated her. The feeling was mutual, but she would've never acted on it had Skye not made the first move so long ago, all the way back in their high school auditorium.

In the time she had known her, she had attacked her, almost killed Aiden, nearly turned Benjamin bad, and risked the lives of all of her friends. Like it or not, there was no other option but to kill her at the ball. This time, she couldn't hesitate.

But, it all came down to one thing: what did she want? They had to figure that out first because if Jade were right, she was concocting a plan that would haunt her long after Skye herself died.

"Benjamin?" she asked. He murmured in her ear to let her know he was listening. "What do you think she's up to? Is this just about telling powerful demons who and what I am?"

"I was thinking that too," he said, "but I can't imagine that is the only reason she went to so much trouble. If that were the case, all she would need to do is visit the homes of head demons and spread the word."

"There's something we're not seeing, like with the eclipse last year. I'm worried we won't realize what until it's too late."

"Whatever it is, we'll make it through together. I'm sure of it."

He gripped her hand and she smiled up at him. They would make it through, they always did, but at what cost?

She still vividly remembered the first time Skye had attacked her. The feel of her teeth grazing her neck still sent shivers down her spine. She could still remember her powers burst forth for the first time. She would never forget how her blood boiled, how her powers felt like lava melting her skin apart when it rained from her palms. That moment was also when she first found out what Benjamin was. The sight of his eyes flashing in pleasure at the slight taste of her blood still haunted her thoughts. Now she understood it was involuntary, but it had almost torn them apart.

And what about the eclipse? Before that day, she had never killed anything. She had never known what it felt like to drain a demon of its very life force. Before that day, she had also never really seen the hidden dark past of Benjamin. She loved the man he was now, loved how he understood her and how he saw her. She loved the way they laughed and the way they could tell each other anything. She loved that he never judged her and always let her make her own decisions. But for a minute on that afternoon so long ago she had seen something only Skye could bring out in him, and she never wanted to see that side of him again.

This was why she couldn't help but feel dread as she thought of the coming Friday. A face-off with her had been a long time coming and it was inevitable, but what would she, Aiden, and Benjamin walk away with? What scars would they carry this time?