Page 62 of Interion

I gave her head a little kiss and got up to finish getting ready.

Δ

“Holy shit, Kay! You’re... Wow...” Breno stopped mid-stride on his way to open the car door for me and clutched his heart, massaging it dramatically.

“Don’t start, Breno,” I said, blushing the deepest shade of red as his eyes traveled over my body.

“You’re simply... Wow. Imagine every beautiful adjective that exists and fit them all into this sentence. You are a million beautiful adjectives.”

This time I laughed, and just like that, the embarrassment melted away.

“Has that line ever worked on any girl?”

“I don’t know, but by the end of tonight, we’ll have an answer.” He shot me a mischievous wink, opening the car door for me while his eyes followed my every step. “Just so I know, is it working?”

“Definitely not. But thanks for the compliment.”

The truth was, I looked amazing in my body-hugging dress, and now I understood the power a woman feels wearing something like this.

“A shame.” Breno, still smiling, shrugged and started the car.

“What can I expect from this kind of party?”

He kept his eyes on the road as he answered:

“Everything. At these parties, there’s every kind of pleasure: drinks, drugs, and music. They hired strippers, so when I say everything, I mean everything.”

“But isn’t this a pre-graduation party? Shouldn’t it be more controlled?” I asked, a bit shocked, playing with the sparkles on my dress.

“Save the control for the graduation ceremony, where we’ll have parents and authorities. Pre-graduation is for students to forget their responsibilities and blow off steam from exams.”

I should have been terrified, but actually, I kind of liked the idea. This would probably be the only party I’d ever go to—I wanted to be a normal girl at least once in my life.

“Wow, I can't believe we're actually doing this!” I said excitedly, turning the music up a little more. Breno glanced over at me and smiled, his eyes shining.

“Seriously, Kay. I've never seen you look so beautiful,” he said, smiling. “Not because of the clothes or the makeup... It's just that I've never seen you having this much fun. I think the right word is radiant.”

I smiled shyly at him, unable to handle such a genuine compliment, and we continued past the wall toward the most remote corner of the fae district. Forty minutes later, we parked on the street where the party was being held. I watched several students filing through a black door at the end of the block. The place was pretty secluded. Breno got out of the car and opened the door for me.

“Ready?” he asked, offering his hand like a gentleman.

“More than ever,” I replied, slipping my hand into his.

Chapter 17

Breno took my hand and led me toward the black, graffiti-covered building at the end of the street. From the outside, it looked small and simple, but once we stepped through the little black door and descended the staircase bathed in black light, I realized it was huge, stretching underground and spanning the space of two buildings. The loud music sent vibrations through my bones, and my heart seemed to pulse along with the beat.

While Breno greeted most of the people at the party, I took in my surroundings. The walls were black, spray-painted with fluorescent blue graffiti, and when we reached the underground hall, I saw it was packed with people. Blue lights flashed everywhere, and aside from students, the place was full of humans and fae I didn’t recognize.

Breno guided us through the crowd. That’s when I noticed the low ceiling and the three cages positioned on small stages throughout the hall. Inside them, medusas danced wearing nothing but lingerie.

I was so surprised I couldn’t look away. They were real medusas—the only time I’d ever seen them was in the Drute armies, back when I was still a slave. Their bodies were identical to those of the fae: pointed ears, tall and slender builds, and the same skin and hair colors as the nations they belonged to. If they wanted to pass as fae, they could do so without much difficulty. But the difference showed when they entered attack posture or when they were hungry enough that they couldn’t hide the mutation. In those moments, their hair transformed into multiple serpents, and their irises, once round, narrowed into vertical slits.

The medusas in the cage had their features transformed, their living hair writhing against the bars. Their hair was short, signaling to the world that within the gorgon hierarchy, they belonged to the lowest class. But right now, the mutation had nothing to do with hunger or war—it was all about fun. Judging by the looks the fae men were giving them, they’d most likely feed well that night.

The basic rule of feeding is that the more powerful the fae’s blood, the more pleasurable it is for them. On top of that, all gorgons prefer males, because when they feed, they also mount them—the bite’s pheromones trigger a sexual frenzy. Men usually agreed to donate blood because of the sex, so the gorgons never lacked for prey, since they could reciprocate quite well.

“You’ve got drool running down your chin, Kay!” Breno shouted so I could hear him over the loud music. I smiled at him and pretended to wipe my mouth. The party was surreal, completely unlike anything I was used to.