CHAPTER 320: INVITATION

The walk back toward our quarters was anything but quiet. The streets of the pack still buzzed with life after the day’s contests, and Isla and I carried the heat of attention wherever we went.

Stares followed us—some curious, some openly respectful, others dripping with disdain or jealousy. Whispers rose and fell like waves. I could almost taste the bitterness in some voices, men muttering about how I’d stolen victories that belonged to the males they supported, women muttering about how I dared to walk as if I owned the place.

Chauvinistic fools.

Isla kept her chin lifted, her arm brushing mine as though shielding me, though she had no need. I was used to these kinds of gazes; I had been stared at all my life, whether for being too small, too strange, too stubborn, too useless. Now they looked at me because I had done what they thought I shouldn’t have been able to.

"Don’t let them get to you," Isla murmured, though her eyes sparkled with mischief. "Half of them want to be you, the other half want to be with you."

I huffed a laugh. "And you?"

"Both," she teased, nudging my arm.

"You are crazy..." I muttered, shaking my head, amused still. "But really do you think I am bothered by them?"

Isla looked at me like I had just spoken a parable. "You?" She laughed, looking away from me, looking ahead. "I don’t think anything bothers you really, Sage. Me, keeping the stance and the expression, is to sell the image we have already given to them. Best friends protect each other."

Of course.

Before I could respond, movement in the crowd caught my attention. A man stepped forward from the shadows of the alley, his stride too confident, his smirk too familiar. My stomach was still even when my mind finally caught up.

Leon.

The boy who had bullied me years ago. The boy who had shoved me in the mud, who had mocked me for daring to dream beyond my station. The one who had bore a grudge six years ago, when I interfered in his fight with Timothy. Only that he wasn’t given a chance to explore that since I became a dead entity the same day.

Except he wasn’t a boy anymore.

He was taller now, shoulders broad beneath a snug shirt that clung to a well-built chest. His jaw was sharper, lined with the beginnings of a beard that gave him a rugged charm. Dirty blond hair framed his face, catching the glow of the street torches. His eyes—blue, almost icy—held recognition the moment they locked with mine.

"Well, well," he drawled, voice smooth, as though he had every right to approach me. "Look who fate brought back into my path."

I felt Isla tense beside me, but I stayed still, studying him. He wasn’t the boy I remembered, but memory was enough to keep me curious.

What did he want? A fight? I wouldn’t play fair.

Leon stopped just a pace away, flashing a smile that showed too many teeth. "You have made a name for yourself, lady. And I must say, I like what I see."

A pause where his eyes trailed over my face, not minding Isla. "I heard you go by the name, Sage. Care for a drink sometime? Maybe tonight?"

Before I could answer, another man joined him—leaner, darker-haired, his gaze fixed openly on Isla. He smirked in the same arrogant way, like this was all a game they had already won. "Your friend here," he said, nodding at Isla, "wouldn’t mind my company either, I think."

Isla blinked, clearly unimpressed. "Excuse me?"

I ignored him, since I didn’t even know his identity, turning my gaze back to Leon. His eyes searched my face for a reaction, hungry for approval, but my lips curled in a faint, dismissive smile. "Not interested."

I stepped forward, meaning to pass, but my sharp hearing caught a particular murmur from one of the people watching us, whose interests have been clearly piqued.

"Do you think he is inviting them tothe banquet tonight, after the caves... the Moon Goddess celebration..."

Banquet. Ceremony. The pieces clicked fast in my mind. That part of the celebration was critical, and I couldn’t ignore it now that I have remembered it.

I stopped, pivoting back to face them. Leon’s brows rose in surprise, perhaps thinking I had changed my mind because of him.

"On second thought," I said smoothly, voice calm, "you can pick us up after the cave visit. Outside our quarters. Be on time."

Elated grins spread across both their faces. "We’ll give you a night to remember," Leon promised, voice dripping with confidence.

"We’ll be ready," I replied simply, my smile sharp enough to cut.

They left practically glowing with satisfaction, already congratulating themselves on a victory that didn’t exist.

Isla rounded on me the moment they were out of earshot. "What was that?"

"Nothing," I said with a shrug, resuming our walk. "The party will be a good ground to gather adequate information. And making my presence more felt in this pack."

"Should have made that deduction. I need to be up and about in my thinking, when it comes to this game of ours..." Her frown lingered, but she followed, still speaking. "So, we have to make a statement with our presence, dress and all, right?"

"Right." I agreed, lips twitching for the thought of things to come.

–

The moment I stepped inside our house, I peeled away the dust of the day.

Isla disappeared to her own chamber, humming, while I sank into the bath prepared in mine. Steam rose in soft curls, scented with jasmine and sandalwood. I let myself sink under, emerging with wet hair plastered to my face, breathing deep.

Tonight, I resolved, I would make myself unforgettable. Not merely present, but impossible to ignore. Beauty could be a weapon sharper than steel, and I would wield it well.

I spent time with essential oils, massaging them into my skin until it gleamed, then lingered in the fragrance that clung, subtle but intoxicating. By the time I stepped out, draped in a simple robe, my skin felt like silk.

Isla was already in the sitting room when I emerged, food waiting on the table.

"Now, I have to take another bath..." she mused when she saw me, letting out a regretful sigh which only served to make me gloatful.

"It wouldn’t matter... you are not the main player after all..."

She scoffed, reaching for a plate, but I raised a hand, my voice sharp. "Wait."

I couldn’t comprehend how she could be this lax in eating food coming from the palace kitchen, or wherever that wasn’t here.

I waved my palm over the dishes, murmuring the words of a spell. The air shimmered faintly, then steadied. "Now we eat."

Isla sighed, rolling her eyes. "You don’t trust anyone, do you?"

"Should I?" I asked, settling beside her.

We ate, speaking of gowns and parties, of what kind of jewels might suit us.

After dinner, I retreated to my room. The party wasn’t until 11pm, and I had hours to pass. I lay on my bed, a spell book open across my lap, tracing old incantations with the tip of my finger.

That was when the shimmering appeared.

It began as a soft glow in the corner of the room, silver-white and fluid, like moonlight turned to water. It thickened, growing until the shape of a woman stood before me—regal, graceful. The Queen.

Her apparition spoke, her voice both near and far. "Sage. Tell me about your day."

I inclined my head. "Victories, Your Grace. Both in combat and in the races. Tonight, there is a banquet. I plan to attend."

"Good," she said, her eyes shimmering like twin stars. "But be careful. Eyes are upon you."

The light pulsed once, then fractured, vanishing like shattered glass into the air.

I exhaled slowly, closing my book. "Always careful," I murmured.

I drifted into sleep soon after, diving deep into the realms of dreams.

Darkness surrounded me. I was floating, weightless, in waters black as ink. My limbs drifted aimlessly, the silence pressing close.

Then came the voice, one so peculiar yet familiar.

El.

What did it want? Couldn’t I be left alone?

In this darkness, it was a light; soft but insistent, beckoning me forward. A faint glow in the water pulsing, urging me to follow.

But I turned away. My arms spread, embracing the dark. The water pulled me deeper, colder, but I welcomed it. It matched the hunger in my chest.

When I woke, sweat clung to my skin.

I checked my phone. Only forty minutes remained before the banquet.

There was not much time to prepare, but my mind stayed on the possible meaning of the dream, of El’s call, of its purpose.

Wheew. I exhaled finally, pushed it aside. I had a party to attend. Nothing would turn me from the path of revenge all the same. Nothing.

I had forwent it the first time and I almost lost my life for it.

I rose and dressed with deliberate care. Tonight demanded perfection.

My gown was a river of midnight silk, clinging in all the right places, slit high enough to tease, neckline daring enough to command. Jewels glittered at my throat, and I wove a faint spell across my skin, my face, making me glow softly—radiant, irresistible.

A final touch: perfume, dabbed at my wrists, throat, and behind my ears. The scent was intoxicating, heady enough to draw anyone closer. A perfume touched with magic.

When I stepped into the hall, Isla gasped. "You’re going to kill them all," she said, eyes wide with admiration.

"That’s the point," I replied, lips curving.

Outside, the night air was crisp. The men were waiting by the gates, standing proudly beside a gleaming black car—the newest model of a popular brand, sleek and predatory.

Leon stepped forward first, eyes raking over me in open awe. "Princess," he murmured, bowing slightly. He opened the door with a flourish. "Your chariot awaits."