Every time she took a step, the ground beneath her feet wobbled. Despite the fact that it had supported the residents for God knows how long she was just waiting on it crumbling beneath her feet. Once she had descended a little she caught sight of everyone. Jessica and Cora were doing spins and showing off their tatty outfits, but they fell silent and still when Thea appeared, smiling brightly and cooing over her.
Freddie was wearing a shirt that must have been white once, but time had stained it a deep cream. His hands were in his trousers pockets, and he smirked, looking her head to toe before letting out a long whistle. Thea tried to smile while keeping her eyes on the ground, partly to watch out for anything she might fall over and partly to avoid focusing on the leer Freddie was giving her.
Sharron rolled her eyes and pushed off from where she had been leaning on the doorframe. “So, the stranger can put in some effort, who cares? Let’s get to the party.” She strode out the door.
Cora clapped and squealed. “This is going to be so much fun.” She and Jessica ran outside, talking to each other in hurried tones.
As soon as Thea got to the bottom of the stairs Freddie rushed over to offer her his hand.
“I got it,” she said, stepping past him.
He chuckled. “I don’t doubt it. At least let me walk you to the party.”
He didn’t wait for her to reply before resting his hand on her lower back and ushering her out the front door. The pressure of his palm was the only thing Thea could focus on as she walked. She wanted to shrug him off but didn’t want to make a scene. Unable to relax, she walked like a puppet made of wood and he chatted close to her ear the entire way through the streets.
It was a full moon and bright outside for it to be night-time. Cora was jogging along, doing the occasional cartwheel. Spinning in a circle she leapt into the air.
“I’m so excited for tonight. I’m so in the mood for dancing. Thea let me teach you my signature moves.” Skipping over she took hold of Thea’s arm and spun under it. Grateful that she was away from Freddie, Thea played along, stepping this way and that and doing all the actions she was told to do. Soon, she was smiling despite herself. There was something euphoric about being silly. She had never done it before but when she tipped her head back and twirled the stars bled into each other and became a bright line of silver across the darkness. It was magical. Coupled with the feeling of the chilly air rushing through her as her lungs worked it was like someone had switched something on inside her.
Cora laughed. “You have got the spirit for dancing anyway.”
“I don’t know if I’m going to be able to keep up with her.”
Thea hadn’t noticed that Jessica was flailing around with them until she spoke. She looked at the other girl to see her long blonde locks flying out behind her like streamers. She was giggling manically, and the sound was oddly infectious. Thea did her best to hold back the laughter that bubbled in her throat. As good as she felt she couldn’t let herself get carried away. She needed to remember where she was. No matter how much fun it would be to simply let go and dance with these people she had to keep her eye on the prize. This was a glorified prison, and they were willing prisoners.
Still, it was hard to stop dancing around with them now she had started. The closer they got to the party site the louder the music got, adding to the weird spell that seemed to have come over her. She could suddenly see the appeal of running and jumping like a little kid again. So, this was why people liked to dance so much.
“Girls you are going to tire her out on the way to the party.” Thea’s muscles locked as Freddie came up behind her and took her hand, halting her dancing. “And I want her to save a dance for me.” He finished with a wink. Thea almost rolled her eyes before reminding herself that she wasn’t here to argue with him.
“Maybe.” It was near impossible to sound happy about the idea of dancing with him, but she did her best.
Freddie half smiled and leaned close to her as they continued on. “You look amazing by the way.” His wet breath wafted onto her cheek, and she had to work hard not to pull away and wipe her face.
Thea nodded stiffly. “Thanks.” She picked up her pace, hoping he would lose his hold on her hand and fall behind. No such luck.
The party is much like it was the first night. There is enough alcohol around to perfume the air and bodies were grinding together wherever she looked. The thudding of dancing feet was like drums and bore into Thea’s head, almost making it ache. Cora and Jessica threw themselves into dancing, tossing their hair and waving their hands. A spike of envy surprised Thea. It didn’t make any sense, but she really wanted to join them.
Throwing a look towards Marcus’s corner her heart sank when she noticed that he hadn’t yet arrived. His long sofas were vacant though security was assembled around them. He must be on his way soon.
Moonwalking past her, Freddie kissed her hand and pulled her towards the floor. “Why don’t you give me that dance you owe me.”
Thea shook her head and dug her heels in. “I don’t think I want to dance right now.”
Freddie raised an eyebrow and smirked. “I saw how happy you were when you were dancing with the girls.”
That was because it was with them not you, she thought. “I’m a bit tired. I might get a drink.”
“Come on, don’t be like that.” His grip on her hand tightened enough to make her flinch and she yanked back against him. For a split second she feared he wouldn’t let go as he watched her face intently. When he did release her he laughed and backed up a step.
“Fine, don’t freak out.” Holding his hands up as if surrendering he vanished into the crowd of dancers without another word. Thea wrapped her arms around her middle, feeling like she needed to protect it in some way. He is just a stupid boy, and he didn’t even do anything, yet the unease that made her neck hurt wouldn’t go away.
She went to get a drink to try and calm down. One wouldn’t get her drunk, but it might help her to relax and focus. The table where the drinks were was a mess. There were empty glass jars lying all around it, some of them broken. Shards crunched under her shoes as she tiptoed her way over. Amber liquid in plastic bottles and jars was the only thing to drink. Thea wasn’t sure about drinking something that she didn’t know what was in it but everyone else was shoving past her to get one. Some even took a drink in each hand.
Rubbing her arm, she looked around to see if anyone who drank it was collapsing. This was something made by the monstrous dictator of this place after all. She wouldn’t have been surprised if he poisoned them.
Catching sight of Sharron, she noticed that the girl was sipping on one of the drinks, hers was in an old milk bottle. She raised an eyebrow at Thea and shook her head. Thea couldn’t understand what her problem was until she lifted her drink to her and sneered. She was mocking her because she wasn’t drinking the alcohol. She thinks you’re scared, a voice in her head told her, are you?
Thea’s heart pounded as she approached the table and took the smallest bottle of the amber liquid that she could. It was heavy and lukewarm. All she needed to do was take one drink. Unscrewing the cap, she sniffed it once, the harsh smell tingling in her nose, before taking a rushed gulp. It burned her throat and she gagged and coughed before it went down. Irrational fear stampeded through her as she waited for some kind of pain or organ failure. Instead, she got a mild buzz and a warm sensation in her chest. It wasn’t totally unpleasant.
Shooting a smug smile at Sharron she lifted her own bottle into the air. A drunk man to her left cheered and she was glad of it. Sharron rolled her eyes and disappeared into the crowd.
Thea knew it was petty, but she still felt a thrill of victory and took another celebratory drink. It seemed to burn less this time, but the pleasant heat lasted longer.
Now that she was more relaxed she got to the mission at hand. Moving to the edge of the dancefloor she kept an eye on Marcus’s spot. The minute he arrived she was going to make sure he saw her. What happened after that was still up in the air, but she knew she couldn’t continue to fail at getting closer to him. They needed him to take down Silvia. She only hoped he didn’t kill her or worse. A large gulp of her drink soon dispelled these worries from her mind.
For a while it looked like he wasn’t going to appear at all. The first hint that Thea got that he was here was how some of the crowd started whooping and cheering. She was on her third drink and almost joined in the with applause because it sounded fun. After spinning twice, she sourced the main concentration of the sound.
There he was, moving through the crowd with total ease. Anyone he came close to stepped back, creating a catwalk through his eager fans.
Thea studied him as he moved. Tonight, his chestnut waves were swept to one side and his tan skin was contrasted against a black shirt, rolled up at the sleeves. His jeans didn’t have a single hole in them and in the dimness of the party his white teeth shone like a beacon. Warm eyes scanning the area, he briefly skimmed over Thea as he made his way to his seat.
When their eyes met a thrilling electricity went through her. Maybe it was the fact that she had had a few drinks, but she couldn’t deny that he was beautiful. A dark voice in her head reminded her that he was also evil, but it was quieter than it usually was. She smiled at him, and he returned the gesture, nodding his greeting. She steeled herself for him coming over or asking for her after he had spoken to the crowd.
He stopped in front of his area and rolled his shoulders. A man handed him a microphone and he cleared his throat. Silence fell as suddenly as if someone had pressed mute.
“Hey guys, I have some bad news tonight I’m afraid. Some rebels attacked one of the shipments Lucian was sending us. It was full of clothes and other aesthetic items. Unfortunately, it has been lost.”
As one the crowd booed and lamented. Thea’s skin broke out in goose flesh as she imagined what they would do if they knew she was one of the rebels. It might have only been trivial things that had been taken but to the rebels, clothes were hard to come by. Yet these people were reacting as if someone had taken their home from them.
Marcus held up his hand and gradually the people fell silent again. “I know this is a let down to some of you. But fear not my friends, there is plenty more where that came from, and I will be personally seeing to it that my brother sends us some more stuff.” Roars of intoxicated joy came from all around Thea, and she pressed her palm that didn’t have a drink in it to her ear to try and dull the sound.
“So,” Marcus boomed, “Let’s forget about that and party like it’s the end of the world.”
No matter how many drinks Thea had there would never be enough to stop her stomach from turning at that phrase and the cheers it elicited from the crowd.
The music started again, and people resumed dancing. Thea shuffled her weight from one foot to the other while she waited for Jimmy to appear. Two songs later and she was beginning to think that he wasn’t coming. But Marcus had smiled at her and nodded. If that didn’t mean he had noticed her then what did?
Pushing her way through the sweaty heaving dancers Thea got to the point where she could see into where Marcus usually was. She was surprised to see three girls in there, sitting around him while he was sprawled out, eating chocolates by the dozen. They giggled and tossed their hair, begging him to dance with them. Thea couldn’t believe it. Not only was he a monster who ended the world, but he was an impossible pig of a man who didn’t focus on one girl for longer than five minutes. He isn’t a man, she reminded herself.
She needed to up her game. Gritting her teeth, she watched the girls. One of them had stood and was dancing mere inches from his face. The smirk he was wearing made Thea feel like vomiting, but his eyes were glued to the girl. Thea could only imagine why this girl wanted to succeed in getting his attention and going to his room, but she her tactic was working.
Sweat trickled down between her shoulder blades as an idea dawned on her. If she could dance like that then maybe he would look at her. God she hated the idea of having to flaunt herself like that. Reminding herself that men like this were easier to manipulate because they were distracted by the mere sight of skin, Thea started to really listen to the music, intent on feeling the beat so she could at least look sensible when she danced. Good god she would have preferred to be fighting a horde of demons than dance, but this was a different world than outside the region. Here, it was confidence that got you ahead, not weapon skills.
As if reading her mind, Marcus lazily straightened and stood. Moving behind the dancing girl he laid his hands on her hips and started to move with her. Something about seeing his large hands on her waist made Thea’s mouth run dry and her heartbeat pick up. The girl giggled and reversed until her ass was glued to his front. Thea was entranced, watching how she sighed and rested her head back on his shoulder, while he danced against her, kissing her neck and whispering to her.
Without warning his gaze snapped up to meet Thea’s. Heat rose into her cheeks, and she almost looked away from him before he could see the blush. But she had a job to do, and she wouldn’t let embarrassment get in the way of that.
It was as if there were embers in his eyes as he kept pace with his partner and smirked at Thea. Then he blew her a kiss.
Thea clenched her hands into fists. He was goading her. He mustn’t think that she would do anything but stare. She would show him.
Stepping a tad closer to the crowd so it wasn’t too clear that she was putting on a show she started to sway to the music. The thump of the bass got faster, and techno beats joined in. Thea was watching Marcus though he had turned his attention back to the girl he was dancing with. Why wasn’t he looking anymore? Thea thought about stopping but changed her mind. She had started now, and she didn’t want to look too keen. For now, she would dance for herself and if he looked then that was the icing on the cake. In fact, the more she moved the more natural felt. The rhythm was taking her on a ride. Tossing her hands into the air she swung her hips from side to side and shut her eyes, letting the feeling of dancing without care move through her. It felt like freefalling but in the best way.
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