In Your Dreams

Chapter 15

Julian led me back to the ballroom, and it looked like no one noticed my absence, aside from the King and Queen, who were staring at us from across the room. I could see Julian sharing a look with Gabriel before giving him a nod. When the King and Queen stood, everyone stopped what they were doing to give their attention.

"Welcome!  Thank you everyone for coming tonight in honor of Claire Fields. I know some of you are wondering why we are throwing a ball in honor of a human, while some of you must be angry. We want to show all of you that we can finally live peacefully with humans. We can get along and thrive. Claire has accepted us from the moment she came here. Yes, she was a little apprehensive at first, but she has treated us like we weren't different.  Because of Claire, I firmly believe that we will be able to expose ourselves and live together without issue. You won't have to hide what you are; you won't have to live in the shadows.  I know this must be scary for some, but we could slowly out ourselves once we can show the humans that we don't need to drink directly from them.  I hope to get everyone on board with our crazy dream of coexisting. So, with being said, thank you everyone for coming and enjoy the rest of your night," the King boomed. I could see why this man was King; he was not only powerful, but a fearful man who commanded respect just with the tone of his voice.

Some people clapped, some cheered, and others looked enraged at King Gabriel's speech. People began to move to the tables on the other side of the ballroom to be served dinner. The waiters and waitresses set soups down first, then a plate of chicken parmesan with a wine glass that held thick, red liquid.  When they set the glass down in front of me, I stared at it, knowing what it held.

The idea of drinking blood was disgusting to me, especially after drinking both Tristan's and Julian's. I couldn't imagine drinking the hot, copper-tasting liquid all the time, but to them, it was a means of survival. A few people at my table were watching me silently while I pushed away my glass.

I looked up at all the watchful eyes and hesitantly asked, "Does anyone want my glass?  I don't think it would do me any good."

They did what I didn't expect them to do; they laughed. My cheeks turned red with embarrassment, and I wondered what I said that was so funny. My brother would've understood.  He was always good in social situations. Me on the other hand, am clueless. 

My glass was picked up and taken from behind me. As I followed the hand back to its owner, I found Tristan drinking, and my heart skipped a beat. My body heated up with the close proximity of him, despite the residual anger I still held.

"It's getting late, Claire. I'll walk you to your room."  His voice had an edge to it, and I took it as a command and not a suggestion, which kind of got on my nerves, but after the whole thing with Collin, I complied without complaint.  I didn't have any more fight in me tonight.

I turned back to everyone at my table and smiled before excusing myself. Their eyes followed me as I walked away with Tristan, and I felt bad about leaving a ball that was technically in my honor.  I wanted to be mad at Tristan and yell at him again, but I remembered what Julian said so I decided to hold it in. As we were walking, I noticed we passed my room.

"Uh...my room is right there." I pointed out like he didn't race in and save my life a week ago.

Tristan grabbed my hand, and sparks erupted throughout my body.  "I know."

He continued to pull me through different hallways until we stopped in front of a door.  He opened it and led me inside. The room had the same layout as mine, but it looked more like a boy room and was a little bigger. It was decorated with black, navy, and white with some clothes sprawled out on the floor.

"Where are we?"

"We are in my room," he answered while while he sat down in an arm chair and kicked his feet up on the coffee table.