God Eater Book 2 Teaser

The Fourth of July

It was the Fourth of July.

It had been less than an hour since Raven had arrived at the party with her sisters, and she was already completely done with it. Her head ached from the cacophony of sound that seemed a siren song to the dancers floating across the floor, and the arches of her feet ached from the beautiful but deadly high heels she wore.

With a pained sigh, she knocked back the last few dregs of champagne from her glass, setting it upon the floor as she leant against the wall, scanning the room for faces she might recognise.

When her older sister had invited her to Fenrir's fireworks party, Raven had been more than a little surprised and suspicious. Claire's connection to Fenrir was purely monetary, and Raven couldn't understand why they had been invited to such a significant event. But, looking around her, Raven had quickly realised that people came with and without invite, roaming freely about the ballroom without inhibition.

Claire had been swept up by friends the second they had arrived, reappearing momentarily at the entrance with a glass of wine, deep in conversation with a young, lean soldier who clearly worked for Fenrir. From the way they murmered in each other's ears, the distance between them, Raven knew that Claire would not be coming home alone tonight, if at all.

Her other sister, Serah, was no better. Whilst Claire's womanly beauty was guarded by a cold and superior exterior, Serah's youth and innocence made her instantly attractive to the soldiers in their midst. She stood in a group of them, talking and laughing as she twirled her hair around her fingers.

But Raven knew that Serah did not mean to be alluring, and was merely being friendly and polite in her own beautiful way. She knew because her sister's eyes kept drifting to the door, looking hopefully for the arrival of the young medic she had pledged her heart to.

And so, Raven was alone, bored, and without entertainment. She supposed it was her own fault for lacking the motivation to socialise, for lacking the charm and beauty of her sisters to attract onlookers, for lacking the ability to enjoy a party without jumping at the touch of a stranger as he pushed past, without looking at each man as a potential threat.

She ran her hand through her hair, casually checking it covered the bruises on her neck, that her trousers hid the marks on her legs.

Serah had cried when she saw the marks and scars on her body, and Claire had been livid. Raven had no desire to relive those memories any time soon, and so she hid her pain.

Raven was calculating the distance between herself and the door, between herself and freedom, knowing in her heart that it was pointless, when someone leant on the wall beside her, leaning in to talk.

"Not a fan of parties?" Raven turned away from the door to see a young woman, about her age, holding out a glass of champagne. "Alcohol always helps."

"You could say that." She took the glass gratefully, sipping at it with a wince. "I was considering leaving. How about you?"

"Well, it was either that or puke from the amount of cringy pickup lines I've been thrown by guys who are double my age." Her newfound comrade pulled a face, and Raven found herself chuckling with her. "Then I saw you and thought hey, maybe I'll stay after all."

"What made you think that?" Raven asked dryly, then chided herself internally for her carelessness and quickly gulped another mouthful of champagne to avoid making things worse.

"They're all kind of boring people." The girl gestured to the clumps of people talking around them, her blonde hair swishing about her as she grinned at Raven, her bright blue eyes sparkling. "But you're different. Interesting."