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“What? Why?”
“You heard me. Come home for Christmas. Your mom will be very happy. She’ll make that chocolate biscuit cake you like so much.” He moved away from the phone to yell after her, although I knew she hadn’t left the room. “Isn’t that right, woman?”
“Dad, I can’t. I have the Yule Ball, and then I’d just rather stay here and study ahead.”
“Yule Ball? What’s a Yule Ball?”
I sighed. Great! What the hell? Was Mercury retrograde? I couldn’t believe I was about to tell my adoptive dad who hated me about Yule Ball.
“It’s this party we have before Christmas. We eat, dance, maybe prepare something artistic for the parents…”
“The parents are invited?”
Crap. “Y-yes. But it’s not…”
“Your mother and I are coming to this Yule Ball.”
“What?! No, you’re not!”
“What do you mean we’re not, young lady? Are you embarrassed with us?”
“N-no, of course not…” Liar.
“Then it’s settled. We’re coming. Send us an owl or whatever.”
I groaned. “We don’t send owls. We send normal letters, in the mail.”
“Waiting for ours.” He hung up.
I stared at my phone for a long while, not comprehending what just happened. My adoptive parents were coming to the Yule Ball. They were going to meet Valentine Morningstar. They were going to embarrass the heck out of me.
It was going to be a disaster.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Corri was in charge of my dress, this time. Long, black, sleek. It hugged my curves perfectly, and the embedded corset pushed my breasts up for the world to see. I bought a pair of black satin gloves, and a new pair of shoes that cost a fortune. But Corri insisted I should only wear Louboutins from now on. Sure, whatever. This was the first and last time I was spending so much on shoes. I didn’t tell her, but I was probably going to return them after the ball.
GC and Pazuzu walked me to the dining hall. Stepping through the open doors with my lovers at my side, I felt slightly better and less terrified for my life. I hadn’t eaten all day, but my stomach still felt funny, and I didn’t want to risk getting sick. Not tonight. My parents had arrived at the Academy an hour before, and they were already at the table assigned to them. As my boyfriends and I crossed the dining room the servants had turned into a ball room, the students stepped aside, as usual. That drew everyone’s attention to us. Corri flappity-flapped her wings behind me – the ever-loyal pixie that she was. I would have sent her away, but she really wanted to see a ball, and if I could do her this tiny service, then damn my discomfort. I knew that if I made my appearance with a pixie flying back and forth, eager to grant my every wish, I’d draw even more attention to myself. As if it wasn’t enough that I was Valentine’s daughter, and that I had two boyfriends, not one. I also had a pixie.
As we approached our table, my mom and dad stood up awkwardly. Next to them, there were GC’s parents, whom I loved, and Paz’s mother, Lamia Eremus. I’d seen her at the ball last year, but no one had introduced us. Back then, her son and I weren’t an item. Next to Lamia, lo and behold! Valentine Morningstar. The one and only. I wondered whether he’d already met my adoptive parents, or maybe everyone was waiting for me to make the introductions. Joy!
“My beautiful daughter!” Leave it to Valenti
ne to put on a show… He rounded the table, spread out his arms, and hugged me briefly, just enough to make both GC and Paz let go of me. “You look amazing! I love the dress.”
“Thank you,” I whispered.
He led me to the table and pulled up my chair. Apparently, I was going to sit between him and my mom. I was okay with my mom, but it would’ve been nice to have GC or Paz close for comfort and encouragement. GC had already started catching up with Andromeda, his mother, and Pazuzu was whispering something to Lamia, the black-haired beauty with green eyes. I couldn’t believe she’d given birth to him some hundreds of years ago. She didn’t look much older than I was!
“Mila, you look so pretty,” my mother said in a shy voice. “And this place is…” She gulped discreetly. “Impressive.”
I gave her a reassuring smile. Her blue eyes were bluer and bigger than ever as she took in the grandeur of the room, the professors in their elegant robes, the stunningly beautiful girls, and the equally handsome boys. Mr. Halo, our Mythology professor, was wearing his angel wings spread wide, protruding from his shoulder blades through the two slits of his suit. She stared at him for a minute too long, so I tried to distract her.
“You like it?” She nodded. “You know what? I’m glad you came.” A few days after our talk on the phone, I’d eventually gathered my courage and asked Headmaster Colin to invite my parents to the Yule Ball. “I’ve missed you, Mom. It’s nice to have you here.”
She took my hands in hers and looked into my eyes. “I’m afraid we’re underdressed.”
I laughed. Well, she was right, she and Dad were awfully underdressed, but who the fuck cared about that? I knew I didn’t. She was wearing a simple black dress, and if the cut wasn’t perfect, the color still gave it an air of elegance, and my dad was wearing one of his old suits. His shoes weren’t new or too polished, either. I did notice the students, the professors, and the other parents were sneaking glances at them when they thought they weren’t looking, but it didn’t bother me. So what if they were poor? I wasn’t embarrassed by that. The only thing that could have embarrassed me was if my dad decided to unleash his bad attitude on everyone. So far, so good. He seemed calm, albeit a bit grouchy. He hadn’t touched his glass of wine, and I chose to take it as a good sign.
