“Are you ready to go?” Dakota asked Anastasia as she slipped on a pair of heels for the first time.
“Yes, if I don’t break a leg first,” she said, trying to keep her balance.
“You will do perfect.”
“Here goes,” she said to herself as she stepped out of the bathroom.
Dakota’s breath caught in his chest. The black dress started just above her knees and fit her like a glove. Her back was bare, and the colors of the phoenix on her back showed beautifully through her hair that fell in curls to her waist. She had makeup on for the first time since she had been a teenager. She didn’t need the makeup, though, Dakota thought to himself.
“You are gorgeous.”
Anastasia blushed. “Hardly. It’s the makeup.”
“Anastasia, you don’t need to wear makeup to look gorgeous. Trust me, it’s not that.”
“You look amazing as well, Dakota Parker.” She gripped the front of his sport coat and pulled him in for a deep kiss.
“We could just stay in, forgo this silly party.”
“It’s your mother’s Christmas party. We can’t skip it.”
“Why not? It’s not like she wants to go either.” He gripped her hips and ran his hands up her bare back. “Come on, we could stay in and have our own party.”
Anastasia laughed as she leaned into his body. She stopped when her mouth was a mere inch from his. “We have to go, Dakota.”
“Party pooper.”
Anastasia laughed and turned to the door when Elizabeth and Tony walked in. Tony looked like a man of this world in his dark suit, but you could see the lines of a warrior on his face. He loved being here, Anastasia knew, but being trapped away from his people, who needed his help, was wearing on him. It was wearing on all of them.
“You look lovely, Anastasia.” Elizabeth hugged her and then turned to face the three of them. “Thank you all so much for coming with me tonight. With everything we have going on it’s just one more thing we have to do, but I’m grateful that you are all with me.” She smiled at Tony.
“Elizabeth, we wouldn’t miss it.” Anastasia nudged Dakota.
“Shall we?” Tony asked, and headed for the door.
It had been nearly a month since Vincent had intercepted Anastasia’s attempt at reaching Carmen. They had been searching for a way back to Terrenia every day since with no luck.
Anastasia could feel Vincent there, lurking, almost every day, so trying to formulate a plan to save Terrenia was more difficult than they had originally thought it would be. They had decided to take the fight straight to Vincent—take him out and the block would fall, she hoped. Then they would be able to reach Terrenia and warn everyone and be there to help them to fight the Trepidos if it came to that.
They hadn’t nailed out the details yet, but at least it was a plan, and that was something.
Dakota hadn’t gone back into the field yet, his abdomen still healing, but he was scheduled to get off desk duty in a week. Tony and Anastasia had been working on wedding plans whenever Vincent was peeking, and their war plans when he wasn’t.
Anastasia felt the weight of her dagger that she had strapped to her thigh, and she knew that both Tony and Dakota were both carrying weapons, ready for anything that might come their way.
They drove the short distance to the building in downtown Seattle where the party was being held. Anastasia kept her eyes on everything they passed, looking for any sign of unrest. She wasn’t sure why, but lately she was beginning to feel as if something was coming for them, and it was making her steadily more paranoid of the outside world.
“Elizabeth, you look lovely.” The doctor who had met them at the door when they had brought Dakota in met them at the entrance now. “Although that is no surprise, as you always do.” Richard smiled and waved for them to go into the conference room. If he had noticed Tony’s glare at his words, then he hid it well.
Dozens of men and women dressed exquisitely filled the room. Some danced, while others stood and spoke among smaller groups. Anastasia couldn’t have felt more out of place. She felt the anxiety building in her chest and did her best to push it aside. She had never liked crowds before, and that dislike had only grown throughout the years.
“You okay?” Dakota whispered to her, and she felt his hand on the small of her back.
“Yes, just not a fan of crowds.”
“I remember.” He pulled her closer and kissed her cheek.
She looked up at Tony, surprised to see that he looked completely at ease.
“This is wonderful.” He laughed as he looked around. “Everyone looks like they are having such fun!”
Elizabeth giggled. “Just wait until people start hitting the bar. That’s when things typically get more interesting.”
“I think I’m going to use the restroom.” Anastasia turned and kissed Dakota.
“Need me to walk you?” he asked.
“No, that’s all right. I’m sure I can find it.”
“I can go with you,” Elizabeth offered.
“No, honest, you guys. I will be fine.” Anastasia smiled again and then turned for the bathroom.
Once inside, she took a deep breath. She looked at herself in the mirror. Her makeup was perfect, and to anyone else she looked like any other normal girl, but all she saw when she looked at herself was someone bracing for a fight. She used to long for normalcy. Had wished that she could have been one of those girls who shopped and partied, but now that dream seemed like it was a million miles away.
“Love your dress.” A woman had stumbled out of the bathroom stall, obviously drunk.
“Thanks, are you okay?” Anastasia asked, reaching to help her to the sink.
“I am perfect,” she slurred.
“Do you need help?”
“Nope. I got this, girl.” She giggled and began washing her hands.
Anastasia stepped back out into the party and did her best to relax. This was Elizabeth’s night, and Anastasia wanted to make sure she got the chance to enjoy it. She looked around the room and saw Tony and Elizabeth dancing. Anastasia couldn’t help but be surprised at how well they moved together. There had been nights where the Terrenians would play music and dance, but she had never seen Tony at any of the gatherings.
Elizabeth was elated at the chance to dance. She hadn’t gone dancing since before Dakota had been born. George had always been too busy with work to accompany her to any of her work parties, and any time they had been around others who were dancing, there had always been a reason not to.
She giggled as Tony spun her around, and then gasped when his mouth found hers.
“I didn’t know you could dance,” she said softly as he lifted his mouth and looked down at her.
“Back in Terrenia, we often had gatherings where we would dance and play music. I have to admit, though, it has been some time since I danced. I hadn’t attended one of the festivals since before my wife was killed.”
Elizabeth noted the pain in his eyes. Maybe that was one of the reasons they got along so well—they both knew what it felt like to lose someone.
“You wouldn’t be able to tell, Tony. You are a magnificent dancer.” She smiled at him and he grinned back, although it didn’t reach his eyes.
“I have a lovely partner.”
He spun her around again, and when the song ended, he released her and bowed. She felt like a princess.
“Shall we get a drink?” he asked, motioning towards the bar.
“We shall.” She took his hand and followed him to the bar, where Dakota waited for Anastasia.
“Is Anastasia not back yet?” Elizabeth wondered.
“She’s right there,” Dakota pointed to the crowd. “You all right?” he asked when Anastasia came to stand next to him.
“Yes, I’m fine.” She smiled smoothly.
“Want to dance?”
“I would love to, except I’m not sure how,” Anastasia admitted.
“That’s okay, I do.”
Dakota pulled her onto the dance floor for a slow rendition of Where Are You Christmas.
“You look beautiful tonight,” he whispered into her ear.
“You already said that.”
“So beautiful that I wanted to mention it again.”
“You look handsome.”
“You already mentioned that,” he repeated her earlier statement.
“So handsome I wanted to mention it again.”
He laughed and kissed her softly. “Can you believe it’s already Christmas?” he asked her.
“No, it’s hard to imagine that people are out there shopping for Christmas presents when it feels as if the world is falling apart.” Tears filled her eyes. “I’m sorry, Dakota.”
“Don’t apologize, Ana. It’s been an incredibly stressful last ten years, wouldn’t you say?”
“Try lifetime,” she said, half jokingly. “But it’s getting better.” She smiled when he bent his head to kiss her again.
“I have something for you,” he said softly, but when she didn’t respond, he looked down at her face, which had lost all color. “Ana?”
Her focus was pulled when alarms began going off in her head. Something wasn’t right. She released Dakota and moved quickly through the crowd of other dancers until she was next to Elizabeth and Tony.
At their surprised looks, Anastasia nodded towards the group of men who had just come into the conference room. Although they were dressed in black suits, they didn’t look like they were there for the drinks and dancing.
“Tony, get Elizabeth out of sight,” Anastasia whispered at him, smiling so she wouldn’t draw attention to them.
“Anastasia, what is going on?” Dakota asked when he reached them. Anastasia nodded towards the men again, and Dakota reached for his gun.
“Wait, Dakota,” she said, stopping him. “Get her out of here, quietly, Dakota,” she told him.
“I’m not leaving you, Ana.”
“You have to, Dakota. You are not ready for a fight.”
“I damn well am,” he argued, but Elizabeth stepped forward.
“No you aren’t, Dakota. We need to go. If you stay you will only be a distraction for her.”
Dakota glared at his mother. He was damn well tired of being called a distraction. Still, he knew she was right, and Tony had a better chance of keeping Anastasia alive than he did.
“Let’s go, Mom.” Dakota gripped her hand and pulled her casually towards the exit.
“What do we do?” Tony asked Anastasia as they watched the men fan out throughout the room.
“What we do best: we fight.”
She pulled the dagger from its holster and turned it up to hide the blade behind her wrist. Dakota and Elizabeth walked through the crowd of people as quickly as they could, and when Anastasia saw the men reach into their coats and pull out guns, she jumped on one of the tables and screamed.
“Get down!” she yelled when they lunged for her. “Tony!” she screamed in warning, and jumped on one of the closest men. She dispatched him easily, and the others came for her.
“Anastasia, look out!” She heard Tony’s voice and turned just in time to kick a man who was coming at her with a knife of his own.
“Head for the exit!” she yelled over the screams, and threw her dagger at one of the men who approached behind Tony. Bullets ripped through the crowd, and Anastasia felt one bury itself in her arm. She closed her eyes and pulled at her magic.
She pictured what she wanted in her mind and then released a jolt of power. Silence filled the room, and she slowly opened her eyes. Everyone was frozen in place. Anastasia took a moment to take in her surroundings. Fear shone on everyone’s faces, and she tried to ignore the bodies of partygoers that littered the ground. Anger filled her soul, and she tried to block it out. It wouldn’t help her to control her magic, and she desperately needed to control it.
Anastasia did what she had never been able to do before, and focused on the innocent men and women at the party. Their screams returned, and she checked quickly to be sure that the men who had attacked were still frozen. The men and women poured out of the room until it was only she and Tony standing in the center, the men around them.
“Tony, go.”
“I’m not leaving.”
“I can’t hold them much longer.”
“Then don’t.”
Anastasia felt Vincent’s presence, and she bared her teeth. “Is this game fun for you? Come on out, you bastard, and let’s finish this.”
“I much prefer this. I have a better vantage point,” she heard him say, and the men unfroze. She saw the gun turned on Tony and she dove in front of the bullet, feeling it skim her side.
“Big mistake,” she said to the man who had pulled the trigger. She threw her arms out and one by one the men fell to the ground.
“When will you see that we are not so different, you and I?” Vincent asked her.
“Come out here, asshole!” Tony yelled at him.
“Oh please. Don’t make me laugh.”
“I’m going to kill you, Vincent. One day soon, I will kill you,” Tony vowed.
“What about our truce?” she asked Vincent.
“Truce? You know good and damn well we never had a truce. You continued to train and talk behind my back!”
“Dramatic much?” Tony mocked him.
“Did you think I wouldn’t notice?” Vincent continued, ignoring Tony as if he were nothing more than an annoyance.
“What are you talking about, Vincent?”
“You truly believed you could outsmart me, didn’t you?”
“I suppose I did.”
“After I caught you sparring, I knew you must have found a way to feel me when I was watching you, so instead I took form and listened through the door whenever I had the chance. You see, I have excellent hearing.”
“So what, you decide to get even by causing the death of innocent people?” Anastasia gestured angrily to the bodies.
“Their deaths are on you.”
Anastasia felt sharp pain in her chest. She fell to her knees, and when she looked up, Vincent was standing in front of her.
“You feel that pain? That’s the pain of everyone who you have murdered, and it’s only going to get worse because you just can’t seem to stop killing, can you?”
“Ana, don’t listen to him,” Tony said, kneeling next to her.
“How does it feel to know you are going to pass all of that death onto another? How does it feel to know you are going to give birth to a monster just like you?” He sneered at her, and the pain increased.
Anastasia screamed and placed both hands on her chest.
“It’s only going to get worse,” he repeated, “when the Trepidos tear through your precious Terrenia, and after what you did tonight, you won’t have a home here, either.” He laughed and vanished. The pain lessened until it was only an ache.
“Anastasia, we have to go.” Tony lifted her to her feet and together they walked through the death and out the back door.
His plan suddenly made sense to her. He wasn’t here for Dakota, or Elizabeth. He hadn’t even been there for her. He had wanted her to be on the run in this world so that she had nowhere to go. She reached with her magic, wanting to clarify what he had said, and she felt it, the life that Carmen had explained feeling to her.
She was pregnant, and it terrified her.