Kimber gave a little dismayed whimper and leaned against the wall, closing her eyes. “This is not the kind of party I had in mind,” she muttered, and I knew it was true. Entitled rich kids are the same everywhere—even if they are Fae—and though Kimber had the money to fit in with that clique, it just wasn’t her style.

Trying not to cough from the smoke—cigarette and other—that filled the air, I slung my backpack off my shoulder and unzipped the front compartment.

“I brought you a present,” I told Kimber, hoping to cheer her up.

Her eyes popped open, and her jaw dropped. “You did?”

“Of course I did.” The invitation had specifically said we weren’t to bring gifts, but I figured that applied to Alistair’s cronies and their kids, not Kimber’s real friends. I pulled out a small, neatly wrapped package and handed it to her. “I hope you like it.”

“I love it already,” she assured me. Her eyes were shiny, and her lower lip quivered dangerously.

“Well, open it,” I urged.

Kimber bit her lip and picked at the tape, unwrapping the little box so carefully she could probably reuse the wrapping paper if she wanted to. She lifted the lid, and then pulled away the fuzzy cotton padding to reveal the contents.

What do you buy for your Fae best friend who you’ve only known a handful of weeks and whose father is rich enough she can mostly buy whatever she wants? I’d agonized over the question for days, poking around on eBay hoping to find something that would leap out at me.

What I’d eventually chosen was a handcrafted glass pendant. It was a gorgeous teal blue Chinese dragon hung on a black satin cord. The color had instantly reminded me of Kimber’s eyes, and the dragon had reminded me of her fiery temperament and courage.

Kimber lifted the pendant out of the cotton, and her lip was quivering again. This time, she wasn’t able to prevent a couple of tears from spilling over. I was so glad I’d decided to ignore the no-gifts thing.

“It’s beautiful,” she said breathlessly. “Here, hold this.” She shoved the box and paper at me so she could undo the clasp and put the pendant on. Then she checked it out in the mirror, her hand caressing its sleek curves. It didn’t go with the red dress at all, but she obviously didn’t mind.

For the second time that night, I found myself on the receiving end of an exuberant hug.

“Thank you so much!” she said. She let go of me and brushed away the tears. “This party was a total nightmare until you showed. And this is the best present I’ve ever gotten.”

My throat was feeling a little tight, and my eyes were stinging. But that was probably just from all the smoke. “Happy birthday.”

Her radiant smile made me glad I’d come.

Chapter five

We stayed in the ladies’ room for maybe five minutes, tops, before the smoke drove us back out into the club. From where we were standing, I couldn’t see the bar, but I assumed Keane was still waiting there for us. I didn’t much feel like forging my way through the crowd again, but despite what a jerk Keane was being, I didn’t think it was fair to leave him all alone when he didn’t know anyone and clearly felt uncomfortable. He had, after all, made it possible for me to get here in the first place. Besides, he was my bodyguard for the evening, and it would probably be smart to keep my body close enough for him to guard it.

Kimber led the way once more, and I followed in her wake. My head still throbbed, and now I felt a little dizzy on top of it, probably from all that smoke. I almost tripped over my own feet, and I stopped a moment to take a couple of breaths of relatively clean air. And that was when my night went to hell.

In the few seconds I’d paused, the crowd had filled in the gap Kimber had created, and I could no longer see her. I stood on tiptoe to try to find her. A gap opened in the crowd that stood between me and the dance floor. My eyes homed in on someone with blond, shoulder-length hair just like Kimber’s. Only it wasn’t Kimber.

Ethan was out on the dance floor, swaying to the music, while a gorgeous, red-haired Fae girl did a bump and grind all around him. She wore a skimpy, glittery black cocktail dress that clung to her curvy—for a Fae—figure, and Ethan’s tongue was practically hanging out of his mouth as he stared at her. From the way she moved, I’d have guessed she held a side job as a stripper, and she kept finding excuses to brush up against Ethan’s body. He gave her what I could only describe as a bedroom smile, then slipped his arms around her waist.

Now to be fair, I’d told Ethan over and over that we weren’t dating. If we weren’t dating, then it was technically impossible for him to cheat on me. It was therefore totally okay for him to be dirty dancing with someone other than me.

My reasoning couldn’t soothe the hurt that stabbed through me when I saw him out on that dance floor with another girl, a Fae girl, as gorgeous as Kimber, and by the looks of her closer to Ethan’s age than I was. I guess my naïveté was rearing its ugly head once again. I’d somehow let myself imagine that Ethan was chastely pining away for me, desperately hoping that one day he would win me over. What a moron!

Tears stung my eyes as I turned away from the revolting sight and pushed my way through the crowd in what I hoped was the direction of the bar. I’d known Ethan was a player, even before I’d known exactly how he’d played me. He seemed to find me attractive, and he was charming and totally drool-worthy, but although I hardly had boys falling at my feet, I knew better than to get involved with someone like him. At least, I knew better in theory.