As they walked in elegantly, Damien felt both the ladies tighten their grip on his arms. The one in red with the scorn of enduring a night among power-hungry nobles and the other with quiet nervousness.
"Easy now, ladies," Damien said with a playful grin, "If you crush my arms before the night even begins, how am I supposed to sweep all the lovely dancers off their feet."
Hearing him, Cece rolled her eyes and Evelyn became self-conscious, loosened her grip and looked up to him apologetically.
Damien scanned the room with his sharp eyes and said, "Why don't we go and get us some drinks."
"Yes please, I need it." Cece murmured under her breath. Right then, a server appeared with a tray of wine glasses and offered it to them. Damien took two glasses, handing one to Cece and one to Eve, before picking one up for himself.
Evelyn brought the glass to her lips, while subtly scanning the room like a spy on a mission. But Damien was too sharp to notice this and decided to tease her, "Hmm..I don't think Ivan's arrived yet." He said innocently while taking a sip of his wine.
Eve nearly choked on her drink and whipped her head towards him. "What?"
Damien raised a brow, feigning surprise "Oh, I just assumed you were on the lookout for our ever so broody prince. The longing gaze kind of gave it away." A smug grin spread across his face.
Evelyn's ears turned bright red. "What?! No! I was just…checking the decor. Great chandeliers. Very…shiny." She cleared her throat and took a hasty sip of wine.
Damien chuckled at seeing Evelyn all flustered. "Uh-huh and I suppose you're blushing because the candles are too warm?"
Evelyn blushed harder and quietly looked away, not wanting to be embarrassed any further. Cece, who had been silently sipping her wine, smirked and muttered, "This is going to be a long night."
As they spoke quietly among themselves, on the far side of the ballroom, Drake stood opposite them, wearing a full-face black mask. Beside him were Gabe and two women, Elana and Kayla, both who served him with their blood and body. Their eyes, sharp with venom, never left Evelyn. She looked ethereal and regal in her midnight gown, something they could never match. Hatred simmered in both of their eyes, twisted by the knowledge that no matter how much of themselves they gave to Drake, it was only Evelyn who haunted his thoughts.
Like them, Drake couldn't take his lustful gaze off Evelyn. He leaned towards Gabe and said in a low voice, "Be ready in an hour, once they've had a couple of drinks. Do you have the potion with you?"
Gabe nodded. "Yes it's in my pocket. I'll slip it into her drink once those two step away from her." he whispered.
Drake smirked, then turned to the two women beside him. "You two remember what to do, right?"
They looked at him and smiled in unison. "Yes, we're ready whenever you give the word."
Drake nodded and turned his gaze back to Evelyn. 'His Evelyn,' he thought darkly.
After some time, Headmaster Charles stepped forward to deliver his speech and officially declared the commencement of the Blood Moon Masquerade Ball. The professors were also in attendance. While Damien was occupied with nobles, Eve was engaged in conversation with Cece and Edward when Professor Dante–Inter-Species Relations Instructor, approached her alongside Dr. Zora, the academy physician.
"Ah, if it isn't my star-crossed duo!" Professor Dante beamed, his eyes twinkling with mischief. "Princess Evelyn, I trust you're having a delightful evening? Or has being paired with our icy prince, has frozen all the joy from your life?" He leaned in slightly, as if expecting a front-row seat to some juice gossip.
Eve was momentarily taken aback by Professor Dante's over the top enthusiasm but managed a polite smile., "Very well, Professor Dante, Thank you for asking."
As if personally offended by her boring answer, he leaned in with renewed interest, "Of course you are! After all, I don't see your partner anywhere near you." His grin stretched wider, unnervingly so and when no one responded, he leaned in further like a gossip-hungry woman at a wedding. "Sooo…where might our ever charming prince be hiding? I do hope he's not planning to ghost this glamorous occasion. I'd be devastated if I had to slap a big, fat zero on both your scores for missing such a key social requirement."
Evelyn's eyes widened with horror as she realised, 'This psycho professor is grading us for this ball??'
She quickly said, "He'll be joining us soon, Professor. He's just caught up with something, so he's running a little late." She gave him a sheepish smile.
By now Professor Dante had a full blown, thousand-megawatt smile stretching across his face, "I do hope you're right, princess. I'd hate to think our beloved prince is out there…sending more poor souls to the infirmary. Especially since Dr. Zora here has hung her lab coat for the night to enjoy the party."
"Of-Of course, Professor Dante, I assure you, he'll be here soon. He's just… taking a little longer to get ready." Eve blurted.
There was a moment of silence.
Cece, Edward and Dr. Zora all turned away ever so slightly, fighting the urge to burst into laughter. The mental image of ever brooding Ivan agonizing over outfit choices had Cece on the brink of losing it.
Professor Dante let out a chuckle that almost sounded villainous, like he just found fresh meat to chew on tonight. That meat being, Evelyn. "I look forward to seeing you on the dance floor later." he said with a twinkle in his eyes.
Dr. Zora, watching the exchange with quiet sympathy, turned to Eve and asked, "I hope you're feeling better now, Princess Evelyn?"
"Yes, I am. Thank you for taking care of me back then." Eve bowed slightly in gratitude.
Dr. Zora offered her a small smile. "No problem, should you need any help in future, you're always welcome at my clinic."
Evelyn gave a slight nod and said, "I will, thank you Dr. Zora."
After that, both faculty members gave a courteous nod to Cece and Edward before heading in search of the next unsuspecting victim of Professor Dante.
Evelyn released a breath she hadn't realised she was holding, then looked at Cece with slight panic and asked, "Cece, where is Prince Ivan? He is coming… right?" It has already been more than forty-five minutes since the ball had started.
Damien, who had been busy socialising with other noblemen, finally excused himself to take a break from mindless chatter and asked, "Well, well… what did I miss?"
Cece turned her gaze from Eve to Damien and said, "Nothing, just Professor Danta getting his sadistic fix from the fact that Ivan is missing from the event."
When Damien raised his brows in amusement, Cece added, "He said we'll be graded on the event, so our buddies need to be present too."
Damien let out a low chuckle and said, "Ah! I am safe then. Thank the gods I don't have a partner anymore."
Cece pursed her lips and asked, "When did Ivan say he'd come to the ball? Evelyn's starting to worry about getting marked a big fat zero."
Damien gave it a thought and said, "Hmm, he said he'd join later. You know how much he hates socialising and how people tend to fawn over him at these kinds of events."
He let out a sigh and then turned to Eve. "Don't worry, Evelyn. He'll definitely join us later….unless...he changes his mind."
When Eve frowned at that possibility, Cece elbowed Damien for making her even more worried and muttered, "Stop giving her more ideas to spiral with, you emotionally bankrupt vampire."
Damien let out a sheepish chuckle. "My apologies," he said, already sensing the storm brewing beside him.
Before he could dig himself any deeper, a woman glided up to him with all the grace of well-rehearsed performance. "Good Evening, my lord," she purred, bowing her head like in courtesy. "My name is Elana, I was wondering if you'd do me the honour of a dance?" Her smile was pleasant, almost saintly.
Damien raised his eyebrows, glanced at the two women beside him and decided this might be the perfect escape from the tension he had unintentionally stirred with his jokes.
"Why yes, my lady," he said with a dramatic flair, taking her hand like he'd just been rescued from a war zone. "You've arrived just in time."
He led her towards the dance floor with the speed of a man dodging an ambush.
Cece and Eve exchanged looks, and were surprised by how quickly Damien fled their line of fire.