Ashes (Dark in You 3)

She leaned into Knox. “Considering I’m nervous, the smells of popcorn, frying onions, and grilled meat shouldn’t be making me feel hungry.” Her words were almost drowned out by the shouting, the marching band, the clip-clop of the horses’ hooves, and the rumble of the Harley engines.

Knox brushed confetti out of her hair. “We’ll eat once this is over.”

Satisfied by that, Harper carried on waving as the parade went on. Her face actually hurt from fixing a smile on it as they passed what seemed like a never-ending row of bars, restaurants, stores, coffeehouses, hotels, and casinos. People waved from their hotel balconies, and some even dangled cotton “congratulations” banners. Harper waved back, which felt totally weird but it would have been rude not to.

With all the noise, the sparkly costumes, and the delicious scents of vender food, it was a sensory overload – her demon was impatient to get it over and done with. Harper suspected that she might collapse in relief when it was over.

She tried to make eye contact with the kids, amused by how excited they looked. One particular child caught her attention, because he wasn’t jumping or waving. Taking a closer look, she realized it was McCauley. He stared right at her, his eyes as blank as always. It gave her the chills, and she shivered.

Knox put his mouth to her ear. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. I just saw McCauley.”

“Elena must have brought him.”

“Yeah, I guess so.” Shaking off her discomfort, Harper went back to waving and smiling at the crowd. It was a further half an hour before the parade was finally over, and she was so happy to be able to lower her aching hand and drop that Barbie smile.

At Knox’s request, the demon steering the horses dropped them off at the Ice Lounge. It was an upscale bar that Harper hadn’t actually been to before. When she entered, she could only gasp. It was like walking into a giant Alaskan cave, only the ice was completely synthetic and the temperature was warm.

The curved-back chairs were the same white leather as the swivel stools lining the bar, but it seemed that they were the only, well, normal furnishings. The dome bar, the tables, the glasses, the sculptures, and even the walls themselves were all made of artificial ice.

The ceiling shimmered with the colors of the Alaskan Northern Lights – it was seriously beautiful to watch. The colors reflected off the walls, making the ice seem tinted at times. Also, there was some kind of light inside each of the tables, making the fake-frosted cubes glow.

In sum… “This place is fucking awesome.” Even her demon was impressed.

“Glad you like it,” said Knox as he led her past the crowded tables to the VIP area, where leather sofas lined the walls. As he’d anticipated, Jolene, Beck, and Harper’s co-workers were already there, drinks in hand. They all rose, grinning.

Jolene pulled Harper into a one-armed hug. “Hello, sweetheart. Relieved it’s over?”

“So relieved I could cry with joy,” said Harper honestly.

Jolene cackled. “Knox, always a pleasure.”

He nodded. “Jolene, good to see you.” After everyone exchanged greetings, Knox guided Harper to the corner of the eternally long sofa, where she’d be surrounded and out of reach. The sentinels joined them in lounging around the VIP area, but they also watched the crowd closely with shrewd eyes.

Harper glanced around. “Where’s Martina and Ciaran?”

“Martina’s working the crowd,” replied Jolene. Translation: she was pickpocketing. “And Ciaran’s chatting up some girl at the bar.”

At that moment, the server appeared, took Knox and Harper’s orders, and then left.

Raini stirred her cocktail as she spoke to Harper. “God, it’s been super weird not seeing you every day.”

Devon nodded. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but I genuinely didn’t expect to miss you this much.”

Harper snorted. “Thanks, I guess.”

Tanner grinned at Devon. “You’ve missed me too. Admit it.”

The hellcat sneered. “Or I could just punch you in the dick instead.”

“So you’ve been thinking about my dick, huh. Don’t worry; it thinks about you all the time.”

Devon turned to Harper, her hand gripping her highball glass tightly. “If you don’t end him, I will.”

Harper sighed tiredly. “Tanner, stop risking your life.” He ignored her, of course, and proceeded to sniff Devon’s hair.

“Come on, we need a picture,” Khloë announced. Keenan literally dashed out of the way, and the imp rolled her eyes. “Chill, Keenan, I just want one of us girls. Larkin, that includes you.”

The she-demons all grouped together and smiled while Khloë snapped a few photos. Raini and Devon then also did the same with their phones.

“I heard about the baby shower,” Larkin said to Khloë. “If Harper were talking about anyone but you, I’d have thought she was kidding when she said that you strapped diapers to your feet and tried skiing down Jolene’s hallway.”

Keenan shook his head in judgement. “She wasn’t kidding. I was there.” He’d been on bodyguard duty with Tanner.

Khloë glared at the incubus. “Don’t look at me like that. As you can see, I have a smartphone with a camera and I ain’t afraid to use it.”

The server neared them, holding the tray high as he weaved through the crowd. Finally reaching their table, he put two square coasters on the artificial ice table and then carefully placed down Harper’s water and Knox’s gin and tonic. Leaving the area, he almost bumped into Mila, who had a group of people with her that Harper didn’t recognize.

Levi only allowed Mila to pass, but the others didn’t appear to take offence.

“Knox, Harper, I just wanted to say congratulations in person.” Mila gave Harper a genuine but reserved smile. “It’s good to see that you’re well. And your hair looks so shiny and healthy.”

See, said Knox. Not everyone will have harsh things to say.

“My breasts went a lot bigger than yours when I was pregnant,” Mila continued. “There’s still time for yours to grow, though. But your backside does seem a little bigger, so at least there’s that.”

“Yeah, at least there’s that,” Harper said.

Told you this would happen.

Knox tactfully changed the subject and, before long, Mila and her guests were gone. Harper gave him a grateful smile. Over the next half hour, he had to do it several more times. It didn’t always work, however. Some people were totally undeterred, such as Raul’s girlfriend who rambled on and on about her friend’s pregnancy and then asked, “Can I touch your belly?”

“Depends if you’re willing to pay the fee,” said Harper, deadpan.

Her brow furrowed. “What?”

“Nothing.”

Raul covered his laugh with a cough. “It was great talking with you both. Hopefully we’ll do so again soon.”

Harper couldn’t bring herself to return the sentiment, which only seemed to amuse Raul more.

Devon shook her head in wonder once they’d left. “Some people can be so rude.”

Khloë snorted. “Says the person who keeps reaching out to stroke her baby bump.”

“Well, at least I pull my hand back.”

It was a good thing that she did, thought Harper, because her demon wouldn’t react well despite the fact that it trusted Devon to an extent. It was currently on edge and wanted to get out of the place, away from all the strangers around it. Soon, Harper assured it.

As the hours went on, more and more people approached to pass on their congratulations and ask after Harper’s welfare. Of course, they were also filled with questions – did she know the sex of the baby? Had they chosen any names? Wouldn’t it be funny if it turned out that Harper was carrying twins? No, actually, it wouldn’t be funny. Not at all.

Her demon tensed when Polly approached – it remembered her from the announcement, and it didn’t like how nosy she was.

Polly’s eyes widened. “Wow, your belly is big.”

Harper blinked. “This somehow surprises you?” Hello, pregnant.