Disguised

The driver parked the car rental in the underground entranceway, where a large garage of beautiful luxurious cars was still on display. Helios smirked, watching the driver stare in awe at the impressive stock before finally shaking himself out of his stupor to finish unloading their bags.

Dimitri's butler was strangely nowhere to be seen. Helios knew Kingsley Wright and he was not a vampire that slouched on his duty. A knot of anxiety was building within him. It was like a sixth sense that screamed something was absolutely wrong.

Derrick took care of the driver by tipping him and sending him on his way. Helios continued to wait, accessing the surroundings. Everything was eerily off. Even if there was lax security now that the villa wasn't being used as much, this emptiness was rare. They would be greeted by someone by now.

"Too quiet," Derrick muttered, eyeing the ornate glass doors.

Helios only nodded his head in agreement, but he cautiously moved towards the doors. They left their bags outside as they carefully made it through the front doors only to hear a scream that rattled his bones and struck the very heart of him. Helios stealthily rushed across the floor. His footsteps didn't even echo or make a sound as he moved. He had made it to the kitchen and outside on the solarium.

The exact replica of Persephone Cristos was before him being manhandled by some guy wearing all dark clothing. For such a graceful lady with long limbs, he watched the dark goddess of a vampire move as she shifted, blocking the fool and ducking beneath him. Her body fell through the v of his legs and she quickly whirled about to face both Derrick and him. The moment her eyes met his, his heart jerked as if something clicked into place. In his mind, he saw silver eyes peering into his and caramel locks framing her face.

Persephone's eyes presently in front of him sharpened as if she was considering him a foe. Helios raised an eyebrow, but she quickly shuttered off her emotions. He smirked at her before he sent a dagger towards her. Enjoying the moment of sheer panic before the dagger whipped by her head, his eyes didn't even leave her until the vampire behind her stiffened. His eyes darted to the dagger embedded in the middle of his forehead.

Persephone scowled, glancing behind her. She realized the dagger was in her attacker's forehead. Helios watched her take the dagger and run the blade across her attacker's throat before she flung it back at Helios. He didn't flinch. In fact, he caught the dagger by the hilt, causing the dark haired goddess to fume.

"We're all on the same team," Derrick reminded the both of them.

Persephone raised an eyebrow. "That's a bit questionable."

Helios only smirked. "You seemed like you craved a bit of danger," he chuckled with a shrug of his shoulders. "Live life on the wild side."

"Wild side?" she growled. "I live life in the shadows and darkness."

"That can be wild too," he countered, watching her bristle with anger. "Pity. More ladies with fire should exist."

"Unlucky for you," she hissed, throwing something at him yet again that he once again caught perfectly. The image of Persephone melted away to the beauty he knew was beneath the facade. "I'm all ice."

She eyed Derrick, who put his hands up in mock surrender. She rolled her eyes and stormed off, but not before fixing Helios with a frosty glare before she disappeared. Fae vampire hybrids were interesting combination. Faes had delicate graceful elegance about them compared to vampires who had a dangerous predatory finesse. Hybrids had both.

"Lucky me," he muttered with a smirk on his face. He glanced over at Derrick, who was wearing an incredulous look upon his face now, and he shrugged at his friend's expression. "Ah, well, can't charm them all."

Derrick chuckled. "You did send a dagger in her direction."

"A well aimed one."

"Well aimed or not, Aurora wasn't impressed," Derrick stated the obvious with his characteristic smirk.

Helios just shrugged. "Good first impressions are overrated and boring." Derrick shook his head in amusement at his antics. "We should probably discover the whereabouts of the butler while we let the little witch simmer down."

Helios glanced down at the ring Aurora had thrown at him. He quickly put it on. With this ring, he could see her and her entire coven. He smirked when he watched the ring sink into skin and a tattoo of a crescent moon appeared in its place. Impressive. Very impressive indeed.

~

The townhouse owned by none other than Lord Orion Cristos of the High House of Cristos went up in flames last night! Both Lord Orion and his new mate, Lady Caramia Valient, were reported home at the time of the incident, but no traces of their bodies were found. Both are currently missing...

Persephone stopped listening to the blond fae chatter on about vampire news as if she truly understood the severity of the attack. Her eyes had took in the wildfire that overtook her brother's townhouse and her heart shattered. Had the High House of Camberia attacked Orion and Caramia out of revenge?

Tears filled her eyes as she continued to watch the dancing flames before the news moved to another topic. They hadn't found their bodies. Were they kidnapped? Did the High House of Camberia truly just kidnap them? Were they punishing them for what she did?

Tears escaped, flowing over her cheeks. Quickly, she brushed at them with her hands. How could she have let this happen? First, learning that Derrick had been black marked and disowned by the High House of Camberia then this. She knew they had to be linked.

"That's insane," Delia said as she and Quincy clattered about in the shared kitchen. "Someone as high up in status as Lord Orion Cristos and Derrick being targeted like that."

Persephone swallowed, quickly making herself presentable. To the girls and most of the world, they didn't know how closely this impacted her. She took a deep breath and walked out of her bedroom into the kitchen to hear Quincy respond.

"It makes me nervous," she said, glancing over at Persephone. "You heard, right? Someone torched Lord Orion Cristos of the High House of Cristos's townhouse last night. Isn't he supposed to be untouchable?"

Persephone nodded. "So is Derrick."

"Exactly!" Quincy exclaimed. "Girls, we need to be super careful. I know Derrick would never let anything happen to us."

"But what if he can't prevent it?" Delia's voice was soft, but they both heard her.

"Exactly again," Quincy agreed, pointing her spoon at Delia before continuing to eat her bowl of cereal.

Persephone nodded in agreement. It made her feel better and sane that she wasn't the only one that had her hackles up. With the current landscape, events had made everyone wary. She had seen the breaking news that Derrick had been black marked while she was on the train.

In the last couple days since arriving, she was incredibly grateful for being accepted into her roommates' circle of cozy acceptance and friendship. Both ladies were like her with hidden back stories and had their new identities on full display. It was a general rule to never discuss one's previous life. It felt good to be surrounded by people who understood your predicament without understanding the underlying reasons.

"First day of work?" Delia asked, drawing Persephone out of her thoughts.

Persephone nodded. "Hope I don't fail."

"It sucks," Quincy chuckled with a shrug of her shoulders. "Oh, wait! You got the coffeehouse gig. That's not so bad! They set up the both of us with being a hotel maid." She winked at Persephone. "Talk about meeting people of different walks of life."

She grinned at that, knowing how society can be. "You stole from the rich?"

Quincy shrugged and Delia's eyes widened in shock. "I'm like Robinhood," she muttered. Delia rolled her eyes, causing Persephone to laugh. "What? Take from the rich. Give to the poor."

"You're not giving to the poor," Delia chuckled, still shaking her head in disbelief.

"The hell I'm not! I'm flat broke!" Quincy argued. Persephone bit her lip to keep from laughing again. "Opal, c'mon!" the redhead gasped, flailing her arms. "Tell her it's all fair in finder keepers, losers weepers."

Persephone couldn't help the laugh that escaped and neither could Delia. Quincy rolled her eyes at them. This felt good. She needed the laugh, the humor, and the camaraderie. She never was fortunate to have this when she was known as Persephone Cristos, but as Opal Covington, she had the makings of a lasting friendship. The only person that could've come close was Caramia and she had hoped they would've grown close if it hadn't been for the drastic measures she just took.

"Good luck," Delia chucked. "First days are always nerve-wracking."

Quincy shrugged. "Flash your boobs. Get more tips."

"It's a coffee house not a strip club, Quincy," Delia clapped back and Persephone smirked when Quincy pointed to her shirt and motioned for her unbutton her top to show some cleavage. "I'm sure it'll be fine. You leaving soon?"

Persephone glanced at her phone and nodded. "Right now actually."

"Tell us all about your first day when you get back," Delia said with a bright smile.

Quincy nodded. "I'm sure you'd get some nice tips if you offered some generous services--"

"Don't mind her," Delia chuckled. "See you when you get back."

Quincy just winked and Persephone couldn't help but smile as she headed off. For once, she was glad she had a place to come back to that didn't make her feel invisible. Living primarily with Reginald and partially but rarely at her father's townhouse, she was accustomed to being by herself save for the servants. It was a whole different type of feeling to come back feeling wanted.

Before Caleb broke up with her, it had been different. She lived at her father's townhouse. Her father and her brother would come and go, but she loved when they were both around. She stayed at Caleb's townhouse most of the time. She felt loved and wanted then. She missed that time in her life.

"Opal!"

She stopped in the hallway of their apartment complex and turned to see Delia running towards her. The pretty raven haired lady stopped in front of her and she put out her hand. Her fingers uncurled to reveal a pretty gemstone.

"Squeeze this when you're feeling nervous," Delia told her. She placed the gemstone in Persephone's hand. "You know, helps with your nerves."

"Thanks," Persephone said, glancing at the gemstone.

Delia smiled. "See you when you get back. I want to hear all about it."

Persephone nodded and Delia rushed back through the hallway to the apartment they shared. She peeked down at the gemstone and smiled, squeezing the trinket into her hand before pocketing it.