Lilith Blackwood stood frozen for a full three seconds, a complex mixture of shock and profound irritation on her face as she watched her sister get dragged away by a surprisingly ferocious Seraphina Vesper. She was left on a balcony with a small, silent child staring up at her expectantly.
Iris tugged on the hem of her expensive silk dress. "Auntie, where is mom and Auntie Kae going?"
Lilith looked down, her mind racing. "Ah," she said, her voice the epitome of detached composure. "They just needed to talk, I think. Little girl, why not hang out with me instead?" She offered a hand, an unfamiliar and slightly awkward gesture for her.
Iris's face lit up, and she took the offered hand without hesitation. "Really? I guess that's why you and Auntie Kae are sisters. You're nice too!"
Lilith blinked, completely unprepared for the compliment. Resigned to her fate, she allowed the child to lead her back into the gala. After a disastrous run in with a slice of cake that left a smear of blue frosting on her sleeve, Iris remembered the arcade on the yacht. Lilith, finding the idea of an arcade marginally less excruciating than more party small talk, agreed.
They made their way back to the now much quieter yacht. In the small, flashy arcade, Iris was immediately invited by other kids to play a racing game. Lilith gave her reluctant permission. "Fine. But you are not to leave my sight, understood?"
She stood off to the side, leaning against a wall, a lonely, elegant predator in a room full of cheerful, flashing lights. She was so out of her element it was almost comical. It was then that a voice, laced with alcohol and old hurts, spoke from beside her.
"Lilith Blackwood at a party. I never thought I'd see the day. Hiding in the children's section? How fitting."
It was Valeria Ironwood. Her perfect composure was slightly frayed, her movements a little too sharp, and her scent heavy with champagne.
Lilith just nodded, her jaw tightening. "Valeria."
"Oh, a full word. I'm honored," Valeria said with a bitter laugh. She took a step closer, her voice dropping to a low, dangerous murmur that was meant only for Lilith. "Is that really how you greet your old lover?"
The words were a physical blow. Lilith flinched, her eyes darting around the arcade to see if anyone had heard. "I have no time to talk about this," she said, her voice a low, strained whisper.
"Of course, of course. The same as usual. The avoidant Miss Blackwood," Valeria scoffed, her own voice beginning to tremble with a pain she could no longer contain. "What do you mean, you have no time? You had no time when you ghosted me, either. No explanation. You just… vanished. I called you. I left messages. I even went to your apartment, and you had the doorman tell me you weren't there. After everything we were… after I held you while you cried over your mother's death… you just disappeared from my life."
"That relationship was wrong," Lilith said, the words sounding hollow even to her own ears. She couldn't meet Valeria's gaze. "We were both Alphas."
"Wrong?" Valeria's voice cracked with disbelief and a sudden, righteous anger. "It was the only thing that felt right in my entire life! Don't you dare hide behind some archaic social convention. It didn't feel wrong when you were courting me, when you were whispering promises in my ear in this very city. You're not just a jerk, Lilith. You're a coward."
"Are you drunk? Why are you acting like this?" Lilith shot back, the accusation a desperate attempt to regain control.
"There you go again, acting like you care! So what if I'm drunk?" Valeria's words were a torrent of frustrated misery. "It's been a fantastic night for the Ironwood ego. I came here to make a move on a woman who is clearly still in love with your sister, a woman who looked right through me even though I look so pretty in this dress! And the grand prize at the end of the night? I get to be brushed off by you, too!"
A flicker of something pity, regret, a ghost of old affection crossed Lilith's face. Her voice was barely a whisper. "You look beautiful, though."
The quiet, honest admission was worse than any insult. It was the crack in her armor that broke Valeria completely. "Don't," she sobbed, her voice suddenly fragile. "Don't you dare." She took a staggering step back. "You know what? I've had enough of you."
A voice came over the yacht's intercom system: "The fireworks display will start in five minutes."
The announcement broke the spell. Valeria ran off, disappearing down a corridor, leaving Lilith standing there, emotionally flayed, the ghosts of their past screaming in the sudden silence.
It was only then that she remembered.
Lilith realized she had taken her eyes off Iris. Her head whipped around to the racing game. The seat was empty. A cold, absolute dread seized her. She was looking for Iris, her eyes scanning the small arcade, her heart beginning to hammer against her ribs. She was about to call her name when a sudden BANG ripped through the ship. It was not a firework. It was a deafening explosion. The entire yacht had shaken, lurching violently to one side, sending people and arcade machines sliding.
Screams erupted. Lilith realized something was going on. Smoke, thick and acrid, was beginning to pour from a lower deck. She fought against the rising panic, against the chaotic throng of people scrambling for the exits. She tried and tried to look for Iris, with no avail. Her name was a desperate, choked scream on Lilith's lips. The ship is already smoking... But there was no sign of the little girl in the Blue dress. She was gone.