"Professor Lucious is one of them, right?" I ask lightly. "And then there's Isabella's father, Gelar, and..." I let my voice trail off, and Cad thankfully takes the bait as he points to a gaudily-dressed individual holding court in one of the VIP balconies. The man has a drink in each hand as well as scantily-clad women fawning all over him. My first guess is he's a gigolo for hire, but to my surprise Cad tells me the man is one of the two other Heads of State I've yet to hear of.
"Plutarch," Cad shares, "was only elected three years ago. He's the youngest among the four HoS—-"
"Hoes?" Isn't that slang for whores?
"H O S," Cad spells out with a chuckle. "Short for Heads of State."
"I...see." I'm distracted by the sight of Plutarch, who looks even more like a gigolo now with the way he's dancing and making the other women kiss his booty (literally).
"Not the kind of HoS you'd envision, huh?"
I only shrug, thinking the less I said, the less trouble I can potentially get into, and change the subject instead, asking, "Who's the last Head of State?"
"Ayesha," Cad answers promptly. "She's in her late forties, a quasi, and she used to be really fun, but..." Cad looks around as if making sure no one was eavesdropping before continuing in a slightly lowered voice, "Her husband was a Head of State for another order. There's been talk that his order had him assassinated because he had too much power, with Ayesha being another HoS."
The words are sobering, and it's finally dawning on me that there's a genuine possibility one of Eros' Heads of State could have been the one pulling the strings behind all of Cen's crimes.
"...same with the professor and Isabella."
The last part of Cad's sentence catches my attention, and I turn back to him with an apologetic smile. "Sorry, what was that again about the professor?" Cad gives me an odd look, and my brows furrow. "What?"
Zodiac returns with our drinks before Cad can answer, and as the bartender serves me my mocktail, I belatedly notice how Cad and I have become the center of attention in the past ten minutes. I wish I'm exaggerating here, but everyone in the club really does seem to be looking our way every so often, and when I consider just how many of them there are...
Curiosity makes me ask Cad if all of these people are truly members of Sub Rosa, and he appears startled that I've even asked the question.
"You can't trespass on Order-exclusive parties. It's simply not possible."
"But there's at least...I dunno, two hundred here? Are you saying all of them—-"
"Not everyone here is still studying in Rosethorne obviously," Cad clarifies with a roll of his eyes. "But it's not like your membership with the Order expires just because you've cleared high school."
The words make sense, and I can only grimace at the realization that I've overlooked such a possibility.
"Are you uncomfortable about all the attention?"
"I'm not new to being stared at," I answer after a moment, and it's Cad's turn to grimace.
"Shit. Sorry. I forgot about that part of your life."
"But," I can't help qualifying, "it's knowing why people are staring at me now that I still need to get used to."
Cad eyes me thoughtfully over his can of beer. "They can't help it, you know. You are the first woman our god has chosen to claim."
I know Cad's expecting me to react to his teasing, but it's hard. I may be the first, but with the way things are now...
Cad's grin fades a little at my silence. "Don't tell me the rumors—-" He breaks off abruptly, but it's already too late.
"What kind of rumors?"
"It's nothing—-"
"Tell me all the same," I say flatly.
"There's been talk," he reveals reluctantly, "about how you might have already lost our god's favor, since he's only spoken to us once about you, but..." Cad suddenly speaks a little loudly, saying, "None of the rumors are obviously true, right?"
"Uh..."
Cad's eyes light up out of the blue, and it kinda reminds me of how my own roommate looks just before she gets us into trouble.
This is not good—-
"I have an idea!"
Now, where have I heard that before?
"I know how to put an end to all of the rumors," Cad declares, and the eager excitement I hear in his voice is so like Nia as well I can only bite back a groan. This is so not good, dammit, and alarm bells start ringing inside my head when Cad snatches the margarita glass out of my hand.
Shit!
My gaze flies anxiously to Zodiac when Cad starts chanting while drawing air circles with my glass. I'm hoping this is not what I think it is, but the wry look on the bartender's face tells me it's exactly what I fear: Cad is drunk-casting, and before I can lunge forward to pull his arms down, it's already too late—-