Listen to the playlist "Lupercicallus" on Spotify for this chapter<3 if you can't find it, look up "Parilia" and you'll find it on the same account!

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After several hours spent in my bathtub, soaking in boiling hot water in an attempt to drown myself, I finally found the strength to get up and prepare for Cera's party. The water was still scorching in the tub, hot as it had been when it first came out- a courtesy of Belserra's magically heated water supply. I definitely abused this perk, my habit of taking extra-long baths wreaking havoc on the water supply—something that would definitely not be tolerated in a lesser boarding house. I didn't particularly care though, seeing that I gave it plenty of time to recover in my absence.

I stepped out of my large, circular tub, dripping water all over my marble flooring. A trail of little water droplets followed in my stead of wet footprints on the tile. The bathtub itself was situated in the middle of my large bathing chamber, sunken into the ground in the form of a makeshift pool. I enjoyed the extra space, reminding me of a Roman sauna or a hot springs Jacuzzi as I floated within it.

My bathroom was regal, consisting of deep emerald greens and blacks, looking like it belonged to gothic, serpentine palace besides a dorm bathroom. The lighting was dim and warm, courtesy of the gold sunstone torches and the various candles scattered through the chamber, setting a shadowy overcast to all corners. Everything was delightfully tenebrous, making this my favorite place in the entire castle.

I sauntered past of the tub, shuddering as the cold tile assaulted my sensitive feet. With a snap of my fingers, a fluffy robe had apparated onto my body, a head band with a bow pushing my hair back from my face. Using my nimble fingers to untangled knots, I began combing out my hair. As I used magic to dry it, I dutifully ignored the girl staring back at me from the looking glass. I ignored the way her bones jut out from under her diaphanous skin, my eyes skittering away from meeting her gaze. Whether it be disgust or contempt, I couldn't look at her.

My eyes were shadowed and sunken in, the dark circles under them looking particularly defined. Strangely enough, my eyes were also unnaturally glassy, and I couldn't put my finger on how they simultaneously managed to look both dry and shiny. Maybe it was my skin from me sitting in the shadow realm for so long. Serves me right, for wasting all my magic to sit there and sulk.

My cheekbones were particularly sharp and had deep shadows underneath them. The harsh edges made my body seem more skeletal than usual, from the poke of my hipbones to the zebra-stripes of shadow on my chest. I pushed my hair to the side, observing the choker of white scars on my neck. They crisscrossed over each other like lightning strikes, with the consistency of melted wax. They were faded, of course, but they were still disgustingly present. Sometimes I had to refrain from the urge of scratching them off with my sharp nails. It was irrational, but there was always that urge to scrub my skin spotless of the mangled sight. It tarnished my clean skin.

I sighed, dropping my curtain of wet hair over my shoulders. Out of sight, out of mind. That's why Cera made us matching collars for our costumes. I knew she added them purposefully, but I couldn't help but be annoyed with Cera's consideration. It was a ridiculous thing: white with frills and ruffles, and a huge, silver bell hanging off it, but it hid the scars. I had slashed out the ball inside of it instantaneously, not being able to stand the ringing.

I slipped out of my robe and into the frilled costume, prickling as the cold air assaulted my skin. It was conveniently laid out on my bathroom dresser, and I scowled at how she managed to slip it in unnoticed. I kept warning her to stay out with her enchantments, lest Beastly be out and maw her to death, but she continued to defy me. Yes, she hadn't been in my mind since the whole scarves mishap, despite the mystery of of my recently-turned, eventful life practically eating at her alive, but she still found ways to be unbearably snoopy. Ibet was the only one who respected boundaries.

I sauntered into my room with a sigh. Beastly was out again, playing fetch with my shadows. They were bouncing around the room, keeping him entertained as he sprinted after them aimlessly and crashed into furniture. Beastly bolted at me when I came out, flopping onto his back and exposing his stomach to me. I didn't fall for the trick of course, refusing to rub his belly. He did this often, making him seem innocent and harmless as he revealed his weak spot, but then nipping at your hands when you tried to pet his stomach. I pat his head instead, and made my way to armoire. Sir Beastly didn't follow, knowing very well where I kept his silver-chained leash. Instead, he went after my shadows again.

I eyed the multi-colored vials Cera left me on the dark, mahogany surface. I scowled at the fact that she didn't use a coaster for the damn things. The surface was mahogany, for Gods sake. She had no respect. Shuddering, I quickly downed the shot of the metamorphosis vial. My body shook as artificial features sprouted from my body, attempting to deny the foreign magic from my system. I tingled all over, momentarily nauseous, but denied my body it's instinctual reaction to hurl it out. Straggler tears slipped past my lashes, my eyes watering at their sudden change. My eyes felt cold. Everything about me felt cold. I wanted to go back into the bath.

I didn't of course, instead observing myself in my sterling looking glass, as I slid on the ivory slip-dress I had bought in MNYC with Ibet. The dress wasn't part of the agreement but I refused to go down without a fight. Before I could loose my resolve, I quietly stepped into the shadows and emerged in Cesarie's room.

My new eyes strained to adjust to the brightness of Cera's room, hypersensitive to the light. Though I despised her for it, it was impressive that she managed to make a transfiguration potion that actually gave me the senses of the intended being. I had originally assumed that it would just be for aesthetics, but here she went and gave us the real abilities of a predator. Now I had significantly better vision. The blaring crimsons and vibrance of her room were a travesty on my sensitive eyes.

"That is not apart of our costumes!" Cera exclaimed, making her presence known as she stepped out of her closet. She was a sight to behold, and by the glint in her golden, slitted eyes, she knew it all too well.

She was wearing a black, leather body suit, fishnet tights, a black collar, with artificial cat ears and a tail magicked onto her body. She was the epitome of a sexy cat, especially with the feline eyes that she enchanted us. My costume was an exact replica of hers: a white, lingerie body-suit, my cleavage spilling over the top, white cat ears and tail enchanted onto my body, and my silver eyes slitted. I shifted so that the tail might cover my exposed behind, but the lifelike thing kept swishing back and forth like a real cat's.

"It's white and it's lingerie. It fits the theme" I defended my outfit. The cream slip fit perfectly, silk and lacy. The only issue was that the corset looked bumpy under the dress, especially with the stupid garter, that Cera insisted upon us wearing, peaking out from under my hem. I had yet to murder her for it.

"Yes but the whole point of our costume was for us to MATCH. That was the deal. Your potion and your ring for you to match with me"

"I am! I am matching" I exclaimed, gesturing to the outrageous white ears and tail on my body.

"Take it off. Im not going to walk into the party looking like a baby prostitute on my own" She stormed up to me, looking ready to murder me with the blue, plastic hairbrush in her hand.

"You've been doing it your whole life without a single reservation, so don't let me stop you now- OW" I outraged, snatching my hand away as Cera thunked it with her hair brush. I had been fidgeting with the damp hair in my face. Apparently that wasn't allowed either.

"Sit down" she demanded, and I complied, cradling my poor, bruised hand. And my bruised ego. The blue hairbrush was quite a deadly weapon. Cera began tugging at my straight hair, brushing through it to wrangle it into some semblance of an attempted hairstyle.

She tugged strands back harsher than needed, weaving them into intricate braids and designs. I heard sizzling behind me as she used magic to air dry my hair. I was only partially worried that she'd light it on fire.

"You agreed to match with me" Cera said from behind me.

"I am matching" I repeated, but cut myself off as she yanked a strand.

"You promised" she repeated. I wanted to scowl at her that I did not, that I never make promises. I made a deal. A trade. A transaction. But I kept my mouth shut, having a particular fondness of having hair on my head. After a few moments, she released my hair, before aggressively handing me a mirror.

I observed through the mirror as she ran hands over my dry face, swiping against my eyelids and weaving her glamours into my complexion. When she was done, she retracted her spindly, pale hands, and I was left to observe her masterful artwork.

My white hair was curled and braided over my ears to hide them, gathering up into a large bun at the back of my head. With my real ears curtained behind my braided hair, the cat ears atop my head seemed hyper realistic. Lace ruffled the edges of the white body suit, and Cera went even as far as to do us both cat-eye eyeliner. The white, ruffled choker rested on my neck, a large, silver bell resting under neath it. Cera's bell was golden, matching her eyes and complimenting her black outfit. We really did look amazing, Cera's costume going above and beyond. Her glamours even brought a glow into my skin, and made my eyes look larger and more vivacious than usual.

"You promised" Cera repeated herself, and I emitted a sigh, seeing all the careful detailing that went into her costume. She put a lot of effort into it. My word meant close to nothing, really. I lied, and often went back on my word. But not with her.

"Fine" I hissed at her and her irresistible puppy dog eyes. Or cat eyes. Whatever.

I stripped the silk slip, lifting it up and off my shoulders before strewing it on a beanbag in Cera's room. My body instantly chilled, goosebumps rising on my naked skin. I wrapped my arms around my waist, feeling exposed and vulnerable. It was as though I was in the middle of a crowd, the center of the attention of all the people, with nowhere to hide and no where to run, each action scrutinized and picked apart to its truth. I couldn't bear the full weight of their gaze, afraid that they would see right through me if they stared a little too long.

And so I was angry. Irrevocably angry. I snarled at Cera, "You owe me for this"

As if expecting the reaction, she planted a kiss on my head, weaving her hand in mine and tugging me close. My resolve strengthened a bit with her glued to my side. With a powerful drakaeri, who could shatter and reconstruct minds with a blink of an eye, my uncertainty about truth diminished slightly. What did it matter if they saw through my truth, If I could change the entire definition of truth upon my will?

I could partially understand why she was so intent on us doing this together as a united front, though I could hardly understand what she needed my reassurance for. I offered nothing. Except for my bad attitude and raging mental illness.

"Let's go" I sighed at her, already tired of the night, before tugging us through the shadows, into one I found in our catacombs. We popped out from a corner, outside the main doors, and Cera took a second to stabilize herself, her regal face paling considerably. My shadow travel always did affect others horribly, but Cera took it considerably better than Paris and Ibet. We were outside the double doors of some abandoned room, most likely having been the living corners of some staff member a hundred years back. I could tell by the dust-covered, golden plaque outside the room, the inscription long since faded. We stopped using the catacombs centuries ago, when the Ghoulies began rising up and haunting some of the halls, so I wondered what gave Cera the bright idea to host her party down here. Considering the holiday and the mélange of magical substances she purchased for the party, it was a recipe for disaster.

I walked in with Cera, the music so loud that I could hear it inside my pulse. Instantly, my sensitive eyes were assaulted with neon shades of pink, red and purple that washed over the entire room, partially blinding me. The spacious room reeked of alcohol, body sweat, and sweet magic, making me scrunch my nose up in disgust. Cera held my hand excitedly, looking absolutely stunning in her bodysuit. Her golden eyes glowed, the cornea slitted and looking very feline.

People glanced at us as we weaved through the crowd, though I could tell they were trying to be subtle. By the flushed glow on Cera's face, I could tell that the reactions were...more than enthusiastic. Oh for the love of the Gods- they were all attired in costumes similar to ours—some variety of lingerie with animal ears, skin revealed for miles. I was going to kill Cera. When Ibet told me that Cera was advertising it as a lingerie party, I thought she was joking. The fact that I couldn't sew a shirt with the total amount of clothing in the room, made me realize she was entirely serious. Mother help me tonight. My only relief was that Paris wasn't here.

The room used to be some kind of common room, by the tell of the other doors leading out of the circular room. Most of them were blocked by the love seats and sofas that were pushed to the walls, done to make room for dancing. There were several tables practically spilling over with vibrantly dyed foods and drinks, and one full table with misty cauldrons and rainbow vials. Cera was absolutely mad for providing free, magical drugs. She most definitely manufactured them herself, in her dorm room, and was testing them out on living subjects. She was absolutely mad.

All the seating arrangements faced one platform, a long sofa sitting on it, draped in a red garment and looking straight out of some dungeon. Of course Cera had set it up for us. What else would you expect from her, than to play at holding court all night.

Ibet was already sat there, domineering the space with her divine presence. Her headscarf was gossamer and shimmery, pointed peaks poking out from under the hood of her azure cloak. She was not reading, but I knew better than to trust that she came here without any source of entertainment.

Turned to her side, Ibet was enthusiastically chatting to an Animist Witch from my thaumodynamics class. Fei Lin and Ibet shared many courses, seeing that Animists and Archivists often majored in the same working fields, so they were familiar with each other. Historians, archeologists, magical item manufacturers, and sometimes even detectives—though I feel reliving the memories of a murder weapon, would be particularly uncomfortable for Animists—were all fields they specialized in. Not to mention that both girls were reserved and quiet in nature, so no wonder they were friends.

Clairmont and Cesarie though, they had a particular grudge against the animists and disdained Ibet's association with them. I had no idea why they were contemptuous of the them. They were the ones who insulted the animists first, by telling them their magic was useless. They held this belief because drakaeri's could also read the thoughts of sentient items. Of course damenti's couldn't bring any items to life like animists, and could only read the current thoughts of the objects, whereas animists could read every thought it had since it was created, but that didn't stop the demon twins from slandering their practice. And now they were mad at them for it. Delightful.

Gripping Cera's hand, holding her down in case she decided to act out, I marched over to them.

"Hi, Ibet" I told her with a small smile. She grabbed my hand in greeting and I was instantly jolted with a sense of reassurance and warmth. 

I turned to Fei Lin, and politely said,  "Hello, Fei Lin". 

She had a mechanical up key in her back, spinning automatically. She was supposed to be a wind-up doll, and used her magic to keep the lever spinning. It was quite clever. By the glint in her eyes, I could tell she felt the same about my real ears and swishing tail.

"Hello, Eulalia. It's nice to see you" she said kindly, narrowing her eyes at Cera, "It's not nice to see you, jì nǚ"

I sucked in a breath. There goes civility. Fei just called Cera a hooker. Wonderful. Cera spewed a violent stream of Mandarin back at Fei Lin, too fast for my unpracticed ears to catch. I was not that advanced in the language. When Cera took a step forward, I quickly grabbed her arms and steered her back around, before she decided that emotional wounds wouldn't suffice in the place of physical wounds.

"Let's not" I told her, attempting to reason with her, "It's Io's day. The day of love. Not the day of fighting"

"Which is exactly why I haven't clawed her eyes out yet" she retorted, looking back. I quickly steered her towards the long refreshments table at the other side of the room.

I wove our way to the refreshments table, looking between the various, brightly dyed punch drinks. I settled on a blood-red one, reeking of fruit punch and strong alcohol. With one gulp, I downed the entire thing, cringing at the burn down my throat. I needed more of this to last through the night.

My lips stained red from the liquid, and I shot Cera a feral look, flashing my canines. My elongated fangs were about the only good thing about the night. She flashed a smile back, though her lips were a bright blue. I cringed at the sight, realizing she took more than plain alcohol. Magical intoxicators always made me feel a bit nervous, especially when it was my friends under their influence.

We made our ways back to the platform, having spotted Clair already. His costume was nothing particularly astounding, like Cera's was. He had a skull painted onto his face, and was wearing black on black, half his chest revealed under his partially buttoned shirt. Ibet was sitting up there too, though Fei had thankfully gone.

I planted myself between them, practically sprawling myself over Ibet. A hum of warmth spread into my exposed skin. Though Ibet's specialty was archiving, she came from a long line of healers. The Abbasid Clan had practically founded Baghdad, the capital of medicinal healing. It was in her blood. Every time I came into contact with her, I instantly felt better.

"I can't believe she actually managed to wrangle you into it" She laughed at me, shouting over the music. Her rich, husky laugh was a regal sound,  and brought a smile to my own face.  Ibet's head fell back, a chocolate curl tumbling out from under her shimmery scarf.

"I can't believe she got you to come here without a book" I pointed out. Ibet winked one of her green eyes at me, before tucking the stray strand of hair behind her ear. By doing so, she revealed a flash of white in her ear. I gasped. She head headphones in.

"No fair! You cheated! I had to actually wear the costume!" I outraged, pointing an accusatory finger at her.

"And I sincerely thank you for that. You won me good lot of gold from Clair" She laughed again, and my jaw fell open, "And I technically didn't cheat. Cera said I couldn't read books tonight, but she didn't say I couldn't listen to them"

I gaped at her. Not only did she cheat and break Cera's rule, but she also betted on me with Clair. How was it fair that she was always ten steps ahead of everyone. It was not fair that she was the most intellectually gifted out of all of us.  The stream of warmth from her body increased, and a low hum of pleasure vibrated throughout my bones. It was entirely intentional, as Ibet hugged me tighter to make me feel better about being swindled.

And then my comfort was rudely interrupted, as a pair of large hands plucked me from Ibet's lap. I snapped my eyes wide open, and I smacked Clairmont for interrupting me. He placed me into his own lap, his large hands wrapping around the entirety of my waist. I twisted around to glare at him.

"You promised to be my date for tonight" He proclaimed and I smacked him upside the head, but made no efforts to move. Ibet snorted at the sight, laughing at my twisted expression.

"I did no such thing" I seethed.

"Well you promised Cesarie that you would wear her little costume. What about me, hm? What do I get?" he pointed out, pouting like a child. I narrowed my eyes at him.

"Cesarie and I made a deal. A transaction. I made no deal with you about anything. I did not agree to be your date tonight, because I need nothing from you" I said bluntly, arching a pale eyebrow at him. Noise was growing in the hall, more rowdy people joining the party. It was already sweltering hot in here, the air flow being restricted this far down. I prayed to Nyx that Cesarie had thought this out, before inviting half the continent to this party. Last thing I needed was for her to start a stampede down here.

"Of course" He said tightly, "What did she offer you?" He asked me, a bit too transparently. My eyes narrowed further. Ah. So this was what this was about. Sensing the change in my demeanor, he looked to the side and took a draw from his magical, anthousai hookah. He inhaled deeply, before letting out a large cloud of white, shimmery smoke. I was faintly aware of some sultry song blasting through the speakers, the noise near deafening. This entire night was overwhelming my senses in every aspect.

"She offered me nothing, Clair" I sighed at him, "I chose her for her knowledge in potions. Not because of her power"

I didn't miss the way his body sunk a little bit, him visibly exhaling in relief. He assumed that I had chosen Cesarie because she was the more powerful twin, and we were purposefully keeping this from him because of it. I wasn't a drakaeri, but I could understand his paranoia. We weren't kids anymore. Soon would come the time where he was slowly replaced by Cera. We were nearly adults, and Cera and her abilities would be prioritized more and more while he was left to fade away in the background. He assumed this was the first step in him being phased out; his other half keeping secrets from him, with his closest friends choosing his twin over him. I couldn't help but feel pity for him.

"Why didn't she tell me then?" He asked, his golden eyes crinkling with confusion. Still, the pure gold of them was overwhelming. They held no depth, no texture, just plain, smooth, lifeless gold. It was what so unnerving about them. I leaned forward, as if to tell him a secret. Shouts erupted from the front of the room.

"Because I didn't want her to" I whispered in his ear, and watched hurt flash across his features. He turned to the side again, and minuscule fragments of guilt prickled at my insides at the act of betrayal. He pulled up the hookah mouthpiece again, his sharp jaw flexing. He wouldn't look at me—he refused to see the sincerity in my expression. I hadn't done it to trick him or purposefully exclude him. It was done out of pure necessity.

I plucked the hookah from his lips, yanking his face back with my other hand. I forced him to look at me, my sharp nails gripping his defined jaw. Keeping eye contact, I brought the hookah to my mouth and inhaled deeply. I waited for the smoke to hit my lungs, and shuddered as the tingles hit my solar plexus. They ran through my body, pinpricks of pleasure fizzling through my blood stream. When I opened my eyes, slightly shivering, I found Clair watching with his mouth partially agape. Seeing the opportunity, I leaned down, before exhaling the smoke into his open mouth. My lips barely brushed against his, the swirls of smoke dancing against them.

I hovered there for a moment, my eyes closed and enjoying the high. My body was twisted towards him as I sat on his thigh. His hands on my waist were the only thing holding me in place as he man spread. I would have toppled off ages ago if it wasn't for his tight grip. We locked eyes and I softened my expression, making him see the honesty in my eyes.

I could tell the sincerity registered, especially with the gift I had just given him just now. All of the desperate girls and one-night-stands, motivated by the effects of the love goddess, would get a clear message to stay away from him tonight, me obviously having claim on him. That's why he wanted me as his date, after all; so all the castaway girls would stay away tonight and let him hook up with who he pleased. I guess I was wrong about me being ultimately useless; The fear I instilled in people, making them repulsed by me, was forever appreciated by the twins.

I leaned back, noting that the song had changed into something darker, and more sultry than the last. Cera was really outdoing herself with these songs, really managing to turn this place into some kind of planned orgy. The shimmery smoke around us cleared, thinning out and bringing us back to awareness of the party. I sat up and finally broke my intense eye contact with Clair. And as the smoke around us cleared like a lifting curtain, I was greeted with a pair of all too familiar green eyes, staring right at me from the crowd.  Paris stared up at me, and—for the millionth time—I genuinely wished I were dead...

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