Surprise!, Part 4

Liesa found Andy at the edge of the dance floor, breathless from a three-way hug with Chloe and Riley, and wordlessly caught his hand in hers. She didn’t tug so much as direct, her fingers interlaced, her steps as deliberate as if she were leading him into a waltz. They glided through the party’s tangle—past Dawn, sprawled on a loveseat in Chloe’s lap; past Norah and Tracy, mid-argument over the finer points of competitive flirting; past Harper and Dinah, the latter looking like she was preparing for either a debate or a duel.

Liesa barely broke stride as they reached the double doors. “There are more,” she said, not looking at him, her accent making the words sound like a warning and a gift at once. “You should be first.”

Andy nodded, letting her steer. He was still reeling from the aftershock of the last round of arrivals, but there was an energy in Liesa’s touch that made him want to follow her anywhere.

Andy had been to enough parties by now to sense the telltale shift in the air just before the next arrivals. Liesa led him to the entrance, her fingers woven into his, her movements more urgent than romantic. She paused at the threshold and glanced up—her hair falling in soft wings around her face, her lips slightly parted in anticipation. If Andy had to guess, she was fighting the urge to stage-manage the reveal, or at least to set the lighting just so.

“Ready?” she whispered.

He squeezed her hand. “As I’ll ever be.”

She cracked the doors. Outside, framed by a wedge of garden moonlight, three figures stood in a line that read more like a defensive perimeter than a group of party guests. The tallest was a man, dark-haired and glassed. The man noticed Andy approaching and gave him a crooked smile. “Andy Cooper?”

Andy looked up at the voice, feeling the moment slow and flex. The man in the center of the trio wore his wariness like a tailored jacket, buttoned all the way to the neck. He had swimmer's shoulders and a tousled mop of hair, combed in a way that suggested several months of letting go. His glasses sat slightly crooked on his face, as if they'd been knocked askew by a week of bad dreams.

He had two women with him. The first—on his left—stood about five feet, with a kind of upright, nervous energy that reminded Andy of Norah in the first week, before she’d decided to stake out her territory. Her skin was the color of spring leaves, and her hair was a bob of sand-yellow, bouncing and thick. She wore a dress of large leaves, some kind of living mesh, and glasses perched on her nose. She kept darting her gaze from Andy to the party inside, like she was tracking butterflies.

The other woman—on the man’s right—was a study in contrast. Slightly shorter, but with the presence of someone who’d once been the tallest in the room. Red hair cut in a bob, black horns curving up through the fringe. There was a tail, and small wings folded tight to her back, both of them the glossy black of a wet stone. She wore a tailored suit, opened on the front enough to show her meager cleavage—and she radiated the energy of a bartender who could drink every patron under the table, then win the barfight after. Her eyes locked on Andy’s, and she grinned like she’d already decided he was worth keeping.

The first thing Andy noticed was the palpable exhale as they stepped over the threshold, like someone had been holding their breath for hours and had just found permission to let it go.

"That's me," Andy said, stepping forward with Liesa still holding his hand. She released him at the last moment, hovering a half-step behind in case backup was needed. "And you must be...?"

"First time meeting in the flesh, I'll admit I half wondered if Reyna was just messing with us with the footage. Quite the shindig your group put together." The man clicked his tongue unable to hide a bitter edge to the statement, "Oh, sorry, where are my manners, these are two members of my season: Stella Vincent and Lily Wright."

"You made it sound so proper, better than Ex and resident fuck up I suppose" Stella said, smirking, tail swishing behind her.

Liesa’s eyes flicked to Andy, then back to Caleb. She hovered a touch closer, her body instinctively settling into a posture Andy recognized: not combat, exactly, but braced for the kind of emotional shrapnel that could fly in situations like this.

Lily smiled cordially and extended a hand, shaking Andy’s and Liesa’s. "Everyone gets along so well, its nice to see so much...joy in a place like this."

Andy took a slow breath. “We only ever wrote,” he said. “I was worried about you, from what you said.”

Caleb ducked his head, embarrassed. “Wouldn’t have mattered. Lucian reads everything eventually.” He shifted his weight, then blurted: “But the gifts made it. So. Thanks for that.”

Lily’s head snapped up. “Wait, what gifts?”

Caleb made a face. “That’s not—”

Andy managed a smile, but the current under the conversation was cold. “You look good,” Andy said, choosing words with care. “How’s it on the other side?”

Caleb shrugged. “Could be worse. Could be… well.” He let the ellipsis hang, and Andy didn’t fill it. He’d seen enough footage of Lucian to know the scale went from “fine” to “full psychological breakdown” in the space of a challenge.

Liesa stepped forward, her arm brushing Andy’s. “I’m Liesa Claes,” she said, extending a hand to each woman in turn. “It’s very nice to meet you. Arabella gave us some facts.”

Lily shook, fingers delicate and cool. “I’m just glad to be somewhere green again,” she said. “You guys have real plants. Not just set dressing.”

“Wait until you see the Inner Gardens,” Liesa said, her eyes lighting up. “You’ll love it.”

Stella hung back, her wings twitching with impatience, but when she shook Liesa’s hand it was with a grip that said, I am not here to make friends, but I might make an exception for you.

Caleb turned back to Andy. “The warning in the letter,” he said, voice softer. “You took it seriously, right?”

Andy nodded. “I did.”

For a moment, neither spoke. The air between them was thick with all the things they couldn’t say: the risk of surveillance, the uncertainty of every word, the unspoken tally of pain. Andy could see it in Caleb’s posture, in the way his eyes never quite stopped scanning the room, even now.

Lily fidgeted, then tugged at Caleb’s sleeve. “Shall we go inside? It’s… it’s really loud in there but I think I want to meet the other plant-girl.” She said it with a kind of reverence, as if the phrase “plant-girl” was an identity she’d spent a lifetime looking for.

“Go,” Caleb said, voice gentle. “Stay with Andy’s group. They’re safe.”

She nodded, then squeezed past Liesa and vanished into the party with a nervous, hopeful bounce.

Stella waited a beat, then followed, but not before turning to Caleb. “No heroics,” she said. “Don’t let the wolf eat you.”

He snorted. “If anyone here is a wolf, it’s you.”

She grinned, fangs visible, then slipped inside.

The corridor felt colder with just the two of them. Andy gestured to the bench against the wall, and Caleb sat, rubbing his hands together.

“Lucian,” Andy started. “Is he here?”

Caleb shook his head. “Believe it or not, I suspect he wouldn’t risk it. Besides—” He looked up, and Andy saw the exhaustion behind the glasses. “I don’t think Lucian does parties. Not unless there’s something to win.”

There was a pause.

“I watched some of your season,” Andy said. “I saw how he—”

Caleb waved it off. “Don’t need to relive it. Besides, I did what I had to.”

Andy nodded. “That’s all any of us can do.”

Caleb looked at Andy, searching. “So. Arabella. You still trust her?”

Andy grinned, surprised. “Yeah. She’s… she’s not like the others.” He considered, then added: “I do.”

Caleb laughed, a harsh bark that was more relief than humor. “Then, for what it’s worth, I’m happy for you.” He studied Andy for a moment. “But don’t let it slip. Keep an eye on her anyway. The second you get comfortable, the game changes.”

Andy nodded, and gestured towards the Hall. “Care to come in?”

Caleb nodded, moved toward the party, then stopped. “Hey, Andy?”

“Yeah?”

Caleb’s expression softened. “Happy birthday. I hope you get at least one night off from all this.”

Andy grinned. “Same to you, Caleb.” And he led the younger man inside.

Caleb, Lily and Stella are from royalGambler's Masquerade season. Check the story out via the link!