It wasn’t normal for vampires to stop using their sire’s last names, but she didn’t care about social norms when it came to Jelisette.
Brynleigh turned around and smiled. “Yes?”
A shifter with kind eyes, dark skin, and a clipboard in hand stood a few feet behind her.
“I’m supposed to set up your microphone and run over a few things with you. If you’d come with me, please.”
“Sure thing.”
She followed the man through the crowd. Her dress swished as she moved slowly, the material not conducive to essential activities such as walking. She preferred leggings, but unfortunately, the Reunion had a dress code.
They climbed the stairs, traversed through a door, and went behind the stage.
Here, the audience’s excited chatter was nothing more than a murmur, replaced by the hustle and bustle of frantic crew members. They shouted orders at each other, moving like their feet were on fire.
Brynleigh had never considered how many people worked behind the scenes of the Choosing, but it had to be a significant amount. Live streaming an event couldn’t be easy, and based on the strained expressions on several faces around her, she guessed that tonight would be more difficult than normal.
“Over here, please.” The shifter led her to a table with just over a dozen microphones. He picked one up and gestured for Brynleigh to turn around. “I’m going to attach this to the back of your dress.”
“Of course, go ahead.”
There was a slight tug behind her as the shifter worked.
Brynleigh studied the thick black curtains hiding the backstage from sight when a muffled curse caught her ear.
She subtly shifted towards the sound.
“… none of them are here yet,” said a low, bass voice.
“What the fuck do you mean?” This speaker was much louder than the first. “Where could they be?”
“Fuck if I know! But we’ll have to delay if they don’t arrive soon.”
Something that sounded like a fist banged into a wall.
“Find them! Do you think I want a bunch of fucking Representatives breathing down my neck? This many men don’t just disappear…”
The voice dropped, becoming too quiet even for Brynleigh to hear.
A snicker came from her right.
“Well, well, well. It looks like the bloodsucking leech finally showed up.” Valentina sauntered up to Brynleigh, a ruby goblet clutched between her manicured fingers.
Her lips twisted into a reptilian sneer, and violence glimmered in her violet eyes. An enormous diamond that probably cost as much as Hallie’s house sat on Valentina’s ring finger.
Extravagant, indeed.
“Hello, Valentina,” Brynleigh said stiffly, forcing a tight smile on her face. “Congratulations on your wedding. I heard it was… glittery.”
That was about as nice as she could manage around Valentina.
The fire fae sniffed.
“It was amazing, but I’m not surprised that a commoner such as yourself is incapable of appreciating the effort it takes to throw a lavish, beautiful wedding.” Valentina paused, her eyes narrowing. “Yours was… quaint. But I should have expected that since your husband made such an…interestingChoice.”
Brynleigh’s lips curled, and she clenched her fists. So much for being polite.
“First of all, my wedding was perfect.”