Chapter 25: Dinner

Jewel slid on one of her silk stockings over her left leg. As she stretched the fabric, she twirled her toes around before looking at Kairas. "You're sure it was Carlos?"

The boy grunted, folding the collar of his dress shirt and rolling up his black sleeves. "Definitely. Same voice, and the fact that Hailey was there proved that." His eyes moved down to his loafers, the boy slightly bending his foot to loosen the shoe's material. "They're looking for the best they can find here. Whether or not that's you or me, I don't know."

"Why'd you wait till the hotel's dinner to tell me this?"

"So you'd be more aware and focused during the dinner, should things go to shit." He slipped on a white jacket. Overall, he was dressed in a black button down shirt, with white slacks and loafers. The jacket had a green handkerchief in the pocket, with the initials K.Y. stitched in gold exposed.

Jewel wore a bejeweled beige dress. The left leg was slit, exposing her toned legs to the world. Silk gloves reached up to her biceps, and hair was tied in a bun with messy curls down at her sides. A light coating of black glitter touched eyeshadow, and she was ready to go.

The dinner was a monthly thank you to any guests in the hotel at the time. It was to show how grateful the staff were to interact with so many people daily, and service them to the best of their abilities. On the way back up, Kairas looked over some of the workers he passed, and none looked too happy about the dinner. He wondered why, but didn't think it was a big deal in comparison to Carlos' presence.

Jewel stood from the bed, batting her eyes at him and grabbing her small purse. "Hey, you may wanna fix your expression."

Kairas didn't feel himself frowning until she spoke up. He looked in the mirror, and cracked a fake smile, which he shook off and placed his hands on the table next to him. Jewel touched his shoulder, watching him closely. "You alright?"

"Yeah," He replied dryly, standing up straight and taking her hand in his. "Dinner awaits."

"Yeah," She answered, her face a small tint of red. "Lead the way."

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The ballroom was filled with Amazonians. Each one, almost like a tower compared to the two, twirling in a dance so elegant, Kairas had to pause a moment to admire its beauty. Many of the women were dressed in jungle themed dresses. All the same leaf like style that hugged their torso and gave looseness to their legs for easier mobility.

The men were strong, able to carry, toss and catch their partners with complete ease. The lack of strain on their bodies to match the subtle aggressiveness of the women, the look in their eyes that held nothing but admiration and love for the woman they held, the woman they were connected with spiritually.

It was no surprise to Kairas then, when his mind went elsewhere.

A daydream, a small and simple one. He and Jewel had the ballroom to themselves. They danced, they connected, they were so close, yet something kept them apart. Something painful, that even now, Kairas wasn't sure of.

As he looked at Jewel at his side, she looked back up at him. She must've been thinking the same thing.

They wanted each other, but first came the mission. After, only after would they speak on how they truly feel.

Maybe that was the secret to it.

Kairas thought often, even though he and Takabi were equals in ability and power, his brother had the advantage of controlling the darkness. Despite his last outburst, Takabi had always had the power to keep his evil side in check. The rage, the anger and pain. All the negative emotions that were wrapped in his heart were locked away in a cell, deep inside and left to rot for years. Only in the most extreme cases would he snap.

What was different now compared all that time before?

Nana wasn't at his side. Nana was in a coma. While it was only months, Takabi did spiral into such a deep depression he would barely eat or sleep if he wasn't by her side.

Kairas, in all his dreams since that day eight years ago, would never have believed that love would be a key to control. The realization slowly crept in as they sat down at a table towards the back, and now that he had it, he wanted to know what makes it work.

He couldn't deny having some type of feelings for Jewel. He wasn't sure when it had started, but he slowly began to fall for her a while ago. The feeling crept up on him, and he never really had a parent to tell him exactly what it meant. He clung to Takabi and picked his brain about love during one of their training sessions, but even he couldn't explain it.

"See them," Jewel asked.

Kairas blinked. His eyes shot around the ballroom, and he began to take a heavy whiff. There were too many to see, and they were suppressing their Mana so he couldn't sense them either. No matter what, everyone had a scent that could be tracked.

He would try that, and be thorough about his search. Jewel opened her purse and pulled out a mirror to check her hair. In actuality, she watched the door behind her, and the guests coming in and going out. No one out of the ordinary so far.

About half an hour in, the dancing stopped, and so did their search. Shrugging, they decided to focus on the Thank You Dinner.

The stage rose from the floor. On it, a man with slicked back hair in a pure red suit stood behind a microphone. He tapped it, speaking low into it, before beginning his speech. "Welcome to the Amazon Thank You Guests Dinner. For those who are new, we hold this dinner once every month to thank you all for choosing this hotel to remain during your getaways or business trips. We'll begin serving food in a moment. Have an amazing stay here. My name is Johnny, and remember, our walls aren't thick people!"

Everyone broke into laughter.

Not Kairas. He watched Johnny hop from the stage, talk to some of the workers, then disappear behind the double doors in the kitchen. "I don't like that guy."

A waitress strolled by the table, adjusting her cart and grabbing the silverware. Placing one in front of Jewel, she walked around to Kairas and handed him his. "Thank you," He said, without bothering to look at her.

There was a pause, before the waitress replied, "You're welcome."

The pair froze, slowly turning their heads to look at her.

Hailey smiled at the two, walking back to the cart and grabbing their plates. Jewel's had a freshly boiled lobster on it, surrounded by cups of butter with a side of salad. Kairas' was a medium rare steak, with a thin slice of butter on top and steak sauce on the side. With it, steamed carrots and vegetables. She placed them both down, speaking low to them both. "Don't make a scene."

"Like we wouldn't," Jewel hissed. "What the hell are you doing!?"

Hailey remained quiet for a moment, moving around and pulling up a chair next to Jewel. She sat down casually, watching the pair's tense posture. It was a full minute before she spoke to them. "Don't look so excited to see me."

"Why are you here?"

"I should ask you that. Kairas, isn't it?"

"Never mind my name. You and Carlos, what are you both doing here?"

"Why would I outright tell you that? I'm here for a different reason." She crossed her arms, undoing her black bowtie and rolling up her sleeves. "Things are going on. Tension is high and everyone's on someone else's toes. What your brother did really shook the Kult up."

Jewel smirked, "You mean when he beat the dogshit out of you?"

"Partly." She admitted. "I'm talking about when he went berserk in general. According to Girston, the Violet Gem reacted to him differently than how it would've before."

Kairas crossed his arms. "He has control over the darkness in his heart now, to an extent anyway. Seeing you triggered that outburst."

"I know," Hailey said. Pausing a moment, she bit her lip and her expression dropped. There was a strong lack of confidence in herself. The two could see it in her eyes. She was scared of something. Something broke her, and there was a strong lingering doubt. Hailey tapped her fingers against the table, before asking, "Why?"

The two exchanged glances, then looked back at her. "What do you mean why? You look exactly like Nana."

"Again with that name. I asked Carlos who that was, and he wouldn't tell me. I asked Girston, and he ignored me." She leaned back in her chair. "Who is Nana?"

"The-"

Jewel cut Kairas off. "The original. The girl you're cloned from."

Hailey was quiet, then shook her head. "Cloned? Sorry, but that sounds ridiculous. If I was a clone, why would I have memories of being a child? Of meeting Carlos long before any of you?"

Kairas touched his chin. Did Carlos really implant false memories? Is that possible at his level? Shaking his head, he locked gazes with Hailey and said, "Maybe those aren't real. From what Takabi told me, Carlos has lied and broken a few hearts before. The only woman he HAS truly loved broke his heart and dumped him."

"He had a falling out with Takabi too," Jewel added. "Carlos said some stuff about Nana and they got into a fight. Takabi broke his nose then, and they just… stopped talking. It was a dumb fight, admittedly, but we had an idea where the darkness came from after Carlos killed his parents."

"He did what?!" Hailey yelled. A couple heads turned their way, but soon went back to their business. "He never told me that!"

"What DID he tell you," They asked in unison.

"He told me…" She took a deep breath. Her hands were shaking. "He told me about Takabi and the falling out. He said he started, that HE was the bad one and we were the good guys."

"Sorry, sweetie, it's the other way around." Jewel said, breaking a lobster claw and handing some of the meat to Kairas. "You should probably double check things with your man."

"Yeah…" She muttered. She stood, moving towards the ballroom doors. "Enjoy. I got what I wanted."

The two watched her, before looking back at each other and eating their meal. Kairas figured she was evil to the core, but now he didn't seem so sure. Deep down, Hailey seemed just like Nana, except confused, and wrapped up in the wrong crowd.