Eirwen and I headed straight to the dining room of the Penrose household.It was a very spacious room, with a seating capacity of at least twenty-plus people.Pretty much every seat was already occupied when we arrived. Only the last two seats in a corner were available for us."How can they be late when we're supposed to be discussing their marriage? How disrespectful!""Exactly. All of us here are far busier than they are! What even is their excuse for being late?""If I knew this would happen, I wouldn't have bothered to come in the first place!"We heard complaints as soon as we walked in the door.I raised my head. As I had expected, Victor and Isolde were leading the charge verbally."Well, feel free to leave if you want. I don't see anyone keeping you here." I shrugged, carrying on the subject of their conversation."What did you say just now?""How dare you! Who do you think you are? Do you know what place you're in? You're t

"Whew! You almost got me there." I chuckled good-humoredly. "For a second, I thought I was going to face off against super-villains or something."Iris scrunched her slender brows together in genuine puzzlement. "Mr. Floyd, has no one ever told you before that you yourself are a power user?""I'm a power user? Me?"I tried to act as surprised as I could. I knew this part was coming up eventually, but it still felt odd to be called something so alien."Certainly." She nodded. "You're not just a power user, but a dual-attribute one to boot.""Dual-attribute?" I blinked.That was an odd way of putting it. Was being able to do two things really that special?Iris nodded again. "You must have used some sort of healing power in order to save my grandfather, but when you fought with Bobby, you also demonstrated your superhuman strength. Two powers, two attributes. Does that make sense to you?""I know some kooky cures or two, and sure, I'm a bit stro

The Draconis Tower was just one of the many commercial buildings under Draconis Corporation's purview. Judging by how opulent it was, it could very well have been one of its flagships."We're finally here," Eirwen muttered on her way into the parking lot."Who told you the party was here?"Locking the car with a perfunctory click of her remote, Eirwen beckoned to me on her way through the front doors."The party's not here?" I asked. "Why are we here, then?"Eirwen gave me a disapproving glance. "Is this what you want to wear to the party?"I looked down at my own threads. They were casual, clean clothes. Not the newest or most fashionable, but hey. "What, am I not allowed to wear these?""I'd like you to change into something different," Eirwen replied coolly.I understood what she was getting at right away.She wanted me to dress up nicely to look good in front of her girlfriend.Fair enough—the getup I was wearing hardly sui

"It's just drinking, isn't it?"I followed the example of downing the whole glass in one gulp.The whiskey was quite potent, burning my throat and stomach as it went down. I became a bit dizzied by the whole experience.The pudgy youth nearby filled my tumbler again—with considerably more liquor this time."Not bad. You've got some manliness after all. Come on, cheers!"Another clink of the glasses. My drinking partner finished his drink. Now, it was my turn.I looked at the two and a half shots or so of amber liquid apprehensively.Normally, I barely drank any alcohol at all. I had no tolerance for it. Not to mention, I had drunk quite a bit of wine at lunch with Iris and the others. If I were to keep drinking, there was a high chance I would throw up by the end of it.But it's hardly the time to chicken out, is it?A challenge was at hand. I could deal with the consequences later.I braced myself and quaffed the fiery liquor.

"Ms. Celeste, huh? Then it's gotta be Celeste Greenwood and her place. I'll be there in five minutes."Before I could reply, Jason hung up the call.The busy tone prompted me to do the same. I pocketed the phone, still mildly surprised that Jason was making a trip personally.I had only wanted him to say a word or three to defuse the conflict. It would save these guards a hospital bill if nothing else."I'm very sorry for my ignorance, Mr. Floyd. Please forgive me!"The trembling Celeste shrank lower with each word she spoke.Her guards got on the ground as well, one after another.I tossed them a curious glance, but before I could say anything, Liam started screeching again. "Don't let that kid trick you, Celeste! He's just some low-class peasant! That phone call was a fake!"Apparently, he was unable to believe that I had the ability to call someone like Jason Lindell.Slap!Her smooth white skin immediately began to welt from the