The Nocturne Hotel

I had been dressed by the best designers. I had been dressed using magic, clothed with tendrils of sunlight. Whatever I wore before, none compared to the gown I was adorned with as I floated into the ballroom. I barely felt the thin straps on my shoulders. The dress shone and shimmered, displaying the condensed stars in the bodice, and the milky way itself in the train. It was a showstopper. I made sure of it, spending night after night perfecting this look. My hair was gathered and pinched at the back with one single pin, topped with a swirling black gem, its sharp tip just visible under the bun. The flyaway fringe framed my face, curling ever so slightly at the corner of my lips.

Of course, I had a motive. I may or may not have wanted to make someone jealous.

The chatter began. Everyone tried not to make it obvious, but swift glances and imperceptible tilts of the head showed what they thought. I almost smiled. 

The couple in front of me drifted away. My eyes widened at who was behind them and I whipped about right, quickening my pace, looking in any other direction for somewhere else to go. Anywhere but toward him. I caught a glimpse of the girls on the balcony and composed myself again, floating towards them. I could see him from the glass doors, his eyes locked on his father’s. The slight tilt of his head, the clench of his jaw was enough. I looked down, before he could turn to me. The girls shifted as I joined them, letting me sit beside one of them. They picked up on my emotions, fixating on Nathan coldly.  

The Master of the Hotel clinked his glass. Everyone looked up, lowering their drinks. He began his speech on the future of the Hotel and her succession. About how one of us loyal investors and supporters will inherit the Hotel, managing her alongside his son. Nathan straightened, scanning the crowd, and the ladies, some of whom were smiling intently at him. He didn’t turn to the balcony. 

I sipped my drink, thoughts drifting. The speech wasn’t new. I’d heard it so many times before. Only this time, I ground my teeth, glaring at the Master, remembering his talk to me just before. Ramona, you are destined for much, but not this. His eyes were cold as he uttered his warning. Don't get his hopes up.

The speech droned on and my thoughts slipped. Absent-mindedly I fingered the pendant around my neck, remembering what Nathan had said. We were just kids.

Look! He had gestured eagerly to a family portrait perched in his lap. Sitting in the dingy attic was absolutely suffocating. I tugged at my frilled neckline. I had to lean in close to make out the faces illuminated by his feeble little torch. 

A tiger, hawk, and snake posed in regal positions. 

One day, he’d said, eyes gleaming with reflected light a hundred times that of its source. One day I’ll be able to hold the same power over my form. I had turned away. I didn't want the light to bring out my eyes. Full of not wonder, but tears. 

Such extraordinary power, but I’ll never have it. Abilities like that are hereditary, and all I’ve inherited was a dysfunctional family. 

Hey. He’d coaxed my chin toward him. Here. He opened his palm to reveal a slightly cracked, very dusty pale gold crystal, tethered to a strong rope chain. It's imbued with light. It'll give you the power to face anything. 

After all these years, the rope tightened and the rock sat at the base of my neck as a choker. I ran my finger over all its ridges and dips, a roughly cut rock straight out of the dirt, unrefined and untainted. It flowed with ancient magic, warm under my fingers.

Beside me, the girls shone. Their golden skin glimmered under the moonlight, life force bound to the pendant. They were mine to control, mine to order. Mine to love.

The toasts began. Each eligible family was toasted to, for luck. I smirked, straightening. The Monteneus took their bow. The Eleshars nodded to their name. The Holt sisters giggled when their names were spoken, flashing their vampiric smiles. I rolled my eyes.

“To Ironoak!” The Master raised his glass, meeting my family’s eyes. My father, mother and younger brother inclined their heads. I smiled wider, willing him to see me.

“Enjoy the night.” That was it. That was it? I unfurled my legs, brows pinched. Everyone was rising to their feet to mingle one again, and I saw my family laughing along with the others. What? Where was my recognition? I fumed, setting my shawl down. He had never seen me as an equal. I thought at least he'd say my name, give me my due acknowledgement. Fine, if he doesn't want me here, I’ll leave. Let his son see my disdain, then maybe he’ll be reminded why I was mad at him. Why I’d refused to come tonight by his side.

I talked toward the doors with singular focus. My brother’s hiss could not deter me. I knew he was watching. When nobody noticed me, he always did.

I rounded out into the golden gilded antechamber. Tonight, the Nocturne hotel held no regular guests. We’d been closed to the public for a month now, in preparation for this night. Only a few noble families and investors were invited. It was basically all a glamorous party.

“Ramona?”

I shut my eyes, halting in my tracks. My name in his voice was like butter on bread.

“How's the gala, Nate? Better than the Holt’s Blood Banquet?”

“Ramo-”

“I wouldn't know, I wasn't invited.”

“Ra-”

“Oh, you should go talk to Alana Eleshar, congratulate her on her twins,” I said nonchalantly, turning. “Harpies aren't easy to raise.”

I  barely finished my sentence when he clapped a hand on the wall, sandwiching me. His grey eyes bore into me, deeply searching. Dammit, I can't hide anything from him.

“Aaanyways, you would consider my brother, wouldn't you? I don't wanna take advantage of our friendship, but what sister will I be if I don't help out my brother?” I ducked under his arm and carried on walking, not skipping a beat. Especially when your father clearly doesn't have me on his mind.

“Is that all we are?”

I stopped in my tracks, taken aback. Suddenly my mouth was dry and my heart seemed to be fluttering above my head. I turned, mouth agape at a smug grin spreading. “So now you're listening?”

“Don't play with me!” I snapped. What was he doing?

He held up his hand and even had the decency to sound a little abashed. “I would never.”

I continued glaring, hands on hips. His expression softened. “I have been meaning to say something about this. I… I-”

He trailed off as I shook my head, squeezing my eyes shut. No, I can't. Not when no one else wanted this. 

I slide a finger up to his lips, shushing him. His eyes grew wide and breath quickened against my finger. I smiled softly. Now, I've got him. Making Nathan awkward, well, its starting to become quite a pastime for me. “Gotta go, really. Catch you later.”

With that, I pulled myself away down the corridor, trying my hardest not to break into a sprint.

*** 

I thought I’d be alone back in my family’s suite. We lived in the hotel, occupying the top most floor where her permanent residents resided. That would be my family, the Ironoaks, the Kimmons who made up the chefs of the hotel (recipes were not allowed to leave the family), and Nathan’s family. The owners. We grew up close, but the Kimmon siblings were older and never bothered with Nathan and I. 

I power walked across the large antechamber that had doors leading to the family suites, head still spinning. The closer I neared our sky high mahogany double doors, the clearer the voices were, drifting out toward me. They were raised, and there was no mistaking Mother and Father. I drew closer, footsteps softer as I pressed up against the door, listening.

“I just don't understand why he’d make it so obvious! We had been over this, Elijah and I. It was our choice to take in Ramona whether he liked it or not!”

“Iona, stop, please. Traditions still have to be followed, regardless. The Hotel does not go to outsiders. It cannot”

My father sounded tired. That was not how he usually debated with mother.

“Ragnar, our daughter is not an outsider! She is family, no matter blood or birth.”

The doors swung open, flooding light onto my pale face. My father gaped at me, glass in hand still sloshing with liquid.

I sucked in a breath, almost teetering on the edge of my heel. I caught myself just before I fell and commanded my trembling legs to take me away. Far, far away. I broke into a sprint. The heel dug into my foot but I pounded against the carpeted floor, scrunching the delicate material in my fists as I wrenched it up and ran. 

*** 

It was in the treasury I took refuge. The elevator down was a nightmare, having to listen to soft music with a bunch of seniors. Laughing, talking, clinking their glasses. They’d left before I reached the basement, where the treasury held the greatest artefacts across the past millennia. Some were as old as our families.

I strode past it all. Past the golden talismans, the runes still glowing with magic. Past the armours of old kings, and tiaras of queens. Past the weapons, still polished, still sharp.

Here, I felt safest. There was no one to see me. No one to find me in the smallest corner of the treasury, where the boxes were piled to the ceiling and dust had remarkably managed to accumulate. Here, no one could hear me. In my glittering gown, I let loose. I smashed a fist through a wooden crate, flung another to the wall where it shattered it to splinters. Taken in? An outsider? 

Fury pounded my mind and the pendant reacted. Golden magic surged into me, overwhelmingly hot, searing my throat. I sank to my knees. 

I had no powers. Now, I have no name, no family. I am no one.

The scream tore out, ripping at my vocal chords. First just pure sound, then it was drowned out by the white hot flames that erupted from my mouth. It torched the concrete wall, barely missing anything flammable. It scorched my throat, burning until there was nothing left. Everything left me and the fire sputtered out, leaving me heaving and gasping for air. The massive hole in the wall still dripped with glowing magma that sizzled slowly to the ground. I watched the drops melt down as if in slow motion, laboriously spreading flat and stopping just short of me. The soft surface hardened. 

Sometime later, it cooled enough for me to crawl onto, feeling the rough surface under my palm, leaning into the indent and closing my eyes. They were dry, as they had always been. The wall had wept for me, and now my heart was only a hardened piece of rock, melted and reshaped. Or maybe not, just melted and slumped in a heap.

Why didn't they tell me? All the clues were there, why had I been so stupid? The Master’s refusal to acknowledge me, his utter dislike and disdain for me. Tradition. My father may not be serious about much, but like everyone else in the families he was a stickler for tradition. 

Tradition is important, Mona. We cannot forget our roots. Father had lifted the sword from its pedestal, presenting it to little me. I had gazed at it in wonder, at the Ironoak coat of arms that decorated the quillon block. The oak tree with a sword through it. We Ironoak are born with the strength and innate ability to wield any weapon we wish to. I will teach you. He had playfully brandished the sword at me and proceeded to chase me around the suite with it, yelling silly battle cries in different languages. En garde! He had stabbed it toward me. Of course, little me did not inherit any of the Ironoak qualities. My flimsy attempt at a disarm had left me cut up and bloodied. My father had only laughed, and told me I was a late bloomer, like him. Mother had stalked in at the exact moment and swept me away with a cold hard glare at my father. All that time, I’d been nudging at the wound, watching blood bloom then trickle down my arm. No tears.

My mother had dressed the wound clumsily, getting more furious as she fumbled with the bandages. I chuckled, remembering at last how she had given up, flinging her hands into the air and summoning a maid to take care of it. She’d left for her work meeting, sternly reminding me: don't play with weapons, girl. 

It had never struck me, now that I thought about it, how my capable mother could not mend a simple wound. She could fight just as well as any Ironoak, wielded magic of her own and spoke multiple languages. Not to mention she was a CEO and one of the hardest women I knew. Yet, she never needed to heal. Ironoaks were impervious to injuries. They healed at unparalleled speeds. 

So many clues. So blind I've been.

Even with my golden girls, I was still the outsider. They are sisters, born from the same element and I am only their wielder. They owe me loyalty. Nothing else. There's no love in them, not for me. 

My family was all I’ve got, and now, I am not so sure of even that. I hugged my knees, burying my chin into the fabric. I’d always felt like I was at home here. Part of the Hotel, welcoming patrons from all over the world. Part of something important, even someone important. But now… 

I didn't know how long I had been sitting there, in the dark, with only memories for company. I didn't react when footsteps grew louder, only flinching when they became piercing in the silence. Slicing through my thoughts.

“Can’t a girl be alone?” I drawled, frowning into space. 

“Father and Mother sent me. I thought you'd be here.”

Great. My loving, sunshine of a brother proceeded to kick me in the thigh. “Ow,” I deadpanned. “Do come up, I am missing dessert for this.” I heard him whirl around in the dark and march away. When my footsteps did not join his, he stopped and let out an audible, much exaggerated sigh.

He approached me again. I merely glanced up in his general direction, making out his silhouette. I wondered what that jerk was going to do now.

The air beside me shifted, and a weight plopped down beside me. I’ll admit, I was taken aback. My rough and tumble brother, sharing my silence? Unheard of. Mother must have threatened him to bring me up.

“So, you know.”

I did not answer.

“I knew from the start. Mother forbade me to tell.” Everything was always a competition. Of course he knew. I clenched my fist, spent anger seeping back in. So no one thought I had deserved the truth? I hated people hiding things from me.

I heard the screech of metal on metal, then a glint in the darkness. He wriggled a dagger, the same one he used to chase me with when we were little.

“Do you remember its twin?”

My brother had a habit of naming his weapons. “Who, Katherine with a K?” He loved Katherine and Catherine particularly and carried them wherever he went. Until I had tossed Katherine into a river and she never resurfaced.

“You hated her.”

“Because she cut me.”

“No, I cut you.”

I sighed. “What's your point?”

He swung the dagger with deadly accuracy, embedding it into the middle of a crate with a thunk.

“My point is, father and mother didn't hurt you. Your true mother did. She abandoned you. She brought you pain. Don't be mad and father and mother, they only wanted to love you. So stop moping”

My brother, teaching me lessons. Surprise surprise. “I’m not moping, I’m just…” A stranger. A nobody. Undeserving to be here. Maybe the Master was right not to accept me. I’d just taint his traditions. 

When he spoke again his voice was soft. I had not thought he was capable of being gentle. “Even if you don't have the Ironoak name from birth, or our superior genes might I add, you are still family.” 

An asshole brother, an ice cold mother and an almost always drinking father. Yes, a family.

I would have hugged him, but I valued not having a dagger to the gut. I just grunted. I guessed this was how he sweet talked that werewolf Amorelia. And her brother.

“Let’s head back before you kill yourseff with kindness.”

We both scrambled up. I smoothed out my gown.

“Um, what's with the giant hole?”

“I got mad. Blew fire.” I shrugged.

“Haha, very funny.” My brother held up his arm and I took it. Screw it, why not. Family and all.

***

Nathan had slipped my mind the whole way up to the party. Then, lift doors dinged open and there he was, Victoria and Vanessa Holt basically clinging to his arms. I had to bite my tongue to keep from bursting into laughter. My cheeks must have reddened considerably, for my brother smirked. 

Nathan and I locked eyes as he was nearly dragged into the lift. His eyes widened on mine as the girls chittered away, each speaking over the other. They leaned toward him, fangs glinting in those leering grins. He stiffened, flattening against the lift wall, frantically holding my gaze. Help me.

I pinched my brother, jerking my head toward Nathan. He examined Nathan’s plight, smirking, then sighed as I raised my eyebrows at him expectantly. I had just found out I was adopted. Please brother, pamper me.

“Girls, I heard the Master was looking for you. Something about the Holt family’s future looking bright. May I escort you?” I wanted to gag at his ‘gentlemanly voice’, but it seemed to do the trick. The girls released Nathan and scampered to my brother instead, peppering him with questions. He answered them just as eagerly, weaving the stories with confidence. I watched, amused, as he walked them out of the lift without a second glance backward.

The doors closed again, and it was just the two of us. I shuffled backwards and smiled sideways at Nathan, still looking traumatised. 

“You're lucky my brother’s feeling generous.”

He laughed shakily. “Yeah, what did you do to him?”

I looked down, not wanting to relive it again. I hugged my arms to myself. “Um, nothing. He’s just in a good mood.” 

“Mona…?” He started toward me, head tilting down to catch my eye. I didn't let him, looking away. Oh no, now he definitely knew something was wrong. Had he known the truth about me?

I drew a breath, putting authority back to my voice. “It's nothing.” I should ask him. Should I? Would it change what I felt if he knew? Or do I risk telling him and changing what he felt?

Come on, Mona, ask him. 

“Did you-”

My sentence stopped short as the lift rattled, screeching to a halt. The needle of the archaic dial stopped at level 23. The lights blinked erratically. Nathan gaped at me, my confusion mirrored in his face.

Then, a scream curdled my blood.