CHAPTER 11

Heartbreak Horror

Cleo was picking out a ball gown for the gala in her suite at the hotel. The plush room was littered with dresses. They were draped over the sphinx-shaped couch and scattered all over the floor. An Anubis guard was bringing in another rack for her to sample. But Cleo couldn’t find just the right gown. She was so absorbed in her fashion emergency that she barely looked up when the guard let Deuce into the room.

“Oh good, you’re here,” she said distractedly. She held up two gowns. “Which do you like better? Burnt-at-the-stake sienna or haunted-forest green?”

Deuce looked down at his feet, stone-faced and heartbroken. “They’re both nice, I guess.”

Cleo sighed. “That’s not very helpful. What are you wearing tonight to the gala?”

Deuce took a deep breath. “I’m not going to the gala.”

Cleo assumed he was joking. “Kinda hard for you to be my date if you’re not at the gala…” But then she saw Deuce’s face. Her eyes widened in alarm. “Deuce is this about what happened at brunch?”

“It’s not about brunch. It’s about everything.” It all came rushing out of him. “Cleo, look at us. This was never going to last. We’re just too different.”

The gowns fell from Cleo’s hands. She felt like the wind had been knocked out of her. “What are you saying?”

“You’re Egyptian royalty, and I love you too much to hold you back.”

Shocked, Cleo sat down on the edge of the couch. “I can’t believe what I’m hearing.”

But Deuce was on a roll now. “I can see the way people look at us when we walk down the street together. What’s a ghoul like her doing with a fool like him? You’re elegant. I’m grungy. You’re sophisticated. I’m a brute. I’m releasing you to go on with your life.”

“Stop this!” Cleo ordered. “I won’t let you.”

“There’s nothing you can say to change my mind. Look deep down, and you’ll realize you’ve known it all along too. That’s right—we’re wrong together.”

Deuce turned on his heel to leave, but Cleo was up and standing in front of the door. “I’ve heard enough. We are not breaking up. We are the power couple of Monster High. I don’t care what anyone says—and neither should you.” Cleo spoke from her heart and had never looked more regal.

Deuce realized that Cleo wasn’t going to give in, and he knew he had to do something drastic to show her just how serious he was. In one swift movement, he snatched off the golden beard Cleo kept making him wear and threw it across the room. “You see this? This isn’t me.”

The beard flew into the fireplace with a clang and began to melt. Cleo shrieked, in a complete state of shock.

“I am not part of this world,” continued Deuce. “I never will be.”

Cleo dropped to her knees and started to cry. She loved Deuce, and she could not believe he was being so cruel.

Deuce felt terrible, but he steeled himself—he had to do this. “I’ve said all I have to say. Don’t make me say it again. We’re not Cleo and Deuce anymore.” He stormed out of the room, and Cleo threw herself onto the floor, sobbing.

Out in the hallway, Deuce stopped, listening to her cries. Now that she couldn’t see him, his face softened and tears welled up in his eyes. He was doing this for Cleo. Because he loved her. Someday she’d understand. As he pushed the button to go down in the elevator, Nefera stepped out of the shadows.

“Aww,” she said sympathetically. “Don’t cry, Deucy. You did what you had to do.” She ushered him on to the elevator and as soon as the doors were shut, she clapped her hands and cackled. “And now I’m going to make my sister agree to perform the Promise Ceremony tonight. Ooooh! This is fun!”

Back in the suite, Cleo was sitting in front of her vanity. She was devastated. Nefera began brushing her hair, comforting her.

Tears were still rolling down Cleo’s cheeks. “He just stormed out of the room. I don’t understand it. It’s like it came out of nowhere.”

“Oh, Cleo!” sighed Nefera. “This didn’t come out of nowhere. I feel like this is partly my fault.”

Cleo swiveled around to look at her sister.

“I should have made you understand what your family and friends have known all along,” Nefera continued. “You and Deuce were never meant to be. We all saw the hieroglyphics on the wall. You deserve to be with someone… powerful. Someone who can give you everything you deserve.”

Cleo just sniffled—she didn’t want anyone but Deuce. Nefera smiled at her sweetly, stroking her hair. “You deserve to be with someone like Seth Ptolemy.”

Cleo’s face dropped. “But I don’t understand his poetry. He’s just not right for me. No offense, Nefera, but I don’t see that happening.”

Nefera shrugged. “You didn’t see Deuce breaking up with you, either…” Her voice trailed off. She tried another tack. “Cleo, sooner or later you are going to realize this is a good thing. Without Deuce holding you back, there’s no telling what kind of greatness you might find.”

She shot Cleo a knowing grin before leaving Cleo to think about what she’d said.

Cleo sat for a long time by herself at the vanity. She looked at the melted gold beard in the fireplace, and she looked out the window where the all-seeing logo of the Ptolemy eye was blinking on and off on a neon sign.