“If you wouldn’t mind me borrowing her, Lady Cassandra?”
“Of course,” Cassandra says.
Rowan leads me away.“Are you all right?”
I nod.“Just about.I was probably safer with Cassandra than wandering alone.Olivia has taken Marcus somewhere.”
“Probably to discuss all the things Selene wants from the senate,” Rowan says.He sighs.“She has almost complete control there now.Even without Marcus’ faction, she would have a majority big enough to topple me as First Senator.I’m surprised she hasn’t done it tonight, frankly.”
I shake my head.“She’ll wait until the Grand Tournament.She wants to win it,thentake power.”
“Riding on a wave of popularity,” Rowan says.“While my own support ebbs away.”
“How?”I ask.
Rowan shrugs.“I’d like to put it all down to bribery, corruption and influence, but I think some of it is simply that the way the Republic is going is becoming less popular.The senators blame me, and maybe they see which way the wind is blowing.”
“I guess it didn’t help that you used your authority to save me,” I say.
Rowan hesitates, then shakes his head.“Many are on my side because they believe in the law, and in avoiding tyranny.Forcing your case back before the senate made it look as though I didn’t believe in the same things.”
“I’m sorry, Rowan,” I say.
He takes my hand in both of his.“Don’t be.I’d do it again in a heartbeat, and I’m still doing what I can for members of the resistance who are brought in.We’ll need them, soon enough.”
“Along with any guards who’ve stayed loyal,” I say.
Rowan nods.“They’ll be there.”
I can see Marcus approaching.He looks tense as I step over to him.
“I think it’s time for us to leave, Lyra,” he says.
I know better than to argue when, even with Rowan, we’re playing the roles we’ve chosen.I set off through the party with him, his hand on my arm again.
“Is something wrong?”I ask him.
“Merely that I saw how strong Selene’s position has become,” Marcus says.“Three members of my faction have become hers.She isn’t undermining me completely, but she’s making it clear she could.”
“Does she know what we’re doing?”I ask.
Marcus shakes his head.“But I think she’s suspicious of the way I’m treating you.Olivia can sense the distance between us.”
“Then we need to show them something different,” I say.Marcus might have a grip on my arm, but I’m the one who leads him to the knot of figures dancing on the palace lawns.
“Lyra,” Marcus begins.
“Shh,” I whisper.“You need to take the lead here, Marcus.Show them there’s no distance, nothing to worry about.”
Marcus hesitates only for a second, before bringing me into his arms, pressing me against him as we dance in the moonlight.I can feel the eyes upon us as we dance, feel the people watching as Marcus holds me in place with effortless strength.We move together, and I can feel his muscles moving beneath his clothes as we both move to the rhythm of the ghostly music around us.I’m caught up in it, and in him as we spin and move, always following his lead.
Marcus bends me backwards looking me in the eyes, and I know a moment before he does it what he’s going to do next.
Marcus kisses me.It’s a deep, powerful kiss with me crushed against him.The kind of kiss that I could lose myself in utterly.The kind of kiss Idolose myself in for several seconds, even though I’m not sure whether it’s something real or something for the benefit of those watching.I’m breathless by the time we straighten up.
“Now, we should go,” he murmurs.
I go with him, still thinking about that kiss.I’m thinking about Marcus, and what I’ll say if he wants more from me when we reach his villa.
