“Maybe we should leave the bottle for the actual winning?”
“My Lady, we definitely won a battle today.” I turn to find the General standing behind my chair, hovering like my personal guard. His expression says it all: the first battle was with me, and we won. But that is not the only thing it says, not when his eyes linger a little too long on how the dress clings to my body.
“Okay,” I sass. “Let’s drink.”
Aidon!I scream in my mind as I see him approaching.
I grow on you, he replies.
Like a fungus.
Jestin pours four glasses and I down mine before he toasts “To Seleste!”
“You can try to enjoy it.” Jestin chuckles, and I feel a pinch of shame before it disappears - courtesy of the wine clouding my senses.
It’s the best feeling. I love when my brain shuts off and I can just live without thinking.
Aidon leans in, his hands resting just beneath my breasts, brushing close enough that I can feel the weight of his touch through the thin fabric. His breath warms my skin as he murmurs, low and intent, “You are closing in on your days.”
I tilt my chin up to meet his gaze, my pulse quickening. “Oh, I know,” I whisper, the music and heat of the room fading around us.
He chuckles, pressing near my throat, breathing me in and I lunge at him, but he shapeshifts into a dark raven and soars upwards, leaving the ballroom through the open window in the ceiling.
Frustrated, I admire and envy his art.
Fuck you, you dry teaser!I shoot it through our mental connection, but it goes unanswered.
With a sigh, I focus on the music; today’s theme is drums. The hypnotic bass vibrates through my body, and I move, trance-like. I have everything I once thought I needed, music and a mind clouded by wine, but it isn’t enough anymore. The last time I was in Santorili, I drifted from party to party, never sober, never caring who entered my body. Now I can’t summon the delight I used to feel.
???
I left the celebration early, relief washing over me as I stepped into the chill night. I couldn’t fully enjoy the evening, weighed down by the disappointment of my companions’ absence. I’ve tossed my shoes onto the dancefloor, and now my bare feet sink into the cold stones.
The chill deepens as I venture down an empty corridor. This isn’t an ordinary cold. I glance over my shoulder, searching for its source.
A scream dies in my throat as I spot a levitating energy hovering at the far end. The veil may weaken on holidays, but ghosts aren’t supposed to roam freely.
Except during Samhain.
I bolt for my room, completely clueless about what to do, and having no ghost education whatsoever.
The only sounds around me are my feet hitting the marble and my panting, yet the chill doesn’t disappear.
Worse, it’s closing in on me, yet I am smart or cowardly enough not to check.
Slamming into my door, I almost piss myself from the relief that the chill doesn’t follow me in.
“Weird.” I let out a shaky breath, leaning against my door as I take in my room. Plush velvet drapes frame the tall windows, and golden filigree lines the edges of my canopy bed.
Freaking Aidon is lying in the middle, reading a book. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost,” he smirks, raising his brow.
I move closer and instantly recognise the spine. “Access to my mind isn’t enough for you? Do you need to read my diary as well?”
“I didn’t know what you were rambling about before I met you. It’s a fairly good summary.”
“Of course, that’s your motive.” I shake my head. “Leave my room!”
“I would, but I came to collect.” Again?
