“Thanks…” I offered a small, polite smile.
He leaned closer, the sharp sweetness of his perfume invading the air between us. “If they’d told me someone as beautiful as you would join the Court, I’d have fought for a permanent seat beside you.” His lips curved. “Though it’s hard to focus on politics when temptation sits across the table.”
His tone was smooth, nearly charming, but it felt like fingers brushing where they shouldn’t. I held my smile and pretended not to feel the weight of it. Ignoring him seemed easier than granting his words power.
Out of the corner of my eye, I caught Selena. She stood poised beside me in a gown of pale pink mousseline stitched with pearls and soft flowers, the neckline plunging just enough to draw every eye in the room. She seemed like a statue of ice, but I had to admit that she looked exquisite.
At the signal from Dean Durvelle, two teachers raised their hands. Sparks of magic bloomed from their fingertips, and from each corner of the ballroom a burst of light flared and folded into sound.
Music unfurled like enchantment. Conjured instruments shimmered in the air, their strings woven of light, thrumming to a rhythm that pulsed through bone and breath alike. Notes twisted and bent in ways no mortal instrument could shape.
And gods, how I longed to dance.
On each side of the ballroom, assistants swept away white sheets,revealing long tables glimmering with beds of ice-like gems that gleamed beneath the chandelier’s dancing lights. Upon those jeweled beds lay delicate amuse-bouche, creams and colors shimmering with edible glitter and pearls, each one a tiny, perfect temptation.
Now that was something to look forward to. I was absolutely ready to stuff my face with them.
Then I felt it—the shift in the air, the pull that seemed to hum against my skin.
Kael.
He stepped through the side door and strode toward the stage, black velvet clinging to him like shadow itself. Silver embroidery traced his cuffs and collar, catching stray threads of light before swallowing them whole. No one else could wear darkness so well. His clothes didn’t shine; they absorbed the light.
Our eyes met. My heart stuttered. But his gaze only brushed mine before he turned away, taking his place beside Dean Durvelle as if I were no more than air.
The dark blue ribbons were cut, and the students poured in.
Excitement burst like sunlight through rain. The hall filled with laughter, shouts, and the bright rustle of silk. I hadn’t seen such joy since before the plague. For a fleeting moment, it felt as though nothing had ever happened, that Vanhaui still stood unbroken, mighty and whole.
Students gathered beneath the chandelier, their gowns and capes scattering the dancing light like fragments of a spell. So much promise in that sea of faces… Teachers smiled from the edges of the stage, pride softening their usual sternness.
Dean Durvelle raised her hands, casting a spell to lift her voice above the music. Her words rang clear and gentle as she welcomed everyone to the revived Academy Ball. Then her tone grew solemn as she spoke in memory of Dean Henrich Eisenberg. The Breath of Death had taken him, cruelly too soon before the cure spread.
The music stilled. Heads bowed. Even the lights seemed to dim. Iglimpsed Kael beside the Dean, his jaw clenched tight, his expression carved in stone.
When the silence passed, the music rose again, bright and jubilant, shaking off the shadow of remembrance. Students scattered to the tables of mousseux and glittering delicacies, while others swept into the center of the floor, laughing and spinning beneath the chandelier’s dance of lights.
Lo caught my hand, and together we hurried to the dance floor. The music resonated through my chest. Strange, spellbound harmonies that made the body ache to move, to sway, to surrender. It was beautiful, and a little frightening, as if the melody itself could cast a spell.
I began to dance, arms lifted, hips swaying to the rhythm. Lo spun me twice, laughing, his smooth hair glinting as we turned. For a time, we were the finest pair on that floor.
We were swallowed by the sea of dancers, bodies swaying, gowns flashing, hearts pulsing in time with the magic. Happiness swept through me, fierce and bright, enough to make my head spin. I hadn’t touched a drop of mousseux, yet I felt deliciously drunk, dizzy with warmth and light.
After nearly an hour, my stomach growled its protest. I signed to Lo that I was off in search of food and waded through the crowd toward the buffet tables. The air grew cooler near the gems, their chill rising like mist. It brushed my flushed skin, a small mercy after the fever of dancing.
I reached for something that looked like a tiny pie of roses and a round chocolate sphere. The pie tasted of gardens and rain and rosemary. The chocolate burst sweet and glittering against my tongue, a constellation of sugar.
Scanning the dance floor, I spotted Lo still twirling a new partner with dramatic flourish. Beyond him, the magisters gathered by the stage, their glasses of mousseux catching the light as they exchanged pleasantries with Dean Durvelle.
Then my eyes found Kael.
And the music stopped.
His gaze caught mine across the crowd, ice-blue, unwavering, and the world fell away. He was watching me. Not idly, not by chance, but watching.
How long had he been doing that?
I snatched another chocolate ball, stuffed it gracelessly into my mouth, and turned back toward the dancers. The sweetness curdled on my tongue. Even as I moved, that tingling at the base of my neck flared. I danced as before, head high, but now every step felt seen, measured, devoured.
