“Perhaps you’ll gain a new appreciation for experiencing life when you reclaim your powers,” Helena said, a grin pulling at her lips. “But I must warn you that it’s only been a day, and already you sound quite human.”
I scowled, but couldn’t help but feel the corners of my lips tug upward. Not that she would ever know. “No need to insult me. Haven’t I suffered enough already?”
“Have you?” she chuckled. “Your task has hardly begun, Lucian.”
“Speaking of my task, tell me about this dance card.”
Helena shrugged. “I thought that would be obvious. Flora won’t stand for a merely adequate dancer for her firstborn and will take any opportunity to make a spectacle of things. I believe she said there were only fifty rooms available at the house, so at least twenty people will be eliminated tonight.”
I blinked. That meant at least seventy people were competing for Ambrose’s hand. I didn’t love those odds. And that so many would leave so soon, for such a trivial matter as dancing … I might come to regret my hubris while negotiating with Vrykolakas.
I looked out at the dance floor and noted three women sitting at a table adjacent to the floor, dressed like cardinals. The quills and papers before them were a clear sign they were scoring the dancers.
“Would you say I was … more than an adequate dancer?” I asked Helena.
She merely smiled in response.
With a scowl, I stood and ventured into the crowd. I hadn’t left Helena’s side for but a moment before two women sat down with her. She seemed content in their company, and I marveled at the woman’s rise in society. I’d seen potential in her all those years ago, but I wondered if she’d done better without me.
“I don’t believe we’ve met.”
I turned to find a handsome man with short wavy black hair addressing me. He offered me a glass of champagne to match his own, and I accepted it with a smile. He was Latino, with a clean-shaven, chiseled jawline. He was pretty, and he knew it, his slim crimson mask hardly covering an inch of his face.
“I’ve just arrived,” I told him. “Lucian Cross.”
“Oh?” The young man lifted an eyebrow. “Are you acquainted with the duke and his family?”
“I will be staying with them indefinitely after this season.”
The man blinked, going still, and I couldn’t keep from laughing. He seemed to relax and chuckled along, clinking his glass with mine. “I like a man with confidence. Melbourne Salazar, at your service.” He gave me an appreciative once-over. “Perhaps you’ll be needing my services.”
“Doubtful, but I appreciate it.”
Melbourne shook his head good-naturedly. “I’ve never been one to turn away a challenge.”
“Is that the only reason you’re here? The challenge?” I tipped my head toward the duke’s family.
“That should be obvious. Ambrose is clearly a catch, of course. But a dukedom on the line? Hardly anyone could pass up the opportunity. Even from afar, it would seem.” He took a sip of his champagne. “I think I like you. We don’t have to be at each other’s throats here. We can be civil through all this.”
I raised an eyebrow. “You don’t …wantto be at each other’s throats then?”
Melbourne’s eyes glinted, his voice dropping. “Don’t go putting words in my mouth now.”
“Is Melbourne bothering you?” a tall, slim Latina asked, sauntering over to us with a bored expression. She wore a form-fitting black dress that hugged her curves, black lace that resembled a spider’s web creeping up from her collar line to a studded choker. Her black mask was also studded, dark lipstick completing the bleak ensemble. Her long hair was slicked back, accentuating her face, which was rather pretty, if a little gaunt.
“Not at all,” I told the new arrival. “Pleased to make your acquaintance. I’m Lucian Cross.”
“Cecelia Alvarez.” She glanced back at Melbourne. “Make yourself useful and fetch me a glass?”
Melbourne sent her a terse smile before disappearing.
“Sorry about him.” Cecelia sighed. “His family is close with mine. I’m tasked with reining him in, but he can be rather slippery.”
“I think that’s an apt descriptor for him.”
After a beat, she said, “Cross. I’m not familiar with the family name. But it clearly holds enough weight to allow you to be here.” She tilted her head. “You must be inheriting a sizable fortune.”
I started at her directness. It was quite refreshing, even if it complicated matters. “I already have. My family died in a fire. My whole estate went up in a single night.”
