That triggered something. “Ilia hunted you down, didn’t she?”
He looked surprised. “You know Ilia?”Right, I’m in disguise.When I shrugged, he continued. “Yeah, she hunted me down. Ilia is one persistent supernatural collection agent, let me tell you.”
I snorted. Yeah, I was well aware.
After the song ended, another supe stepped up and asked me to dance, and the vampire—whose name I did not know—bade me farewell.
My next dance partner was a shifter—bear apparently—he was much larger and rougher, throwing me around a little too much for my liking. Thankfully, he was replaced by a magic user, then a troll, then a gargoyle.
Eventually, out of breath but loving every second of this escape, I had to decline the next dance. “I need a drink,” I said loudly, “but catch me again soon and we’ll dance.”
The male nodded, a sly gleam in his eye, and I knew I’d have to be careful about what I said around that particular demi-fey. They could take your promises and force them to come true.
Larissa joined me, her hair slightly disheveled as she grinned with real happiness. “This is fun,” she said, throwing her head back.
“Yep, but I need a drink right now.”
“Same!”
We ended up at the bar, and I ordered three rounds again, because Ilia would be pissed if we didn’t get her something. We dropped a few notes for the leprechaun, and I turned to find a group of hags nearby doing the robot. Hilarious. Almost like interpretive dance crossed with charades.
“Here ye ladies go,” the leprechaun said, sliding our drinks across and taking his tip.
Grabbing one, I downed it back, and Ilia ran up just as I finished my second cocktail.
“I’ve practically burned off the first lot,” she moaned, inhaling her drinks. “But it’s the best dance floor I’ve been on for a long time.”
“It has been a lot of fun,” I said, slightly surprised. I’d wanted to escape, but I hadn’t expected to enjoy it so much. “There’s been no shortage of dance partners.”
The girls nodded, and then the music changed again, a heavier, moody beat that once again settled into my soul and shook loose all the emotions. The crowd murmured, and like they had been waiting for that sort of musical entrance, the Atlanteans were there.
“Shit,” I cursed.
Meanwhile, my heart was flip-flopping because no matter what, no matter how angry I was with them, I worried when they were gone for extended times. I missed their energy and presence in the school. Even bloody Connor had disappeared, off doing whatever messed-up shit sociopaths do.
Atlanteans needed other Atlanteans. It was something I’d learned from my time researching in the library with Mab. We needed the energy of our people or the city of Atlantis or we were at risk of our own energy fading.
Gods were similar in some ways. In fact, on rare occasions, without worship, gods had been known to fade. They literally needed love to survive.
“Look what the muthafucking cat dragged in,” Ilia said, her words a little slurry. “Of course those bastards would show up here to ruin our night.”
Larissa snorted. “Joke’s on them, because they won’t even know us with these masks.”
I straightened. For a moment I’d forgotten that. “Our night is not ruined,” I said in a rush before I dragged my best friends back on the dance floor.
Asher was not going to occupy one more thought for the rest of the night, even if he was clad in a perfectly fitted black tuxedo, his dark hair tousled attractively, and the dark mask—very similar to Louis’s—resting on his face giving him a dangerous, handsome, asshole vibe.
Doesn’t matter. I don’t need him.
I don’t need any of them.
33
“Would you like to dance?” For a second I froze, my eyes squeezing tightly shut at the familiar voice. I’d managed to avoid Asher and the guys for twenty minutes after their arrival, but apparently my luck had run out.
With a deep breath for courage, I reminded myself that he didn’t know who I was. “Uh, sure,” I said, keeping my voice low so he wouldn’t recognize it.Just act natural. One dance and then you can escape.
Asher’s golden hand was held out to me, and I braced myself for the moment we touched. The zap of energy between us was stronger than I’d ever felt, and it was only because I’d been expecting it that I didn’t cry out when he wrapped his long fingers around mine, tugging me out onto the main dance floor. If he felt the spark as well, he didn’t show it, which was good. I might be disguised, but it was harder to hide the way our energies responded to each other.
