Then, quietly—too quietly—he says, “Wanting something isn’t the same as being allowed to take it.”
The words curl through me, confusing and intimate. Like a confession and a warning all at once.
I swallow. “That’s not an answer either.”
“No,” he says again. “It’s not.”
We move in silence, a few slow steps guided more by instinct than rhythm, and I hate how much I notice everything—the way his fingers flex slightly when I shift, how his chest brushes mine with each turn. How he pretends not to watch me.
“I don’t like games,” I murmur.
Kael’s lips twitch at the corner. “Then stop dancing with monsters.”
The words should scare me. Maybe they do. But I don’t let go.
I lift my chin, the corner of my mouth curling in defiance. “If the monsters are this well-dressed, I might take my chances.”
Kael’s gaze flares, and for a heartbeat, it feels like I’ve surprised him. Maybe even pleased him.
“You don’t scare easy,” he says.
“I do,” I reply, keeping my tone breezy. “I just don’t show it to guys who vanish for days and send cryptic gifts without so much as a note.”
“That would’ve ruined the mystery,” he murmurs, almost amused now.
I narrow my eyes. “You are the mystery.”
“Yet, here I am, dancing with you.”
That shouldn’t make me shiver. But it does.
“Careful,” I say, trying to pretend I’m still the one in control. “You’re starting to sound like you actually like me.”
Kael doesn’t smile. He just says quietly, “Maybe I do.”
The music swells again around us, but I barely hear it. His hand is still at my waist, his breath ghosting across my cheek. And I don’t know whether to lean in or run.
It’s not a confession. Not really. But it cracks something open inside me anyway.
My pulse stumbles. The distance between us is barely there, not even a breath. I sway closer without meaning to, drawn in like a thread tugged too tight. His eyes dip to my mouth. Just a flicker. Just long enough to make my heart riot.
I’m going to kiss him.
Or he’s going to kiss me.
Either way?—
The lights flicker.
A sharp pulse of power ripples through the air. The fae lamps overhead surge with light, glowing too bright—then blink out completely.
Gasps echo across the courtyard. The music stutters to a halt.
Then there's nothing but silence.
Stillness.
And then the Veil screams.
