“Caution: may cause excessive blushing, stomach butterflies, and dangerous levels of bookish banter?”
He chuckles, and for a second, everything feels lighter.
“Thank you for always being there,” I say, and the words aren’t just polite. They’re true. Nolan’s been a steady heartbeat in all this chaos.
He shrugs, trying to downplay it, but the pink in his cheeks gives him away. “You’re kind of hard to walk away from.”
I’m about to make a joke, something flirty and dumb, when a shadow brushes against the edge of my awareness. He doesn’t make a sound, but the air shifts around him—Auron.
He materializes with all the theatrical grace of someone who knows he’s being watched. Or wants to be. The sharp lines of his coat, the pristine shine of his boots, the way his crystal eyes lock onto me like I’m gravity—all of it calculated. Meant to dazzle. And it does, in a way that makes my spine straighten on instinct.
He doesn’t even glance at Nolan.
“Lindsay,” he says, smiling like the word is something he owns. “I assume you’re attending the Revel.”
I blink, caught off guard by the bluntness. “I am.”
“Perfect.” He steps in a little closer. “Then you’ll come with me.”
It’s not a question. Of course it’s not.
I lift my chin, unwilling to flinch. “Actually, I’m going solo.”
That does it. Just for a beat, something flashes in his eyes, something hard and cold and not at all charming. His jaw tics. His hands stay relaxed, but I can tell it’s a choice. A breath later, the mask slides back into place.
“Solo,” he repeats. “A bold choice.”
I smile, all teeth. “Well, you know me. I break all the rules.”
Auron tilts his head like he’s trying to read a cipher. “I thought I did.” He recovers quickly, gaze sweeping over me like he’s recalculating. “If you’re determined to make a scene without me on your arm, the least you could do is save me a dance.”
I pause just long enough to let it sting. “I could do that.”
He smirks. “I’ll hold you to it.”
Then he steps back, nods at me with court-perfect polish, and finally—finally—his eyes flick to Nolan like he’s just now noticed him. It’s not a greeting. It’s a warning.
Then he’s gone, boots silent against the stone path.
Nolan lets out a low breath. “So…that wasn’t at all terrifying.”
“I think thatwashis polite setting.”
“And he’s still terrifying.”
I exhale, the tension in my shoulders loosening just a fraction. “Yeah.”
I can’t get a clear read on Auron. Part of me doesn’t want to trust him; he treats Nolan like he’s not worth the dirt on his boots, and when I first arrived, he was pretty dismissive of me, too. But is this him trying to make things right? Am I just being too guarded?
Nolan doesn’t say anything at first, just stands quietly beside me as if he’s buffering the chaos of the last few minutes with his calm.
I glance up, catching the way his eyes are still watching the path Auron disappeared down. “Hey,” I say, nudging him with my elbow. “What if we skipped the Revel?”
His head tilts, a slow blink behind his glasses. “Skipped?” he repeats like he’s making sure he heard right.
I grin. “Yeah. You and me. Steal some snacks, hide in your dorm, maybe convince your books to tell me their secrets.”
He huffs a quiet laugh. “Tempting. Extremely tempting.” A beat. “But Tamsin would find us. And probably drag us back in glitter chains.”
