Heat rose in my cheeks again. “Thank you, but I think it’s just Isabella’s makeup and this dress Roslyn got me.”
“Saryna is like this too,” he said, more to himself than to me. “Yeah, it’s just the makeup and the dress. I will give them credit for their sense of fashion, though.”
“What do you mean about Saryna?” I asked,
Caelan shook his head. “She just never knew how beautiful she was.”
I glanced at her, but she wasn’t at her table anymore.
“Did you know her and Malakai were close? I know all the Aurkai have their own connections to one another, but I never thought of them as being in the same orbit,” I said.
Caelan frowned. “They aren’t, though. What would make you say that?”
I faltered, unsure whether to tell him what I’d seen, but he clued in immediately.
“What happened?” he asked, his tone sharp and nothing like before.
“Nothing, I just saw him come and find her earlier in the hall,” I said.
Caelan’s expression turned serious, and the second the music ended, he excused himself and headed into the crowd.
I bit my lip hoping I hadn’t just started something but also grateful because I didn’t fucking trust Malakai with any woman, Aurkai or not.
I looked around, scanning the room for Roslyn, and saw her trying to slip away from Eli, Ji-Han, and some of the other Initiates while Eli chattered away, motioning with his hands animatedly. I laughed inwardly. Eli was endearing and Roslyn probably didn’t understand anything he was talking about.
When I got to her, I touched her arm.
“Hey, I need to borrow you,” I said.
I smiled apologetically at the others and didn’t wait for a response as I pulled Roslyn across the room with me.
“Ugh, thank you,” she muttered.
“Yup,” I said, now looking around for Isabella.
“Do you have any idea where Isabella is?” I asked.
“I thought she’d be with you,” Roslyn said, scanning the crowd.
Frowning, I glanced around for her again. “I’ll go check the dorm.”
“No,” Roslyn said, “You stay and enjoy yourself. I’ll go look for her.”
I was tempted to argue but remembering the way Caelan took off and Malakai's bizarre behavior, I held my tongue. I needed to look for Saryna.
“Alright,” I said as she turned to go but then I remembered something I wanted to ask her about. “Hey! You never told me you and Blake were going to come together.”
I was more amused by their surprise entrance than anything and I wanted to chide her for not telling me beforehand. Knowing that they both had other situations it was clear it was a platonic match for the evening so I wasn’t jealous, except a tad because she was getting to spend time near him.
“Oh, right,” she said. “Sorry, I was going to tell you.”
We hadn’t spoken about my stolen moments with Blake but I knew Roslyn was aware through her silence. She didn’t miss much.
She winked at me and said, “I’ll be back in a bit.”
I watched her go, her red curls slipping from the updo, creating a more romantic and elegant look. She strolled through the ballroom, effortlessly moving through the undulating crowd, more of an enigma to me than even Blake.
My mind quickly returned to the haunting waltz played by the string quartet that had taken over the music from the pianist. Something was off about Isabella not being here. The other students were laughing and enjoying their conversations. Everyone was dressed in impeccable evening wear. A waiter neared me, offering me his tray of drinks in fluted champagne glasses. I accepted one, taking a sip of the bubbly, chilled liquid. The atmosphere was completely different than my night here with Blake. My mind eased at the memory of his graceful movements and his perfect control over my body. There was something cathartic in not knowing where I was going as we danced that night, without the ability to change my path if I wanted to. It had been as terrifying as it had been freeing.
