“But you like danger.” I smile.
His gaze stays on me, searing and unflinching, as though nothing else in the room exists. “You look incredible tonight.”
I give a small, self-conscious smile, my fingers tightening where they rest on his shoulders. “Thanks. It’s… kind of weird. Everyone looking at me.”
He leans in, his mouth near my ear. “Let them look.”
I shiver and laugh softly, the sound surprising even me.
We move in slow circles, lights flickering around us. I’m aware of every touch, every breath. His eyes keep dropping down to my lips like he’s going to kiss me.
But he doesn’t.
Instead, after a beat, “Go out with me.”
“What?”
“Not now,” he says, smile tugging at one corner of his mouth. “Not like this. Just—soon. You and me. Just us.”
The song ends before I can respond, and someone brushes past us, jarring me.
Tex glares at the guy. I put a hand on his chest. Meeting my eyes, he nods and steps back, his hand sliding from my waist but lingering for one last second. “Think about it, Isobel.”
Then he’s gone, swallowed by the crowd.
The next song kicks up, faster, brighter — something with a heavy bass that vibrates through the soles of my heels. Before I can fully process what’s just happened with Tex, Dakota grabs my hand and hauls me toward the center of the dance floor.
“Okay, brooding boy break over.” Her eyes sparkle. “Time to dance like no one’s watching.”
“I thinkeveryone’swatching,” I glance around at the sea of masked and glittering students.
Dakota rolls her eyes. “Then let’s give them a show.”
I laugh and let her pull me into the music. We dance like we’re just two girls at a sleepover, like none of this, the Guild, the cruelty, the boys matter. Just sweat, adrenaline, and pounding rhythm.
Dakota twirls dramatically, nearly bumping into someone, and we bothcrack up. I toss my hair back, the new weight of it swinging behind me, and letting the tempo carry me.
It feels good.Free.
For a few minutes, I’m not the girl everyone whispers about. I’m not Lucian Ashthorne’s heir. I’m just Isobel, spinning under spooky lights, laughing with my sister. I let myself have fun and I don’t care who’s around.
After a few songs, I tell Dakota I need some air. She asks if I want company, but I assure her I’ll be fine and for her to keep dancing.
The cold hits me as I open the door — crisp and biting after the heavy warmth of the dance floor. I step outside the hall, letting the door fall shut behind me. The silence wraps around me like a familiar blanket. My lungs ache for the clean air, my skin flushed and buzzing from too much, too many stares, too many emotions I don’t know how to name.
I walk to the edge of the terrace, placing my hands on the stone railing, letting the night sky wash over me. I tilt my face upward, letting the moonlight find me. The cool breeze lightly caresses against my heated skin. For a moment, I breathe and admire the beauty of the night.
Then I hear the soft shift of footsteps, the creak of expensive leather shoes. “Didn’t think you’d run from your own spotlight.”
My spine stiffens.
“Of courseyou’reout here,” I sigh, not turning around. “What? Tired of glowering from the shadows?”
“No.”
The simplicity of his answer makes me blink as I turn slowly to face him.
Jace stands near one of the stone columns, hands in his pockets, looking like something carved out of shadows and steel. His usual cold prince expression set in place.
