“We need air,” Dallas says to a man in a black suit. His head is shaved on both sides and his ash-blond hair on top is swept off his face. At his wrists, silver cuff links wink in the light.
He nods and opens a door. A rush of cool air sweeps over me, and my knees quake as I step onto a balcony.
Darkness covers the district. It’s quiet outside, but the music from the ball drifts out onto the streets. Masses of purple magic swirl inside glass balls, lighting the quarter.
A fine mist hangs in the air, and it clings to my skin, cooling me.
“Better?” Emory asks, rubbing my back.
I nod. “Better.”
“What happened in there?” Dallas fingers her bangs, pushing them to one side. “First the king appears, and the next thing we know, you’re dancing with him. We want to know everything. Ovie said she found you in aroomwith him?”
“Let’s give her a minute.” Emory squeezes my shoulder. “There are a lot of emotions going on.”
Oh God. There are, and I can’t hide them. My thoughts are a tangled mess. I can’t believe I told Eryx about the curse—I mean, familycondition. Why did I do such a stupid thing? I don’t even know him.
Because you felt safe,a little voice inside my head whispers.
Ridiculous. That man isn’t safe. He’s dangerous, complex. He’s the Nightmare King—a man who wreaks havoc in people’s minds for a living.
The last thing he is, issafe.
But I can’t deny there’s something incredibly alluring about him. It’s a thing I can’t explain or even properly analyze because it’s difficult to put into words.
Every interaction we’ve had is impossible to describe. It’s like…it’s like this stranger sees me. He pulls back the layers, exposing what’s underneath.
And it scares the hell out of me.
I hug my arms, and Dallas gestures to the streets. “It’s all right. Take a few deep breaths. We’ll go back inside in a moment.”
Inside? Do I want to go back there?
Emory gives me a feeble smile. “Don’t worry. You’re not getting off the hook. You’re going to tell us everything, and I mean everything.”
She says it lightly, as a joke, but when I try to smile, it comes out wobbly.
I’ll just take a moment, collect myself, and then I’ll head back inside. Whatever this chemistry is between me and Eryx, it’s a fluke. A big nothingburger.
I inhale a deep, cleansing breath, and that’s when I feel it.
A line of magic snakes around my wrist and crawls up my arm. I instantly recognize it—it’s the same cold magic I first felt when Eryx and I touched hands. The same cloud of power that halos him like a cloak.
The magic works its way up my arm to my shoulder. Tentative. Searching.
What is he doing?
It slides over my collarbone like a caress. My skin tingles as if it can only come alive because of him.
A knot fills my throat, and I swallow it down.
The magic continues its slow crawl, feeling me out as if it’s waiting for me to respond.
I should stop this. Pull away. Run.
But I’m being lulled. His magic feels like a question. Like he’s asking: Do you feel this, too?
And my magic is screaming,yes!
