Chapter 24
Velario prowled aroundthe edges of the Geratisi ballroom, his dark expression warning everyone to stay back. He needed to be ready to escape to the library when the time came. No one thought his glares odd, not when he kept looking over at Reyn hanging on Enzi’s arm.
Their staged fight in the park had drawn a considerable crowd the day before and everyone at the ball knew the insults Reyn had hurled at him, even if they hadn’t witnessed the event themselves. Enzi had reacted exactly as Reyn had predicted, and Velario’s glares only encouraged him to pay court to her.
Reyn had Enzi well in hand. She didn’t need Velario’s help, but he wasn’t putting on an act. He hated seeing her with the other man, even knowing it was all a ploy to help him. He hadn’t enjoyed the public row either, and he certainly had regretted that it prevented him from trying to arrange another evening alone with Reyn.
Especially after the way she kissed him in his office. A fleeting press of her lips, it should have been forgettable after everything else they had done together, but he couldn’t push it from his mind. Not when that kiss had nothing to do with an experiment, or a distraction. That kiss had been a simple comfort. One Reyn had initiated.
He wanted more such simple intimacies. Instead, he had lost nearly two full days to their pretend fight. And he didn’t know how many days he had left.
How long would Reyn stay in Lhanaperi? She had come hoping to learn something about her magic from Khiran, but now that she knew she was a siren, would she stay much longer? He hated the thought of her going back to Moial and stifling her personality.
He hated the thought of her leaving.
His forbidding expression notwithstanding, Velario could not scare away one person at the ball. Unlike Selona, Khiran, and Lisca, Danten did not know what was afoot.
He sauntered over and clapped Velario on the back. “Why are you lurking in the corner, Vel?”
Velario craned his neck to keep Reyn in sight over Danten’s shoulder.
Danten shook his head. “Glaring at her won’t solve anything. If you want to win her back, you need to show her how much she matters.”
“I’m not glaring ather.”
“Glaring at Enzi doesn’t help, either. Swoop in and charm her out from under him. You know she is only flirting with him because it will bother you—her taste is better than that. The fact that she is flirting with him means she is waiting for your reaction. You still have a chance, but you need to act fast.”
Reyn and Enzi slipped to the edges of the ballroom. She was leading him to the parlor next to the library.
Velario shifted around Danten to keep them in sight. “You’re right. I’ll do that now.”
He didn’t wait for Danten’s response. He moved toward another door, one that would take him to a library door on the far side from the parlor. He caught Lord Geratisi’s eye as he went and nodded. Lisca’s father nodded back and made his way through the ballroom. He’d be in the library with a few other witnesses soon, but Velario wouldn’t wait for them. He had no intention of leaving Enzi completely alone with Reyn for any longer than it took them to traverse the halls to the parlor.
Velario crept into the library and made his way to the far door, which Lisca had left open a crack before the ball started. He heard Reyn laughing on the other side, and it comforted him to recognize it as nothing more than her court giggle, even while tension ate at him. He had to lock one hand around his other wrist behind his back to prevent himself from pushing the door open and rushing in.
“Lord Enzi, I couldn’t possibly.”
“Of course you can. If it were a secret, he never would have shown you.”
Five hells. Enzi was trying to get Velario’s secrets from Reyn.
“But I know he wouldn’t want me to share.”
“What do you care after yesterday? He treated you abominably.”
Velario heard a sniffle. Was Reyn going to cry? She was. He smothered a chuckle. It was the perfect way to delay without risking Enzi pushing her for intimate favors.
While Velario listened to Reyn bemoan all the wrongs he had done her—he was surprised to hear only made-up complaints, and none of his genuine mistakes—the rest of his witnesses arrived.
Lord Geratisi led Lady Dachsi, Lord Medio, Lady Jianna, and Lord Sablon into the library. They all crossed the room on silent feet, but even in the dimness, Velario could see the questions waiting to burst out. Lord Sablon, especially, seemed ready to demand an explanation.
Velario had not expected Lord Geratisi to bring Enzi’s father as a witness.
Lord Sablon saw Velario at the same moment his son’s voice drifted through the door clearly. Lady Dachsi put a hand on his arm and silently reminded him to say nothing when he opened his mouth.
Velario hid his sigh of relief and focused his attention on the conversation in the next room. Lord Geratisi and Lady Dachsi would keep Lord Sablon in line.
As always, Reyn’s timing was impeccable. The sniffles stopped, and Velario once again had to fight the urge to burst through the room and carry her away from Enzi and to his bed. No doubt she was using her siren’s lure once more.
