Chapter 56
Throughout the night, Domino, Journey, and I alternate between dancing together as a group and with more than one cute face.
Domino is getting cozier with Calloway, the guy she’s been crushing on for a while, and Journey has been spending more time than not dancing with a girl from House Tera whose name I don’t know yet.
Eventually, I start dancing next to a guy from Aria who’s also a Storm Guard cadet. Riley is tall with wide shoulders and a tapered waist. Dark-brown hair curls around his ears and is streaked with pops of lilac at his temples.
He’s handsome, and I’m sure those adorable dimples and that easy smile melt the knees of plenty of others. Not me, though. I’m here for the music and the freedom.
The good news is that the pounding, thumping music has the intended effect of taking my mind off what happened at the Tempestade and the conversation with Knox. I haven’t seen him since, and I hope that means he left and, more importantly, took the hint never to bother me again.
I don’t believe that he really loved me. I think he loved the idea of what we could have been. The scion of Fiama and his docile wife attending parties and reveling in the perks of our positions.
Even if Knox had been faithful. Even if I still felt anything for him, I would never have wanted any of that.
I’m spinning and moving my hips, but I’m also lost in my thoughts.
“You okay?” Riley asks, leaning down to shout in my ear.
“Sure, but why are you talking to me?” I ask, raising my voice. “You’re supposed to shun me, remember?”
He gives me a warm smile and shouts back, “I happen to think you’re kind of cute.”
I snort. It’s not a very dignified sound.
“And that’s enough?” I ask.
He shrugs and then grins. “It’s a start.”
I giggle. Then throw my head back and laugh. It’s definitely not that funny. It might even be a little bit offensive, but everything is hilarious right now. Pouring that drink on Knox set something free. A heavy weight I’ve been carrying over my head.
I smile and twirl, hands raised, again and again until I get a little dizzy. I stumble, and Riley reaches for me, trying to help, but he misses, and my ankle bends.
Suddenly, I’m on the floor, but I’m still laughing.
“You all right?” Riley asks, bending down and holding out a hand.
Suddenly, a different pair of hands shoves into my armpits from behind and lifts me like I weigh nothing. I look past my shoulder and peer up to find Rook’s green-and-gold eyes.
“Hi,” I whisper, completely thrown off by his arrival as something sparkly fizzes in my chest. What is he doing here?
I flip myself around so I’m pressed against him with his hands loosely on my hips.
Lifting my fingers, I rub the stubble on Rook’s jaw, making sure he’s real and not a figment of my imagination.
“Hey.” I hear Riley over my head. “We were dancing.”
“So you’re the one who let her fall?” he demands. He sounds kind of angry. It’s sort of hot.
“She tripped!”
Riley must say something else because Rook growls. It vibrates through my chest and does something funny to my stomach. His arms tighten around me, and I nuzzle into him, warm and safe.
“Get out of here,” I hear him say to Riley, and he must clear out because suddenly Rook is peering down at me, and it’s like we’re the only two people left in the room.
“We weren’t really dancing,” I say. “Now that I think about it, I was wishing I was dancing with someone else.”
“Yeah? Who?”
The look he’s giving me tells me he knows it was him.
But I don’t give him the satisfaction of answering.
“Why are you here?” I ask, and he shakes his head.
“Honestly? I have no idea.” He tucks a piece of loose hair behind my ear. “The room was lonely without you.”
My face stretches into a smile as my heart grows heavy with the weight of some emotion I can’t name.
“So, dance with me,” I say.
“I’m not really a dancer,” he answers, uncertainty crossing over his expression.
“I don’t believe that for a moment. Not with the way you move on the sparring mats.”
The corner of his mouth kicks up.
I take his hands and give him a little shake. “Come on! I know you want to.”
“How much have you had to drink?” he asks. “You just fell.”
“You’re so responsible,” I coo. “I just got dizzy, that’s all. I’ve had one drink.” I pause. “And a sip,” I add, thinking of the cocktail I dumped on Knox’s head. “I promise I’m fine.”
I start moving, swiveling my hips as he watches me with a hungry look in his eyes. Slowly, I turn around, my arms lifted, and then his hands close around my waist.
But I catch his wrists. “Wait, you didn’t want to be seen with me, right? You were worried about attracting attention.”
His jaw hardens, and his gaze flicks across the room before he looks back at me. “I did say that.”
“Hmm, too bad,” I say, then I turn to walk away. A moment later, I feel him behind me as he wraps an arm around my midsection.
“I changed my mind,” he whispers in my ear.
“So, you do dance?”
“For you, I’ll make an exception.”
My face spreads into a wide grin as I spin and throw my arms around his neck.
“What did I tell you?” he says, still whispering into my ear, his warm breath pulling up shivers across my skin. “Nothing but trouble.”
I laugh and then lean against him as we move together.
“But we should get another drink!” I shout over the music, and he nods before following me to the bar.
With cocktails in hand, we return to dancing, our hips circling together as we lose ourselves in the music and the lights. I know Rook was worried, but everyone is too lost in their own fun, and no one is paying us any attention.
One song ends and another begins, this one pulsing with low, long beats that bring to mind heaving breaths and stolen moments in the dark.
Rook’s eyes blaze, green and gold melting together as he snakes a hand behind my head and drags me closer. Our mouths hover inches apart.
“I’m going to kiss you,” he says, then waits for me to nod before he presses his mouth to mine, his lips hot, his tongue searching. My limbs are soft, and my heart flutters wildly in my chest. He’s warm and hard, and his scent is addictive.
We dance for what feels like hours, his hands on my hips, sliding up my back, his mouth on mine. We drink. We laugh. And I want it to last forever.
The beat slows, dragging us once again together as my head tips against his chest. We’ve both had several drinks, and I’m starting to feel a little woozy.
I can sense his body soften, curling against me, easing into our warm cocoon.
“I’m sorry I’m a bit of a mess,” I say. A dizzy spell hits, and I canter to the left. But Rook catches me before I have a chance to go far.
“You’re beautiful,” he answers, burrowing a line of sunshine through my chest. My hands grip his biceps as my eyes flutter, and I hum a happy tune. This is what I needed. This was what I wanted tonight.
With my cheek pressed to Rook’s shoulder, my eyes slowly open, and then I catch a glimpse of Trinity standing at the edge of the crowd. She’s with her E-squad, and she’s watching us, her gaze darting between Rook and me, her lip curled in distaste.
My head snaps up.
She came here without me.
And her obvious judgment twists through my chest.
Suddenly, I don’t want to be here anymore.
“I need to go,” I say.
“What?” Rook asks as I push off him and start shoving through the crowd.
“Poet?” Trinity asks as I stumble past. “Where are you going?”
The dancing, intoxicated mass presses in around me as I jostle my way through.
“Move!” I shout before bursting through the edge and stumbling out the door to a blast of cold night air. I grab a railing for balance, inhaling deeply.
I make it to the bottom of the steps, nearly tumbling in my haste.
“Poet, what’s wrong?” Rook asks as he catches up.
I exhale a soft breath as my forehead tips against his chest.
He doesn’t say anything as I breathe against him, waiting for my pulse to slow. His arms slide around me, and I sag, seeking comfort in his strength. Suddenly, I’m exhausted.
“I think you’ve had enough. We should get you home.”
I nod. “I need to tell Dom and Journey.”
I feel him maneuver me toward the building. He presses me to the wall and speaks to the bouncer. “Watch her for a moment, will you?”
Then he’s gone for what feels like only a second before he leads me to a waiting gondola. He helps me into the boat before the driver pushes off.
“Sit,” he says, and I shiver as I wrap my arms around myself. A moment later, he drapes his jacket over my shoulders, and I shrug into the leather, still warm from his body. His arm comes next, and I lean into him as we float through the city.
I peer up at the net of stars hanging in an unusually clear sky.
“Can you see Andromeda?” I ask him. “You said it’s your favorite, right?”
I get a half smile, and he points out the cluster of stars that apparently make up the constellation. They blur before my eyes, and I can’t make out much of anything, but I appreciate him sharing this with me anyway. I rest my head on his shoulder as my eyes open and close.
“She just abandoned me,” I whisper after a moment. “I thought we were best friends. Why? All so she can hang out with those monsters?”
His hand lands on my knee, giving it a reassuring squeeze.
“I’m not sure,” he says. “Sometimes people grow apart.”
I shake my head against his shoulder. “She’s one of them, Rook. Even if she wanted me around, how can I get past that?”
“I don’t know,” he answers, and we both float silently for a moment.
“Did you have fun tonight?” he asks.
I offer him a smile. “Of course. I did with Dom and Journey. And then you showed up.”
Something passes over his expression, and I swear his cheeks turn a little pink.
“I had fun, too,” he says.
I blink up at him. “When did you arrive?”
He shrugs. “Right before I found you.”
“Hmm,” I say as I snuggle in closer and we drift through the quiet city, bathed in a glow of lights. “I’m glad you came. Even if I’m trouble.”
He chuckles softly, his lips pressing to the top of my head.
We reach Amery, and he helps me out of the boat and down to our room. After he closes the door, he sits me on the bed and kneels, taking off my boots.
“This is nice,” I say dreamily as he peers up.
“I’m glad you think so, because you’re going to feel like hell tomorrow.”
I giggle because even though he’s right, his serious tone is making me laugh. I’m rewarded with a ghost of a smile as he tugs down on my boot’s zipper.
When he’s finished, he places his hands on the bed on either side of my hips. “Are you really okay?” he asks. “I saw that asshole talking to you.”
“Riley? Was that his name? He wasn’t so bad.”
“No. Your . . . former betrothed.”
“Oh.” I tip my head and cup his cheek with my hand. “Aw, are you jealous? You sounded so mad just there. Even more than usual, I mean.”
His eyes darken. “I’m not jealous.”
He stands up and tugs the covers back before laying me down and lifting my legs.
“Stay with me,” I say, reaching up.
He leans over me, studying my face.
“You should sleep,” he says. “You’re a little wasted.”
“I really am,” I agree. This time, he actually laughs. “I love it when you laugh,” I say, again touching his face. “It’s so rare. Like precious jewels or something. You have such a great smile.”
“So do you, Trouble.” He leans over and presses his lips to my forehead, and my eyes slide closed again. I’m so tired that I’m drifting away.
“I wanted to get drunk,” I mumble.
“Why?”
“Because of what they did. To the Hollows. I wanted to forget, but I can’t forget.”
“The simulation,” he says. My hair rustles against the pillow as I nod.
“Why do they do it? Why be so cruel? What’s the point? What does it prove?”
My words drift off, and Rook is silent for so long that I think he won’t answer.
Or maybe I’ve fallen asleep.
Then I feel his lips against my forehead. Softly, he says, “I think sometimes . . . the cruelty is the only point.”