Chapter 20 #4
I snorted into my wine. “You’re going to die spectacularly one day.”
“Perhaps. But at least I’ll enjoy the evening first.”
He drained the last of his wine and set the goblet aside, already scanning the room with interest. “Just joking, of course… I think. Looks like the night’s calling.”
He leaned in, close enough that only I could hear him. “For what it’s worth, you’re the most beautiful woman in the room tonight. I hope you enjoy yourself. Really enjoy it. Let loose for once. Without that constant edge of danger hanging over you.”
I smiled and rose onto my toes, pressing a quick kiss to his cheek. Then I flicked two fingers against his bare chest, playful and dismissive all at once. “Go on, then,” I said. “Enjoy the hunt.”
He laughed, already stepping away, the trident catching the light as he disappeared into the crowd, loose and exactly where he wanted to be.
Left on my own, I let my attention drift.
At the center, a wide pool caught the firelight, breaking it into shards of gold.
Men and women moved through the water in slow, sinuous rhythms, clinging to one another before drifting apart, unashamed.
Their near-naked skin gleamed beneath the open roof, laughter spilling freely as it mingled with the splash of water and the low thrum of music.
It reminded me of the Aedile’s gathering I had attended with Elion, the same indulgence, the same deliberate excess, but this was different somehow. Looser. Then, I had been watched, measured, weighed by everyone who looked my way.
Tonight, I was anonymous.
The mask did more than hide my face; it lifted something from my shoulders. No expectations pressed in on me here, no awareness of danger shadowing each breath.
I drained my first cup of wine in a single breath, savoring the loosened, weightless feeling it gave me. Then I slipped off my slippers and stepped forward into the water. I wouldn’t stand against the wall tonight. Not like last time.
The water was cold around my calves, splashing higher as bodies moved against me. Droplets caught the light as they fell, sliding over gold-dusted skin, paint and powder blending into gleaming streaks.
I danced because it felt good to move, because no one knew my name, because the night asked nothing of me but to be here. The music pulled me under, the wine loosening my limbs. My hips swayed with it as the water churned around me. Bodies pressed close, but without expectation.
As the hours slipped by, my blood began to run hot.
Cups kept appearing in my hand, and I kept draining them, the wine staining my lips as my thoughts softened into something blurred and distant.
Laughter came easily as I tipped my head back, staring up at the stars and the clouds drifting past the moon.
Livia moved near the pool, her cheeks flushed, gold clinging to her skin as she danced without care, joy written plainly across her face.
Jorius wasn’t far from her, exactly where I’d expected him—entwined with a man and woman dressed as golden hunters, their laughter ringing out as they moved in easy, shameless rhythm.
He caught my eye once, lifted a cup in salute, and spun one of them close, clearly enjoying himself.
Between one beat of the music and the next, I felt it, the shift that meant I was no longer unobserved.
I caught sight of a man standing at the edge of the pool, half-shadowed by torchlight, gold catching at his throat and along the lines of his armor.
He was dressed as the god of war, every detail meant to command and dazzle.
Cold flared through my piercing, jolting me from the haze of wine and music. I didn’t need it to tell me what I already knew.
When our eyes met, he dipped his head to me with certainty. He lifted his cup in a silent acknowledgment, then tipped it toward a shadowed corner of the room before turning away, already moving in that direction.
There was no question in the gesture.
I hesitated only long enough to finish my drink, then stepped out of the pool, water sliding from my skin as I crossed the hall.
My slippers were forgotten as I moved barefoot over the stone.
The motion pulled too close to the memory of my nightmare, and some of the fog lifted, adrenaline bleeding into my veins in place of wine.
The music faded as I moved away from the revel, replaced by the low murmur of voices and the crackle of torches.
He was waiting where he’d indicated, posture relaxed, a cup held loosely in one hand. Up close, his sand-blonde hair showed beneath the edge of his mask, as did his eyes—hazel and dark.
“My Lady,” he said smoothly, taking my hand before I could pull it back. He bent and brushed a kiss against my knuckles, holding the touch long enough to be noticed. Too long.
“Your beauty honors the night. I am pleased to see you wore the earrings. I had them made to match your golden eyes.”
I let him hold my hand a breath longer than courtesy required, then eased it free. “They are memorable,” I said, my voice smooth despite the chill that traced my spine. “You have a good eye for detail.”
He stepped closer, close enough that I could smell the wine on his breath, warm and spiced. “Tonight rewards those willing to be seen. But I’d prefer us to remain in the shadows together.”
His fingers closed around my wrist, tracing slow patterns over my skin, his other hand sliding to my shoulder as if the touch were already familiar. “Let’s go somewhere more private,” he said. “So you can thank me for the earrings and your uncle’s visit… properly.”
Panic surfaced. The wine dulled me, stole the edge I needed to maneuver. I was out of time.
“You’re very tempting,” I slurred. “But I think I’d rather stay right here, where the night can still see us.”
His grip tightened. “You accepted my gifts. You enjoyed the generosity of me keeping my word. It’s only fair I receive something in return.” His voice lowered. “Nothing more than a kiss… to begin with.”
Indignant heat rushed beneath my mask, my skin betraying me before I could school my expression.
“This,” he murmured, lifting a loose strand of my hair between his fingers, letting it catch the light, “is what I find most attractive about you. You look like fire tonight. All gold and temptation. But underneath it… You’re still untouched.”
My breath hitched before I could steady it. The ease I’d worn all night slipped. I reached for the persona I’d built so carefully—the calm smile, the measured poise—but it faltered, thinning at the edges. I felt the shift, the tilt of power toward him. He wouldn’t accept a refusal. Not this time.
Movement at the edge of my vision broke the illusion of privacy. Our corner was no longer ours alone. Thank Lunara.
Aelia stood nearby, rigid in her armor of red and gold. Her face tightened with hatred, as though she’d found something she’d been waiting to strike.
And then the room fell away.
My sight narrowed to the man against the wall near her.
He was dressed as the god of death, the costume revealing far too much bronze skin for something meant to represent an ending.
Dark fabric draped across his chest, golden metal framing his face in the shape of a skull.
His mask concealed everything but his eyes—green, dangerous, and unreadable—and his mouth.
He folded his arms. Something deep inside me tightened at the sight of those veined, muscled forearms.
A dull warmth spread through my piercing. It had to be Thanor.
Aelia came toward us, placing herself neatly at her husband’s side, her hand sliding into the crook of his arm with practiced ease. The movement was enough to draw his attention away from me without appearing to do so.
“You’re needed elsewhere, husband,” she said. She gestured toward the far end of the room. She didn’t look at me. Not directly. For the sake of appearances, I was nothing more than another masked reveler standing too close for her liking.
Decimus hesitated only a moment before allowing himself to be guided away, reluctantly pulled from our corner as his wife steered him toward the crowd. She remained a moment longer, her hand closing painfully around my wrist.
“I don’t know who you are, but stay away from my husband—or I’ll have you sent to a pleasure house, since you seem so eager to play the whore.”
My mouth turned dry. “I understand.”
Her fingers released me at last. Without another word, she joined Decimus. I drew in steady breaths, trying to calm my racing heart.
Beside me, Thanor remained still, predatory in a way that made my skin prickle beneath the remnants of gold and water.
The noise dulled. Despite everything I knew, everything he represented, my body leaned toward him, answering a pull I no longer bothered to deny.
The wine still ran warm through my veins, blurring the edges of caution, smoothing the lines I usually held so carefully in place.
I told myself I was only shifting for a better view, only closing the distance because the crowd had moved.
But my bare feet carried me straight to him.
I stopped too close, close enough to feel the heat of his body through the thin space between us, the contrast of it against the cool, gold-slicked air.
I tilted my head, my pulse beginning to trip over itself again.
I didn’t touch him. Not yet. But I stayed, near enough that the choice was obvious.
His eyes remained forward, fixed on nothing in particular.
“The wine has been generous with you tonight,” he said calmly, his dark green eyes finally meeting mine.
I smiled up at him, the kind of smile I rarely allowed myself. “It has. It makes everything feel warmer. Less… distant.” My fingers brushed my hair from my neck. “Easier not to think. Easier to listen to what I want.”
His gaze paused on my mouth, then dipped lower—but he didn’t move closer. Didn’t reach for me.