Chapter 87 Taera
Taera
For a peaceful fragment of a moment, nothing is real. Then the horror rings through me as every set of eyes turns. I’m naked—completely exposed.
My heart stops.
There’s no air. The ballroom dances white around the edges, before adrenaline pumps my blood on double-speed like a mockery of the instruments that have stopped playing.
Heat burns my skin from my forehead to my toes.
I want to flee, but running away would be even more mortifying—and desperately covering myself with my hands would be unbearable, revealing the true extent of my humiliation. These are illusionists; they’re not ashamed of their bodies.
I’m not one of them. I’m trapped in a quicksand of indecision.
A cloak of flame drops around my shoulders, wrapping me in safety from the greedy eyes. I’m supposed to feel something, but my only thought is how warm the fire is in this cold, cruel ballroom.
“Is it part of her costume?” someone murmurs.
“Lost your conduit,” Jezebel sing-songs. “That’s embarrassing.”
Fury blinds me.
“Honestly, Niko, I don’t know what you see in her. She’s as brown as the desert. Even if she scrubbed for hours, she’d never be clean of—”
“Shut up, Jezebel.” His voice cuts hers like glass.
Nikolai’s flames spit and crackle, and Jezebel takes a step back. His eyes don’t leave me. His lips are parted, his composure broken.
He’s seen almost all of me before, but having him watch me stripped bare like this… My face blazes and hot tears of anger blur my vision—I’m furious with my own body for betraying how deeply it cuts to be exposed for him, in front of everyone.
But isn’t this what I deserve for returning to the Halls of Glass? For thinking it would be different—that he’d be different?
I don’t belong here.
I’ll never belong here.
“Taera is mine,” Nikolai growls. I tremble at its razor edge. “No one touches her.”
Jezebel scowls. “You’re here with me.”
“No,” he replies. “Tonight is for Taera. It should always have been Taera.”
“You do that…” Tendons strain in Jezebel’s neck. “And you’re not getting anything from me.”
“How tragic,” he says.
I step up to Nikolai, touching his arm. Watching him defend me warms me more than the flames, but I don’t need him to protect me. At the prickle of magic where I place my hand on him, he looks at me. His expression breaks.
“I’m so sorry, Taera,” he whispers, and holds out his hand. It’s an offer.
I take it.
Magic rushes through me as he whispers, “This is for you.”
The ballroom is snuffed into darkness. The air seems to tremble.
My eyes slowly adjust, and I gasp. The ballroom has shifted from evening to night, the entire ceiling studded with brilliant stars. My skin prickles with cold, welcome air, and I look down at myself.
The sweltering cape is gone from my shoulders, but I’m covered in light of liquid silver that flows down my skin to pool into a gown of pure starlight.
It’s both cold and warm to the touch. As I watch the impossible fabric, little glimmers of light shimmer and shed from it, drifting up to join the rest of the stars above.
I can’t comprehend the grandeur, like the stars themselves have chosen me. I lift my hand, and my eyes track the strands of pure light that trickle in whispers behind my every motion.
Shocked inhales ripple through the crowd.
The silver of my dress is a mirror, reflecting low, red flickers of Nikolai’s fire. Every other costume in the room has lost its color, its luster, leaving only the two of us shining through the darkness. A puff of cool desert breeze caresses my shoulders, and I feel like I’m home.
Nikolai never lets go of my hand. When I look up at him, he’s gazing at me intently, a warm glow among shadows.
“You’re my moon, Taera—my everything.” His voice isn’t just velvet. It’s reverent. “I burn for you, and you reflect everything good in me. You make me want to be who you see in me.”
I have no words. I already know I’m going to remember this instant forever, the moment Nikolai chose me. This magician means everything to me. He’s the one who brought my fire back.
“Such pretty words.” Jezebel’s voice curdles the room. “Tell me, do you believe them?”
The gems of her dress glitter like spider eyes as she approaches. But she doesn’t look as upset as I expected. If anything, she looks entertained, like this is the performance she’s been waiting for.
I glare at her, then murmur, “You’ve lost.”
“I don’t want to have to do this,” she says.
“Don’t make a scene,” Nikolai warns.
“You know me too well, Niko.” Jezebel grins. “But does Taera? Does she know anything about you?”
I didn’t realize Jezebel even knew my name. The sound of it from her mouth makes me grimace.
“I know Nikolai better than you do,” I say, returning to what we started but didn’t finish.
Jezebel laughs. “No, you don’t.”
“Ignore her.” He tugs at my hand. I glance at him, and I want to follow him, but I can’t let Jezebel have the final word.
“He made his choice,” I say, surprising myself with the force behind my words. “Now leave, before you embarrass yourself.”
Someone oohs behind me. We still have an audience.
“You think you’re special,” Jezebel says. “You really are clueless.”
“What are you talking about?” I reply.
“I wondered how he charmed you. You always seemed smarter than the rest,” Jezebel says. “But after our little chat, it makes more sense.”
“What?” I ask. Her words twinge at my deepest fears, but I trust Jezebel about as much as I would a hungry snake.
“Same trick. Works every time.” She sighs. “Honestly? I’m surprised you’re still listening to me after devouring all his lies.”
“If you have anything real to say, say it,” I growl.
“Maybe he should tell you himself.” Her eyes glitter, flitting to Nikolai.
“Let’s go, Taera,” he murmurs. Still, I don’t turn away. The jealous spider has aroused enough unease in me that I need to know why she’s still trying.
“Stop playing with me,” I say.
“Ooh, she’s feisty.” Jezebel grins at Nikolai. “I see why you like her. It’s disgusting how much power she has; she’s practically dripping with it.”
“He saved me.” My patience is about to snap.
She just chuckles.
“You’re a lying magician,” I mutter.
“I am, but Niko’s the worst of us all.”
I turn to leave. If she thinks she can instill doubt without a shred of evidence, she’s underestimated me.
“I’ll stop toying with you.” Jezebel’s tone goes hard. “He’s done enough of that.”
I glance back at her, still glaring.
“Last chance, Niko, or I tell her everything,” she says, all amusement gone. Then her cat eyes fix on me. “Sorry to ruin your happily ever after.”