Chapter 22 #2
“You already have.” His expression mirrored mine as his hand shifted along my lower back, as if searching, testing, reminding. “My astrolabe. Do you have it on you?”
“Do you really think I’d be stupid enough to carry that around?” I tilted my head, letting a slow grin spread, even as my heart kicked harder in my chest.
And then I stepped just slightly closer on the next beat, close enough that only he would notice, close enough that if he pushed even a fraction further, there would be nothing but cloth between us at all.
“Are you inviting me to search your person?” The violet in his eyes darkened as he moved us across the floor.
“Maybe…not.” My traitorous breath hitched, and he must have felt it because his hand flexed against my spine and his fingers spread as if claiming more of me. “Doesn’t seem like the perfect time.”
“Patience, wretched woman.” The roughness in his voice lacked any real bite. It rolled through me anyway, settling somewhere it shouldn’t.
Now he was getting under my skin, and I was fixing to put him in his place if he kept it up. I tipped my chin, meeting his gaze head-on. “Horrible fae.”
His laugh was soft and meant only for me. He leaned in enough that his lips brushed my ear, a whisper of warmth that slid down my spine and settled low. “Keep looking at me like that,” he promised, “and I will embarrass us both in front of the entire court.”
“You’re threatening to embarrass me?” I inhaled, startled. I would’ve loved to see him try, but if he knew I wanted that, he wouldn’t. He seemed to enjoy irritating the hell out of me.
“I don’t make idle threats.” His lips grazed the curve of my ear, light enough to be deniable, deliberate enough that it wasn’t. “So don’t tempt me.”
“Tempt you?” I dropped my jaw and moved in a little closer. “I’m just dancing. It’s not my fault you can’t hold out for your perfect moment.”
A low sound rumbled through his chest. “Is that so?”
Before I could answer, he spun me, my skirt’s layers flaring. The world blurred into motion—chandeliers, faces, starlight overhead—and then his hand closed around mine again, drawing me back in with a force that stole the breath from my lungs.
His arm wrapped around my waist, and then the floor dropped away as he dipped me, and everything slowed.
I rested in his hold, my back arched over his arm as the layers of my gown spilled toward the polished floor. My hair loosened, soft strands slipping free of the topknot, and his face hovered just above mine, close enough that I could feel the heat of his breath.
The violet in his eyes had gone molten. And then he closed his eyes and kissed me.
His mouth moved against mine with a slow, consuming heat that unraveled everything I had left of control. My hand slid from his shoulder and caught in the collar of his coat as if I needed something to anchor myself to, because the rest of me was slipping away.
The music faded.
The room faded.
The watching court, the laughter, the weight of every gaze all dissolved until there was only the solid line of his arm beneath me, his steady strength holding me in place, and the addicting taste of him.
He finally drew back, his forehead resting against mine while his chest rose and fell in a rhythm that had nothing to do with the music. My hand was still fisted in his collar, and I had no intention of letting go.
“You think that embarrassed me?” I whispered, my voice rougher than I intended.
“No.” His thumb traced along the bare skin above my bodice. “You’re far more difficult to rattle than that. I’m exercising restraint.”
My breath betrayed me all over again. “Are you?” I wasn’t convinced, not even a little.
The world returned in pieces. The music first, the strings still weaving through the waltz as if nothing had happened.
Then the voices, low and layered, rippling outward from where we stood.
I caught glimpses over his shoulder of wide eyes, lifted brows, amused smirks, and more than a few scandalized expressions.
And there was Thea, standing in a dark plum gown with a glass of something pale in her hand, looking entirely too pleased with herself, Ashren standing beside her with an expression that said he’d expected nothing less.
Kai lifted me upright like I weighed nothing at all, his arm firm around my waist, steadying me even when I didn’t need it.
“Now.” His words were edged with command again. “You will behave while I attend to my duties. Then we will finish our conversation and arrive at something resembling clarity.”
“Clarity about what?” I narrowed my eyes at him, already bracing for whatever nonsense he thought counted as an answer.
He didn’t respond, and before I could push, the music shifted. The waltz gave way to something brighter, faster, pulling the rest of the room back into motion. He guided me through a few more steps without effort, steering us from the center of the floor to the edge.
“You’ll see soon enough, and I will find whatever you’re hiding, one way or another.”
“Oh, I’m sure you will.” I batted my eyes.
A slender man in gray appeared at his side and bowed his head. His voice was low and quick as he murmured something I couldn’t make out.
The shift in Kai was immediate.
His arm stiffened, and his jaw worked. His eyes darkened into something cruel and cold as the quiet words continued.
Whatever it was wasn’t good, and I needed to know.
His hand flexed at my back, then slipped off. “Forgive me.” He stepped back, putting a little space between us. The heated suitor from a moment ago was gone, replaced with the distant man I’d come to know. “There is a matter that requires my attention. I will return shortly.”
“Should I be worried?” My fingers curled into my palms.
“No.” His expression softened for a moment before that mask settled back into place. “Don’t cause trouble while I’m gone. And for the love of Fate, try not to get abducted.”
“Maybe I don’t love Aunt Maureen,” I muttered, folding my arms, some of her advice repeating in my mind. “But I’m not going to tempt Fate, so there goes my evening plan.”
The corner of his mouth lifted, but it didn’t reach his eyes this time. “I won’t be long.”
Then he was gone, his cape sweeping behind him as the crowd opened and then closed around him as if he’d never been there at all.
I watched him disappear through the far archway, waiting for him to glance back.
He didn’t. Of course he didn’t. I stomped my foot, realizing it didn’t have the impact as desired with such a long, flowy gown.
“Oh, sweet stars above.”
I turned to find Thea sweeping toward me with a smile bright enough to light the entire room on its own. “If you’re here to tell me that wasn’t a scene, I’m going to need you to lie better.”
“Oh, it was absolutely a scene.” She took my hands and pulled me into a slow turn so she could inspect the gown. “A highly effective one, I might add. You look even more stunning than I imagined, and my expectations were not low.”
My chest tightened, and heat rushed through me all over again. A strange itching spasm cut across the tops of my ears, but I ignored it and resisted the urge to scratch them. I had bigger things to focus on, like Kai turning cold once again. “Well, it’s all thanks to you.”
Thea arched one elegant brow, and her mouth pinched with amusement. “I merely gathered the materials. You are the one making them look like a dream.”
I dragged my gaze over her in return, because fair was fair.
“Please. Look at you. You look like you stepped out of one of those fancy paintings that hang in museums where people pretend to understand suffering because someone painted a woman near a window.” I gestured at the entirety of her, from the rich plum gown to the crystals sparkling in her hair.
“If anyone here looks like a masterpiece, it’s you. ”
Her expression softened before her eyes flicked over my shoulder and to the left. I followed the movement to find Ashren lingering near the staircase and speaking with a cluster of nobles and finely dressed fae. His attention kept drifting back to her before he forced it elsewhere.
Interesting.
I smiled at Thea. “It seems to me the men of the Dusk Court have a bad habit of waiting around for the perfect moment to declare themselves. Do they ever actually do anything, or do they all just stand around, brooding, until someone else handles it for them?”
That earned me a real laugh from Thea, and she lifted a finger.
“Oh, they do eventually get there, but they take the scenic route through misery first.” She patted my hand, still looking far too pleased with the state of my life.
“Yours will come back. Until then, enjoy yourself.” She gestured toward the far side of the ballroom.
“And eat something. Saja has outdone herself, and you’ll want your strength for whatever the rest of this evening brings. ”
I looked at the tables, and my stomach rumbled.
They stretched along the back of the ballroom like someone had taken a high-end catering spread, a fantasy novel banquet, and one very unhinged Food Network special and smashed them together into one glorious fever dream.
Three-tiered stone fireplaces rose from the center of each table, each one lit with soft golden flames that somehow gave off warmth without smoke.
The lowest levels held wide basins of bubbling oils and a darker sauce that smelled rich and savory enough to make my stomach tighten in immediate devotion.
Skewers rested at the edges, threaded with cubes of meat, pearl onions, and glossy peppers that hissed and spat where the heat caught them.
At the top sat tiny cast iron skillets with handles shaped like curling branches, each one filled with something different and absurdly tempting.
Butter-poached scallops. Pear slices in some dark berry glaze.
Mushrooms that smelled like wine, thyme, and better decisions than I had ever made.
Surrounding all of that were platters loaded with sliced bread in every shade from pale gold to nearly black, wedges of cheese fanned out like they were posing for portraits, cured meats folded into little rose shapes, bowls of fresh fruit, pastries glazed with something that shimmered, tartlets crowned with jewel-bright berries, and ready-made skewers for dipping into the fondue below.
At the far end, a crystal tree held pale champagne flutes on its branches like enchanted fruit, each one glowing faintly from whatever had been poured inside.
Nearby, a servant in gray ladled something steaming and dark into delicate porcelain cups, and the scent of spiced wine and chocolate curled through the air so thick and good it practically reached out and grabbed me by the face.
Guests drifted around the display with elegant restraint, picking up little bites on slender skewers and nibbling like civilized people.
Kai had left me again and told me to behave. I wasn’t feeling particularly civilized.
“Saja has been planning this menu since she heard the ball was happening.” Thea looped her arm through mine and steered me toward the spread with the easy confidence of someone who had grown up in rooms like this.
“She says if the world insists on trying to end, then the least we can do is eat well while it does.”
“I like her and her philosophy." I’d already grown fond of Saja in the little bits and pieces I’d seen of her, and her food only strengthened my devotion. There was something in the way she cooked that reminded me of Aunt Maureen. Both made delicious bread.
My gaze caught on the bread again, then the cheese, then the little skillets, then the spreads, and something sly began to uncurl in my chest.
Kai had spent enough time teasing me about Tennessee traditions and unconventional behavior.
He had kissed me in front of half the court, then left me hanging again tonight, vanished to handle mysterious king business, and he fully expected me to stand around here, glowing and behaving until he came back.
Absolutely not.
Maybe Hannah of Tennessee needed to remind him what happened when she was left unattended in a room full of opportunity, petty instincts, and excellent food.
I let my smile spread slowly as the idea took shape, wicked and warm. He wanted a perfect moment. Fine. He could have one.
But I was done making it easy for him.