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“Of course,” Percy said with a regal nod, then shifted me into dancing position and pulled me into the music.
I took a shuddering breath while my eyes burned with sudden tears that wanted to fall to the floor in an explosion of sorrow, relief, and I wasn’t sure what else. All I knew was that after a few dizzying spins, black specks took up the edges of my vision in a way that was probably a precursor to me fainting dramatically on the stairs.
“We should go up the stairs,” I whispered. My throat felt raw from holding back aching tears.
“We have a dance and a half left to get through,” he said calmly.
“I’m going to faint, and you said that I should do it on the stairs,” I hissed at him, suddenly angry and frustrated with these tears choking and clogging my throat. If I cried in the middle of this, where my vile and dangerous father, along with all his cronies, could see, I would rather turn to stone.
“You’re cold,” he said, again correcting me. He pulled back long enough to take off his immaculate suit jacket and then swirled it onto my shoulders before pulling me once again into the dance. He kept his hand on the base of my spine, and then I felt the metal tip of his spell claw on my skin as he sliced through the bodice, rip, rip, rip, until I could practically breathe.
I leaned against him, closer than I should have, but I needed a shield from the raptors, and while Percival was my enemy, at least he was familiar, and wasn’t a friend of theirs.
“You are a bit close for this kind of dance,” he murmured in my ear, but his arm was holding me against him as much as I wanted to climb on his back to get away from the watchers.
“Shut up. It’s either close dancing or I climb on top of you.”
“Wow. I had no idea that this party would turn you into such a vixen. It must be your father’s influence, which you can rebel against now that you know him. Seriously, Red, you’re giving the impression that you are quite taken with me.”
“Who cares? We’re supposed to be betrothed.”
“True. In that case, you should probably rip open my shirt and suck on my neck.”
I pulled away from him to scowl at him. “Excuse me?”
He smiled slightly, his gorgeous face looking haunted and incredibly dreamy. “Exactly. Public signs of affection don’t really go over with this crowd. You might as well be stripping me naked and doing vampire impressions if you’re going to be affectionate.”
“My vampire impression would involve your throat being ripped out. Did I ever tell you about the vampire I met?”
He raised a brow. “You didn’t. Was he interesting?”
“She apparently murdered fifty-two men this year. I think I could set you up with her, no problem.”
“Why are you hanging out with murderers?”
“She might be a murderer, but she isn’t a thief like that cat shifter faux cop who stole all my books. Well, all except the small one that the vampire returned to me. You see a murderer, but I see an upright citizen. People are more than one thing, not just black and white, but all the shades of gray.”
“You’re hysterical, but you aren’t still passing out, are you? Maybe I should hold you close and whisper sweet nothings to you. Right now you just sound like the crazy old lady on Hawthorn and Bubba talking to the matted stuffed animals in her grocery cart.”
“Her name’s Mary, and she’s very sweet.”
“You hang out with the crazies and the psycho killers?”
“And you. What can I say? I’m way too open-minded.” I sobbed and held my breath while I tried to focus on the dancing, on him, on everything but the person probably still watching me from the balcony who had given me half of my genetics, no, probably more because I had his mouth, his chin, his hair, and his nose. Probably the only thing I’d clearly gotten from my mother was my eyes. And my lack of two-faced kindness that morphed into cold killer instinct.
“One more dance, Red, and you can collapse in to a pile of hysterical with whatever you want to eat, but right now, we dance, and you don’t let anyone see that you let them get to you.” His voice was hard, but also angry, and that somehow helped me straighten up and lift my chin.
I stared into his eyes and then stepped on his foot.
He winced. “That’s right. If I can endure the dance, so can you, and I’m sure that you’ll make it memorable for both of us. Close your eyes, Red, and I won’t let anything get to you. Just close your eyes and pretend you’re dancing with your gargoyle.”
I closed my eyes and while it was nothing like dancing in the air with a winged magnificent beast, it was better than watching everyone watch me, waiting for me to fall apart. I danced for one more song, almost feeling the music towards the end, and then when it was over, he tucked my arm in his and led me up the stairs that led out through a side door and into the dark anonymous night.
Chapter
Nine
Iwas so exhausted; I didn’t wake up for anything on the return train that night. On the way to the station, Percy and I had an argument about whether we should go back to the hotel like my ‘dad’ had ordered, but there was no way I was missing one of my hard-earned classes, not to mention my mom. I couldn’t leave her alone for too long or she’d forget about me. Also, I had to get away from that whole thing before they changed their minds about letting me go. I’d ask Earl what he thought about my turning-to-stone thing and go from there. I was finished with elites in the Gray Society.
