He paused. He thought he heard someone call his name, but with the crowd’s noise, he might have misheard. He glanced around—oh, god. Why had he stopped?
Stella rushed through the crowd, batting aside a man selling beaded necklaces. “Wait, Collin!”
Collin forced a polite smile. Maybe he should have bought one of those amulets to ward off evil spirits.
Stella stopped a foot in front of him, her smile dazzling and dangerous, lashes fluttering like she was trying to summon a storm with sheer effort. “Did you like the performance?”
“I did,” he said, forcing his mouth into something that passed for polite. “It was very nice.”
“Oh, good! I’m so glad you liked it.” Her voice dripped syrup, thick enough to choke. She batted her lashes again and let her fingers trail down a strand of impossibly red hair, like she was playing a harp no one asked to hear. Then she stepped in.
“Do you want to walk through the fair with me?”
Collin shifted back—just enough to breathe. She was close enough now that he could see the fine etching on her earringsand catch the thick perfume curling off her skin.Florals and conquest.The way she looked at him made his skin crawl, like he’d wandered into a dragon’s den wearing a bell.
He raked a nervous hand through his hair, scrambling for a polite way out. “Umm—” was all he managed before a voice boomed from the left.
“Young man! Buy a refreshing drink for your lovely lady?”
God—no. Collin didn’t have time to answer before Stella gasped and gave a delighted little hop, pressing her hands to her chest like someone had just proposed marriage. Her gold bangles jingled like victory bells.
“How about it, Collin? I’m parched!”
There was no escaping the fire-breathing dragon now. No ally in sight. No excuse that wouldn’t sound rude or suspicious. His upbringing had betrayed him again. Smiling with all the enthusiasm of a man walking to the gallows, he handed over a few coins and accepted two mugs of spiced honey mead.
Stella plucked one from his hand, beaming as if he’d won her a crown. Then, to his horror, she looped her arm through his.
She sipped delicately, licking her lips with a flourish. “This is justwonderful!”
Collin’s jaw locked so hard he was fairly certain one of his molars cracked. “It certainly is...”
“Have you been shopping already? What did you buy?” she asked, still clinging to his arm like ivy.
“Just some honey,” he said, keeping his tone as bland as possible. It took all the discipline he had not to flinch.
How did this happen? One blink, and she’d latched on like they were courting. Her perfume thickened the air between them, her dress pressed against his side, and not even the autumn breeze could cool the heat crawling up his neck. Something was wrong with him. Deeply wrong. Because her boldness didn’t intrigue him—it repelled him. Surely she couldtell. Or maybe that was the worst part—maybe shedidknow, and didn’t care.
Stella had been lingering after lessons for weeks now—ostensibly to collect her sisters, though somehow she always found a reason to hang around once the other children had gone. At first, Collin assumed she was just invested in their progress. Thoughtful. Dutiful. But then came the questions: what he did for fun, who his friends were, and an alarming stream of gossip about people he barely remembered.
He kept things polite. Friendly. But careful. Always careful.
There was nothing wrong with Stella, not on paper. She was everything a Daughter of Venus was supposed to be—poised, beautiful, well-bred. Her father was a senior steward in Chroma, her mother sat on the Daughters’ council. She was the kind of woman who showed up in silk at White Villa dinners and never scuffed her shoes.
Which made it all the more baffling that she’d set her sights on him.
Aries thought her parents might be behind it—that maybe a steady teacher with no scandals and a decent wage looked like a solid investment. If Collin still had parents, maybe they would’ve been approached by now. But those kinds of matches weren’t arranged much anymore. Stella was free to choose.
And, unfortunately, she had chosen him.
Whatever her reason, Collin didn’t return the interest. He didn’t find her fluttering lashes charming, didn’t like how she always touched his arm when she spoke, didn’t want what she was so clearly offering. The more distant he became, the more determined she seemed to be.
He knew it might not be fair, but every time she sidled up to him, he thought of the street vendors with gold rings and oily smiles—trying to sell him clutter he’d never asked for.
Stella’s wandering fingers drifted down the inside of his arm, her nails grazing his skin with theatrical delicacy. She traced his wrist like it held the secrets of his soul, then glided back up to the crook of his elbow.
“The weather is just lovely today!” she chirped. “I was so worried rain would spoil the celebration, but the gods are smiling on us.”
If they were truly smiling, they’d strike him down where he stood.
