“My friends are dancing.”
“Would you like to dance?” he asked and frowned when I shook my head. “Do you know that every man is jealous of me right now?” Denis looked at me with laughing eyes.
I raised my head, suddenly feeling a prick of irritation.
“You are the most beautiful girl I have ever seen,” he continued.
Involuntarily, I glanced up at Tynan, but he was definitely not looking at me. Gabrilelle had pulled him to one of the sofas and sat so close to him that it almost looked like they were embracing. I looked away; alarmed, confused, desperate to be done with this more than miserable night. But when my eyes followed Frid and Victor, my thoughts took another turn. They stood in the middle of all the dancing couples without moving. Then Victor slowly leaned forward, not taking his eyes off Frid. The girl looked positively struck. Another moment, and his lips pressed against hers.
I could not help smiling.
“It was meant to be. They have been inseparable since they were children.” Denis followed my gaze. “There’s only one more couple that was meant to be together.” He nodded toward Tynan and Gabrielle. “I think whatever happened between them has come to an end. I always thought that they were soulmates.”
I was silent.
Soulmates, soulmates, soulmates.
His words kept ringing in my head. Two people who were meant to be together by the wills of the gods. It was a simple idea, and yet it was so incredibly wrong on every level. He could not be her soulmate, he just could not.
Why did my heart feel so broken?
My fingers traced the lines of the chilled glass.
I hardly knew him. I was not a part of his world, and I did not intend to be. My eyes shifted back to Tynan and I caughta glimpse of something primal in his eyes when he finally looked up.
At that moment, Gabrielle reached out and took his hand, tears glistened in her eyes. I looked away.
“I had always wondered what it would feel like to be someone’s soulmate. You completely lose your own choice in the matter,” Denis continued, but I hardly listened.
I felt like my heart was trapped in my chest, I needed to get out of here, I could not stand being in the room anymore. The soft light of the candles, wooden tops of the long tables, the glass of wine that I held in my hand, it was all too much. I needed to breathe some chilly night air and forget about everything. And everyone.
I stood up.
“Excuse me,” I whispered and moved through the dancing couples.
The sounds, the flashes of colorful dresses, the laughter made me want to scream. I avoided a group of loud girls and pushed the entrance door open. The fresh scents and moist, cool air did not relieve my despair and frustration, but at least I was free of that suffocating room. I moved down the stairs, misstepping and almost falling on my face, when someone’s arm wrapped around my waist. The strong, confident fingers stretched across my abdomen and I felt his presence before I saw him. It was Tynan. He had followed me outside.
“What are you...?” I asked, experiencing thousands of emotions, all at once.
“I don’t want you to walk alone.” Tynan removed his hand.
The warmth of his touch was gone and only then I realized how much I craved it.
“Why?” I tried to see his eyes in the dim light of the torches.
“It’s not safe,” he said.
“What about your date?” I blurted out.
“My date?”
“Your . . . Gabrielle.”
“I trust she can find her way back since she’s staying in the castle,” he said in a calm voice.
I turned away, walking down the stairs.
“What did he want?” Tynan asked, and I could not help distinguishing a trace of something dark in his voice.
