And then she kisses me.
Chapter 19
Maeve
“I DIDN’T KNOW THIS WAS a masquerade.” Alina draws her fingertips across the glittering silver mask she selected. “How fun.”
“That’s not the word I’d use,” Raelan grumbles as he steps into the bar behind us, wearing a simple blue mask that matches Alina’s hair.
“That’s because you’re a grouch who doesn’t know how to have fun,” Lyra quips. She pokes him in the shoulder, and he lets out a low growl, like his dragon is deciding whether to nip Lyra’s fingers off or not.
This draws a small smile from Poppy, who’s keeping close to our group, as if the crowded bar is making her want to retreat into her shell or vanish into a glittering puff of smoke.
“What do you all want to drink?” I ask. “Lyra and I will grab the drinks.”
“I didn’t volunteer for that,” Lyra grumbles.
“White wine,” Alina says.
“I’ll have the same,” Raelan adds.
I’m not surprised. Those two are so attached at the hip, it sometimes feels like they’re one person instead of two. But I guess that’s what a mate bond does.
“How about you, Pops?”
“Um...” Poppy glances around. “I think I’ll just have water. Or maybe a peppermint tea.”
“Tea?” Lyra puts her hands on Poppy’s shoulders. “Poppy Waverly, you do know we’re at a party, right?”
“You’ll be thanking her when she’s the one dragging your drunk ass home,” Raelan says.
In response, Lyra calls a flickering flame into her palm, her magic much more controlled than it was a couple years ago. “You look a little cold, dragon. Want me to heat you up?”
Before she can set something on fire and get us kicked out, I smother her flame with my hand, then loop my arm through her elbow and tug her away. The bar is crowded, with so many glittering masks and smiling mouths that it’s a little dizzying. But we make our way through the crush of bodies toward the bar.
And when the crowd parts and we step free of the chaos, I stop midstride.
Because the man standing at the bar, lips locked with a woman in a skimpy yellow dress, is...
Severin. He’s here.
As soon as I see him, he pulls away from her—and meets my eyes.
And I know for sure now that it’s him. I’d know those eyes anywhere.
My teeth clench, and heat builds in my low belly.
That’s how he wants it to be?I think, still holding his startled gaze.Then two can play at that game.
I waltz right up to the bar, brushing his arm as I reach out to flag the barkeep down. It’s a young guy, mid-twenties by the look of him, and I give him a smile as he approaches to take our order.
“Two white wines, a peppermint tea, and...” I glance at Severin’s drink: whiskey. “And a whiskey. Lyra, what do you want?”
“Mead,” she says, then shrugs when I toss her a look. “What? I like it.”
I turn my back on Severin, but from how close I am, I can smell his cologne. And I can tell I’ve caught his attention, from the stilted conversation he’s struggling to have with the woman and the tension rolling off him in waves. Lyra hasn’t seemed to notice who he is yet, which is good.
This means I can play with him without anyone realizing what I’m doing.
