The night blurred. Dances. Fake smiles. Small talk with terrified students who whispered "The Bonded" when they thought no one was listening.
"Dance with me," Rhett said, pulling me onto the floor.
He held me close, his body a solid wall of heat against the chill of the room. "You okay?"
" I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop," I admitted, resting my head on his chest. "Marrow doesn't do parties. He does traps."
"We're ready," Rhett promised. "We trained for this. You trained for this."
The music changed. A slow, haunting waltz.
"Exchange partners!" the DJ announced.
I went to move toward Kai, but a hand cut in. A cold, dry hand.
"May I?" Dean Marrow asked.
Rhett bristled, a growl building in his throat.
"It would be rude to refuse the host," Marrow said smoothly, his eyes never leaving mine. "Besides, I have a proposal for Lina. One she'll want to hear."
I put a hand on Rhett's chest. "It's fine," I lied. "One dance."
Rhett stepped back, his eyes murdering Marrow a thousand times over.
Marrow pulled me into the dance. He didn't lead like Rhett (powerful) or Lucien (fluid) or Kai (grounded). He led like he was moving a chess piece.
"You look lovely, Lina," he said. "The silver suits you. Conductivity."
"What do you want, Dean?" I asked, keeping my voice steady.
"I want to save you," he said. "You and your little... pack. You're building something dangerous, you know. A Union? Very 19th Century."
"We're building a defense," I corrected.
"You're building a bomb," he countered. "All that connection. All that raw, messy emotion. It's unstable. It's going to hurt people."
"Only you," I said.
He chuckled. "Oh, my dear. You think I'm the villain. I'm the pressure valve. I'm the only thing keeping this campus from exploding into magical anarchy."
The music swelled. The clock chimed 11:45 PM. Fifteen minutes to midnight.
"I'm going to make you another offer," Marrow said, spinning me toward the edge of the room. "Leave the Triad. Come work for me. Let me teach you how to be a true Null. How to bringpeace."
"I'm not a Null," I pulled back. "And I'm not leaving them. Ever."
Marrow stopped dancing. His smile vanished.
"I was afraid you'd say that."
He snapped his fingers.
The floor beneath me didn't just open. It dissolved.
"Lina!" Rhett screamed, appearing out of the crowd. He lunged for me, his claws extending, tearing through his velvet sleeve.
He was too late.
