Page 74 of Alchemy of Souls

“Willing to dance with me?” he asks, and now I do hesitate, looking through the crowd for Grayson.

“If you’re looking for Grayson, he’s upstairs,” Adrien says. “He followed Naomi up to one of the bedrooms.”

My insides twist uncomfortably. I know we’re only fake dating, that I have no claim on him. But what kind of a jerk says he wantsto kiss me and then immediately hooks up with someone else? And with Naomi of all people?

“Sorry, did I say the wrong thing?” Adrien asks.

I put down my empty wineglass, grabbing another.

Adrien at least has the decency not to say I told you so. “Dance with me?”

I chug my wine. “Why not.” I will not let Grayson Stone ruin this party for me.

Adrien takes my hand and leads me inside.

The wine apparently makes me bold because the first thing I say is, “How were you childhood friends with Maggie if you live here and her family are Laborers? There is no way you were exempt from all the classist BS.”

Adrien laughs. “Wow. You’re direct.”

I shrug and the motion feels a little warm, like my skin is buzzing.

“We didn’t always live here,” he says. “My dad got a manufacturing contract with the University a few years back and it’s a long story, but after my sister got into Uni and then it looked like I would get marked Gifted, our family rose quickly. We went from a merchant’s house in the Academy town to this in about three years.”

He stops on the dance floor and I stop with him.

“Honestly, that might be the best thing you could have said,” I reply.

”How so?”

“I hope I can do the same. For my family,” I explain. “That was the whole point in coming here. In working hard to get into University.”

Adrien flicks his wrist and the song morphs, moving from a fast beat to a slow dance. Everyone around us hoots and hollers, coupling up.

“May I?” Adrien asks, and offers me his hand.

I place my hand in his, forcing myself not to look for Grayson. He’s doing what he’s doing, I tell myself, and I won’t let it bother me. Really, I should have known better. But even so, I can’t help but feel a twinge of hurt.

Adrien pulls me close, looping his other hand behind my back. He’s attractive, that’s for sure, and he smells like clean sheets and cologne. But I don’t feel butterflies. Not the sensation I do when Grayson so much as makes eye contact.

“You’re wearing my ring,” Adrien says, and I don’t love the way he makes it sound like it means something. It doesn’t. He’s my friend and it’s pretty and I don’t have many pretty things. But I don’t know how to broach the subject without making it weird. If I’m misreading his intent, it’ll be more than embarrassing.

Which is also when I feel Grayson headed my way. I can’t explain it, but it’s like a tingle at the back of my neck or a tightness near my belly button.

“Can I cut in?” Grayson says in a rough voice, suddenly appearing by my side.

“No,” Adrien replies. “You may not.”

Grayson’s jaw tics. “I wasn’t asking you.”

“Yet the answer is still no,” Adrien says, his hand tightening at my waist in a way I don’t like. Shouldn’t I be the one answering this question?

I must have an emotion about it that shows up on my face because Grayson’s eyes flick to mine and back again. “There are two ways this is gonna go, Adrien. Both involve you stepping the hell away from Eloise. But in the first one, I don’t throw you across the room,” he says.

“Why don’t you go back to whatever you were doing upstairs,” Adrien replies, and now I want to hit them both. To top it off, Adrien pulls me closer and leans down to whisper in my ear just to annoy Grayson.

But I never get to hear what he was going to say, because a wind spell blasts Adrien in the shoulder, sending him back a step.

Now people are staring. Great.