Page 76 of Alchemy of Souls

I don’t hesitate. I pull the ring off my finger and place it on the railing.

A smile appears on Grayson’s lips, one that grows by the second. But when his gaze flits to my mouth, I feel the heat of it in my pulse.

“Don’t look at me like that,” I insist.

“Don’t smell like that,” he replies, and even though I’m not sure what he means, damn it if that doesn’t make me feel some kind of way. Suddenly my temperature is way too high and my breath is coming quickly.

I want to kill him. I want to kiss him. I just don’t know which one I want more.

“I’m sorry, Claws. You don’t know how much. I hope I haven’t completely lost your trust.”

Maybe it’s the unexpectedness of the apology, or the fact that me trusting him seems to matter, but the barrier I was so fiercely defending cracks. And I drop the dagger, magically merging it back into the deck as he steps closer. It vaguely registers that the magic Iuse feels different, more alive and charged. But everything feels that way right now.

He holds his hand out. “Dance with me?”

“Here?” I say quickly. “On the deck?”

“Anywhere. I’d dance with you anywhere,” he says, and it’s so unexpected that I nod.

A smile breaks out on his face that’s so genuine I almost groan in dismay. How am I supposed to not feel something? He flicks his wrist once, changing the music to full orchestral. He flicks it a second time, and pinpricks of light appear all around us like a thousand floating fireflies.

I slip my hand into his and his fingers tighten around my palm. He places his other hand on my lower back, pulling my body into his.

He twirls me outward with one arm and a couple people look our way. I laugh.

“That sound might be the end of me,” he says, and my heart starts beating at an unreasonable pace.

He pulls me close until there is no room between us, our bodies pressed together and our hands entwined. I stare up at him as we turn.

“How attached are you to those rules, Claws?” he asks, and leans closer. I know in my gut he’s going to kiss me. Not a fake dating kiss, the real kind. And I also know I’m going to let him.

“What rules?” I ask with a small smile. “I don’t recall making any.”

His gaze intensifies and my heart stutters as he dips me low, one hand behind my back and the other supporting my head. But instead of pulling me upright, Grayson Stone, the most beautifuland infuriating man I’ve ever met, presses his lips to mine. My body turns to fire and my resolve is gone.

I wrap my arms around his neck, deepening the kiss, and I swear he makes a noise like a growl, one that rumbles through my body all the way to my toes.

I laugh against his lips and he pulls me back to standing just as the air next to us shimmers.

For a second I think Grayson might be creating another illusion spell, but then suddenly the Key appears, floating in the air.The Archive Key, unfurling its leaves like a cat stretching after a nap in the sun.

CHAPTER 38Grayson

The world is punking me. It’s the only explanation. I’m still reeling from a kiss that stole my calm. And now I’m questioning my vision because I can’t be staring at the Key. Here. At a party filled with half our school.

Eloise’s lioness eyes go wide and she reaches for it. But just like exam day, it disappears. Which is a damn good thing, because a handful of people on the deck are gaping at us. I can’t hear what they’re saying over the music, but I can guess. Calling the Key in public is the last thing I ever wanted to do.

I know I need to do something immediately, manage the fallout before it all goes to hell. Quick as lightning, I cast a giant illusion of a firework. It bursts in the air above us in bright blue sparks. And as it rains down, I pull from the garden using my Botany to transform it into blue hydrangea petals.

There are gasps and delighted laughs. I just hope people question if the Key was real or if it was part of the show.

“Grayson, did you just see…,” Eloise says in wonder, her gaze still soft from our kiss.

“I did,” I say.

She tilts her head. “Then why do you look upset?” she asks, andeven if I could think of a way to explain how dangerous my uncle is, it’s not a conversation I can have in public.

But before I can reply, there’s a tug on my arm. One that’s strong enough to slide me back a step. A wind spell? I immediately look around for the caster.