Page 124 of The Incendiary

He narrowed his eyes. “Are you trying to bargain with me over a dance?”

I shrugged, feigning innocence. “Maybe.”

Mavic snorted, then turned toward Yara, pretending he hadn’t made a sound. I thought I saw Elias’s eye twitch.

“Fine.” He grimaced. “One dance, and I won’t bother you for the rest of the evening.”

I avoided the unwanted spark I felt when his fingers touched mine and let him lead me through a sea of bodies and glares to the center of the dance floor. As the musicians began a slow song, he pulled me flush against him. Goose bumps pricked my skin at the touch of his hand to my bare lower back.

“You could kill a man in this dress, you know,” he said, his voice dangerously low.

“You’re right, I could.” I glanced down and shifted the slit along my leg to show where I had my favorite dagger sheathed. “The hem’s just long enough to hide the blade.”

He laughed smoothly, shaking his head. “Always full of surprises.”

More than you know, I thought.

I instinctually arched my back when his thumb brushed over my spine, but all my movement did was push my body tighter against him. His touch wasn’t horrible, but it wasn’t home. Avoiding his eyes, I stared over his shoulder while feeling him search my face.

“Is dancing with me so miserable?”

“I just think it’s odd that it’s me you’re choosing to dance with. Sophia Bruta has been fawning over you all evening. Now you’ve probably given her incentive to kill me.”

His shoulders shook with quiet laughter. “As if she’d succeed. She’s been fawning over me for ten years. Old news.”

I arched my brow. “Did you just call a woman ‘old news’?”

“Don’t judge me, Fera,” he sighed, rolling his eyes. “It’s just fucking.”

“Then dancing should be no trouble at all.” I felt genuinely sad for Sophia Bruta. If she’d been offering herself up to him for a decade, the least he could do was dance with her. “Honestly, I think you’re better than that.”

He glared down at me like I’d struck him. “As much as I wish this dance was purely for my own enjoyment, I wanted a moment to brief you in private. I need you ready to leave tomorrow morning, before sunrise. We’ll be gone for a few days.”

My ears pricked up. “Tomorrow morning?”

He nodded. “The lead I mentioned the other day? Regarding whoever murdered that man, Isaiah Cross? It was confirmed.”

“Who?”

He looked over my shoulder, then pulled me closer. His lips grazed the shell of my earlobe. “Do you see Draven Finch here tonight?”

My steps stumbled, and I realized I hadn’t seen him tonight. In fact, I hadn’t seen him anywhere in the fortress since the second test.

“Keep dancing, Fera.” He tightened his grip on my waist while leading me in a rhythmic sway.

I cleared my throat. “You think it’s Finch?”

“Nearly positive,” he mumbled through tight lips. “The day after Cross was found, Finch wasn’t wearing his fighting leathers, which leads me to believe they needed unexpected laundering. That, and some questionable items and journals were found among his things. No one has seen him for the past two days, which makes me think he might have sensed my suspicion and run.”

“What would be his motive for killing Isaiah Cross?” I asked.

He sighed through his nose. “I’ll explain tomorrow.”

I nodded slowly. “So, who is going with us?” “It will be just you.”

My mouth fell open. “What about the others?”

He shook his head. “Just you and me.”