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She was going to put herself in danger—again—and I was going to have to let her.
But that didn’t change that I could enjoy her for right now, that I could take her for a time and pretend it could last forever.
We might have escaped Larkwood, but I knew better than to think all our problems were over.
Chapter Eleven
Kit
The sight of Hera in a fancy party dress shook me. I’d seen her in the Larkwood attire of sweats, I’d seen images of her in her house wearing high-end casual, I’d even seen her in the sundress when I’d first found her after the escape.
None of those had beenthisthough. It was the first time I’d seen her all dolled up, when I was forced to recognize just how out of my league she would have been if we’d met outside of Larkwood.
Her hair was pulled up, with curled tendrils hanging down to frame her face. She had subtle makeup on, the kind that looked simple but no doubt took an abundance of time to achieve. She wore a long black dress with lace over her chest that covered the scar at her throat while staying open in the back.
She lifted her hands in a‘what gives?’gesture, and it made me realize I still stared at her as we got out of the car.
To be fair, it was the first time I’d really seen all her outfit.
I’d already been waiting in the car when she’d gotten in, but somehow, on the sidewalk outside of the mansion where the event was to be held, under the soft glow of the strings of lights, it all seemed so much more romantic.
She wasn’t the girl I’d met at Larkwood, but neither was she the pawn she’d been in this world. She’d grown, and for the first time, I truly saw her as she was—as an equal.
“Sorry,” I said, not bothering to hide my smile or the slight shyness at having been caught ogling her like a boy who first spots their prom date. “I’ve never seen you dressed up like this. I suppose you stunned me.”
She didn’t respond at first, then grinned as if pleased by the praise.“You dress up well, too,”she signed.
It made me laugh softly and glance down at the tux I wore. “Sometimes the wardens have liked to trot me out and show me off like a pet. This isn’t the first time I’ve dressed up. Besides, men’s fashions don’t change so much over time, so this is surprisingly familiar to me.”
She shifted her gaze from me toward the front door of the party. Music floated out from the building, beckoning us in, and I held the invitation I’d gotten from Aaron in my pocket.He’d gotten it easily, since his family had been invited. While neither he nor Moa had approved of Hera’s plan, neither had they been willing to try to stop her.
I held my hand out to Hera, who hesitated. I got the sense it was less that she didn’t want to touch me and more that the entire situation was odd. We felt so normal right now, like any couple, which we had never been.
Still, after that slight delay, she took my hand. I wrapped my fingers around her wrist and tugged her closer, allowing myself a quick kiss to her soft red lips, before sliding her arm through the crook of mine to escort her past the front doors and into the party.
Security stopped us, showing an amazing level of politeness, probably because they had no way of knowing who attending could seriously screw up their life and who couldn’t. When I handed over the invitation Aaron had gotten us, the security nodded and welcomed us in under the fake names we’d given.
Mr. and Mrs. Harris Lester.
Sure, that wasn’t really my name, but something deep inside me reacted possessively when someone referred to Hera as my wife. I’d never considered myself a man who cared about such things—I’d never wanted a claim like that, not even on Jasmine. I’d loved her, but she’d been her own person. Something about Hera made me more wild, more possessive.
I led her into the party, past the front doors. No one looked at us too closely, at least not out of suspicion. Hera turned quite a few heads all on her own, though none acted as if they recognized her.
Then again, she didn’t hold herself as she had before. It was funny how much just a year could make a person’s entire aura so different as to render them nearly unrecognizable.She held her head high not because of unearned arrogance but now because she knew her own power.
When a server paused in front of us, I took two wine glasses from the tray and handed one to Hera. At her lifted eyebrow, I smiled. “I am able to drink, though I have no need to consume food or water. Alcohol has no effect on me, however.” She peered down at the glass, so I went on. “We look more in place if we have glasses. You may drink that one, but I wouldn’t suggest any more than that. You must keep your wits about you.”
She nodded, then subtly shifted her gaze around the room. I wondered just how many of the people here she recognized. It was strange because I’d bet it was most of them. This was the world Hera had grown up in, the people she had known. None of them recognized her now, but she’d fitted in so well here not so long ago. Much of my past escaped me, the years growing dimmer until I could hardly recall the early years. Still, I tried to put myself in that place, thought about how I’d feel if I found myself thrust back into the life I’d had before, if the world remained the same while I’d changed.
I had no idea how I would react, which meant I had to give all the credit to Hera for keeping it together as well as she did.
“Do you see them?”
She nodded, then brought her glass to her lips and flicked her gaze behind me. I took the hint and sipped my wine as I turned to glance over my shoulder.
Hera’s parents looked as if they could have stepped right out of that painting from her house. It was quite astounding, really. Despite the passing years since then, they hadn’t aged or changed a bit. Her mother’s hair was the same shade and no new lines showed in her face. They even wore nearly identical forced smiles.
“We should wander around a bit before we approach them,” I said. “It’s better to survey everything and make sure there isn’t anyone else here we need to worry about.”
