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I had never seen anything so elaborate—soregal—and it took a ridiculous amount of effort to maintain my composure.
The rest of the people inside were already busy mingling, eating, and dancing. We were clearly late, but Alek didn’t seem to mind. Violin music drowned out the shouting that echoed from outside.
“What is this event for again?” I asked.
“It’s the tenth anniversary of my father’s reign as king of demons,” he whispered back.
I nodded as Alek tugged on my hand, pulling me further inside.
“Alekzander!” a young, female voice yelled toward us. I spun my head around to find a tall blonde woman with the same eyes I was now realizing belonged to most demons. “I didn’t think you’d actually show. Who’s this?”
The girl’s eyes hovered over every single inch of me, lingering over Alek’s hand still holding mine. Normally, I would flinch away from such direct attention, but Alek’s date needed to be convincing, which meant I had to act like I belonged here. I lifted my chin and stared back at the woman.
“This,” Alekzander announced, “is my date. Lyra.”
Shock and disbelief flashed across the woman’s face. “Lyra,” she muttered. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.” I shook her outstretched hand with a smile before the woman turned back to Alek. “I wasn’t aware you were bringing a date.” The words were cheerfully forced through a fake smile of gritted teeth.
Alek’s hand moved to my waist. I tried to relax under his touch, but every ounce of my body was aware of him. I had never allowed anyone to touch me this way.Can he feel it? Can he feel how nervous I am?
“Lyra and I have been seeing each other for a while now,” he stated. “I figured now was as good of a time as any to introduce her.”
Her jaw fell open. “So things are pretty serious with you two?” she asked. Alek nodded. “Wow, I have to say, you’ll be breaking hearts all over the city tonight.”
Alek’s body vibrated as he chuckled. “It was nice seeing you,” he said as he began to turn us away. “I have a few others to introduce Lyra to. Please excuse us.”
Her romantic interest in Alek was clear in her long glance after him, and I couldn't help but smile. Maybe this night wouldn’t be all that bad, after all.
“There are plenty of snakes in the grass, Lyra,” Alek whispered to me as we walked through the crowded ballroom. “One down, hundreds to go.”
And he wasn’t wrong.
Over the next hour, Alek introduced me to dozens of different high-standing individuals—some I recognized from Natalie’s ramblings about demon politics, but most were strangers. We walked from table to table, and I stayed silent as Alek did the talking. He repeated the same speech every time, discussing how we met and how our relationship was quickly growing more serious.
My nerves eased over time. I soon relaxed into my role as Alek’s fake date.
While the shock on everyone’s faces was worth it, I began to wonder what type of person he really was if everyone wasthisshocked that he brought a date.
And in the very depths of my mind, the thought of my mother's face kept rearing its ugly head. She would be much more shocked than anyone here—and much more enraged.
I clenched my jaw. My mother would kill me if she knew I was doing this.I was ruining the family name, she would tell me.I should be more careful, someone will find out who I really am.
“Up there,” Alek whispered to me, pulling me from my thoughts. “That’s him.”
I looked to where he was talking about, and my stomach sank.
At the end of the ballroom on the stage, sitting on a massive red and black throne with iron snakes surrounding it, was the demon king. Alek’s father.
“I’m going to vomit,” I mumbled.
“Stop it,” Alek hissed, moving his hand up to grip my upper arm. “This is what we came here for, Lyra. Hold it together. This has to be convincing. For both of our sakes.”
I nodded and gulped down the rush of emotion. He was just a man. A demon man, no less, but a man. And he was Alek’s father.
That shouldn’t be scary. Other than Alek, though, I couldn’t remember the last time I’d had a real conversation with a man.
What if word got around that this entire thing was a sham? What if he knew I was a fraud?
I shut my eyes and fought against the panic.Calm and collected,I reminded myself.You’re Alek’s mysterious date. Act like it.
