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His gaze landed on the puncture marks on her neck. “Mind if I have a taste?”
Shit.What could I say? Was he testing us, on behalf of Salenia? Before I could react, Elizabeth lifted the skirts of her dress, unsheathing her dagger.
Fuck.
He tilted his head. “What do you plan to do with that, mortal?”
“It’s created to harm people like you,” she promised. “Can you sense its magic?”
He gazed at the dagger, then at me. “She’s not lying.” I shrugged. “It can do some serious damage.”
He closed his eyes, exhaled heavily, and stepped away from her. Elizabeth watched him take a slow and deliberate step back, as if creating a barrier between them. “It doesn’t matter, anyway. There are more obedient mortals to fuck.”
I balled my fists as he disclosed his true intentions. My heart pounded, and I lunged forward, grabbing Elizabeth's arm with a fierce grip. Her eyes widened in shock as I reluctantly released her, and he quickly retreated, disappearing into the crowd. “I should have never brought you down here.”
“We had to. Besides, I wanted to come.”
She licked her lips, looking around. “Then dance with me. They won’t bother us if we’re dancing. It’s a ball, after all. What does Salenia expect? She wanted us to attend together.”
I puffed out my cheeks and exhaled slowly, watching the dance floor filled with swaying figures. The music was sensual and low, inviting its listeners to lose themselves in the moving shadows. I nodded and felt a wave of anticipation wash over me.
I couldn’t be too close to her, but everything inside of me begged for me to hold her, to touch her. I breathed deeply, feeling the eyes of nobles on me.
This would not end well.
EIGHT
Niall
IguidedElizabethontothe dance floor; the music dimming into a dark, blue light as if we were struck by the night sky. I looked around for Salenia but couldn’t see her anyway. Surely, she would announce her true identity and claim the throne soon. I just worried how she would announce it.
“Eyes on me,” Elizabeth teased, and I relaxed my shoulders a little. She held my arms, and I moved her to the back of the couples twirling as a new song played, the romantic notes mixed with a crescendo of anticipation in each note of the piano, which drifted through the air like wisps of smoke, and I twirled Elizabeth around in a graceful circle. My fingers felt the warmth radiating from her cheeks and neck as I pulled her closer. I captured her gaze in mine, feeling my heart quicken. My thumb grazed the corner of her soft lips, and her breath hitched.
The tension in my shoulders evaporated as she rested her hands gently on my chest. The smell of vanilla and her own sweet scent was suddenly intoxicating. I had to remind myself this was for show, put on for Salenia, but she was nowhere to be seen. Still, she couldn't see a hint of lust between Elizabeth and me, but my body didn’t get the memo, responding to every flicker of touch with a pulsating need for more.
My blood ran cold as I noticed one of the lord’s wives, a vampire with striking features, staring at us from across the room. Elizabeth followed my gaze and our eyes locked for a moment. A whisper of the words'mortal whore'traveled over to us. I slid my arm around Elizabeth's waist, pulling her closer, her breathing heavy as I tangled my fingers in her hair, our lips almost touching. “Ignore them.”
“What about Salenia?” She asked.
“She's not here. Probably went to change for the announcement.” I did another scan of the room, just in case, but she wasn't anywhere to be seen. Couples crowded us as the floor filled with drunk, blood-high vampires and a few mortals.
I turned my focus back to Elizabeth, my eyes narrowing as I took in her beauty, the twinkle in her eyes when she stared back at me as if I was…her protector. My heart galloped.
No one had ever looked at me like that before.
His gentle fingers grazed the length of my arm and settled at my biceps. I looped my arm around her lower back, her back arching to my touch. The tips of our noses brushed together. I could feel her breath mixing with mine, and I inched closer, enraptured by her being. I lost myself in each fleck of those honey-brown eyes.
She parted her lips, her voice a whisper. “If Salenia's not watching, then stop holding back.”
I felt my chest tighten as I thought of all the ways I wanted to take care of her and keep her safe from this cruel, harsh world. But I knew I had no choice but to let her go and protect her, even if that meant protecting her from me. “I can’t,” I whispered.
I twirled her outward, then pulled her back into my arms, but she moved closer again, melting all resolve. I moved my hand up the center of her back and she tilted her head up to look at me, a playful, yet innocent, smile on her face. “You're going to ruin our facade, little warrior,” I said, my voice barely a whisper.
“How so?”
“First, you can stop looking at me with those fuck-me eyes.”
The air between us charged with electricity, and the music grew softer as the strings of the violins hummed in the background. Musicians threaded into a second song and I let out a tense breath.
