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I turn to give my thanks to my mystery hero, but words fail me. He is a man, yes, but unlike any I’ve ever seen. He appears to be older than me, perhaps by ten or so years, and ruggedly handsome. He has dark, neatly kept waves curling over his ears and trimmed facial hair with a strong, straight nose and full lips.
His presence has me suddenly relaxing, as if the air around him exudes comfort. But what holds me in place, what forces me to lose balance for a reason much different than the alcohol that’s coursing through my veins, are his deep, slightly upturned, amber eyes. Not because of their beauty, but because of thedepth. They beckon to me, warm and soulful, as though he’s lived thousands of years. I have never seen something like it in my life.
That’s when it hits me.
The sudden relaxed feelings. The odd and compelling force that is drawing me in. The deep, soul-piercing eyes.
He’s a Dark Elder.
Chapter 3
Fear engulfs me once again, every story I’ve heard about the Dark Elders running through my mind. Why would aDark Eldersave me? Granted, we’ve always been told how tricky they can be. Was this his plan? Save me, just to kill me later? How the hell did he even get here?
Dark Elders are banned from Society; the large protection field around our community makes sure of this. Despite the dread I am feeling, I put on a brave face and push away from him, making sure I am on solid ground before turning to him. The balcony doors are glass, but the rest of the wall is solid, so there’s no way someone will notice my predicament unless they purposefully look around outside.
I’m on my own.
“Thank you. You can go now.” I wince at the slight waver in my voice—so much for bravery—and quickly glance toward the doors, hopeful that someone will walk out.
Underneath my fear, I can recognize how comical my reaction is. I’m faced with a Dark Elder and all I do is…tell him toleave? I try to be sly as I slowly inch away from him, eyes never leaving his.
He smiles faintly but does not walk closer. His eyes roam over the side of the balcony before he looks back at me. “Be careful, Amelia. Go back inside.”
Before I can respond, he hops over the balcony. I rush to look where he should have fallen, but he’s already gone. How is that possible? Maybe Elders have the ability to teleport?
I try to shake myself from my daze after justmeeting a Dark Elderand quickly walk toward the balcony entrance. Suddenly, a new fear enters me. I’ve got to tell someone. What if we’re under attack? My father will know what to do, I’ll bring it to him—
Wait.
He knew my name.
I halt just as I’m about to open the door, curiosity overtaking fear. How could he possibly know my name? Unless he had superhuman hearing and was stalking the dinner, which technically isn’t out of the question, but it didn’t seem so. When he looked at me, it was as if heknewme. But that’s not possible. I have never met a Dark Elder in my life—no citizen alive today has. I groan to myself, wishing I had laid off on the drinks. My mind can’t fully comprehend the predicament I’m in right now.
Before opening the door, I make a choice. Curiosity is slowly winning out against fear, probably thanks to the alcohol. Certainlynotdue to the fact that the deep-seated wrongness I had been feeling all night completely dissipated as soon as I caught his eye.
I shake my head. What a ridiculous thought. I remind myself that those feelings were already shrinking as the alcohol dulled my senses. It has nothing to do with the Dark Elder. Besides the point, if I tell my father, it will surely cause panic. If I cause a panic, I won’t be able to find out how the Dark Elder knows me.
I need to keep this a secret, at least for now.
I open the door, resolved, and plaster a smile on my face. I know I need to appear normal, despite my racing thoughts.
“Amelia!” Olivia is walking toward me, her hand raised to grab my attention. Once she’s in front of me, she huffs, “finally get a chance to talk with you, where were you?”
My gaze automatically falls to the balcony, but I quickly catch myself and look back at her. If I were to tell anyone about what just happened, it would be her, but this is neither the time nor the place.
“Just getting some fresh air. I think I’ve had a few too many glasses of wine.” I roll my eyes playfully at myself, doing everything in my power to keep from glancing out the windows again.
Though it’s great that Olivia and I have so much in common, this is becoming a bit of a disadvantage right now. She narrows her eyes at me, and I know that she doesn’t believe me, but she must decide to let it go because she doesn’t bring it up. Instead, the easy smile is back on her face.
“Don’t worry about it, half the group is drunk off their asses, anyway.” She looks pointedly toward one of the other males who is dancing wildly with his partner, clearly under the influence of liquid courage.
After a quick laugh, her expression changes to one of interest. “So, your True Partner. He’s a bit of apiece, isn’t he?” She wiggles her eyebrows suggestively.
I bark out a laugh and feel warmth rush to my cheeks. “Yeah, I’ve got to admit, he’s not hard on the eyes. Maybe the Elders know a little more than I expected.”
“Well damn, that’s a change of pace,” she chuckles and then leads me over to an empty table in a quieter area of the room. Once we are sat, she leans in, expression turning genuine. “But really, how are you feeling? Is he nice?”
I shrug, trying to focus on the questions. The adrenaline from the balcony is quickly wearing off as I get more comfortable, reminding me of how impaired I really am. “He’s nice. To be honest, we seem to get along really well…at least, so far.” Elliot truly is a nice guy, though understandably I can’t fully concentrate on that right now. There are more pressing matters at hand. I wish I could tell Olivia what just happened, but I remain apprehensive. Anyone could be listening. The officials are always on duty, I remind myself for the third time today.
