“I know we said we would meet each other at the ball,” he started. “And that you would arrive with my sisters, but that isn’t the scene I want to paint tonight. I want you on my arm. I want everyone in this coven—in this city—to know you’remine.”
Behind us, one of his sisters made a sound that was definitely a squeal, and the other hissed, “Shut up, don’t ruin it!”
Rune barely blinked. His attention stayed on me. “Are you ready to go?”
I nodded my head, completely unable to put a full sentence together. When we made it out into the hallway, with his sisters on our heels, he closed the door right in their faces. I watched as their mouths hung to the ground before the door separated us.
Rune offered his arm, and I slid mine through his, still not trusting my voice.
We started down the hall, and every step echoed like a heartbeat.
“You okay?” he asked, his tone quieter now that it was just us. “Was that too much back there?”
“I think I blacked out a little,” I admitted. “You’ve stunned me speechless.”
The corners of his lips twitched, and I practically held my breath to see one of his breathtaking smiles. “And I didn’t even have to kiss you.”
My eyes rounded again. “Were you planning to? Did I ruin it?”
Everything faded away as the smile I’d been waiting for stretched across his face and practically blinded me. “Never.”
The moment Runeopened the grand arched doors, my breath caught in my throat.
The courtyard I’d passed through days ago—humid, overgrown, half-shadowed by hanging moss—was unrecognizable.
Tonight, it glowed.
Dozens of floating lanterns hovered in the air like fireflies caught in some slow-motion waltz, casting golden light overeverything they touched. The ancient oaks surrounding the perimeter had been draped in gauzy silks that shimmered like starlight. Between their thick trunks, long tables wrapped in vines and candles curved like rivers, lined with lush florals in deep purples and crimson. Music swelled from somewhere unseen—haunting and beautiful, threaded with magic that made my skin tingle.
And in the center of it all, a glass dance floor hovered just above the surface of the reflecting pool. I pressed my hand to my lips and sighed in absolute wonder. I didn’t know what I’d expected out of a Halloween masquerade, but this wasn’t it.
Rune placed his hand at the small of my back and led me to the dance floor. I could practically feel all of the eyes in the room on me as he guided me up the enchanted steps and to the raised platform with the other coven members. Heat from his touch practically seared me through my gown. I could hardly think with his hand so low on my back, I don’t know how I managed to make it up on the dance floor without stumbling. When he swooped me around on the raised platform, I thought I was going to pass out.
Not only was he gorgeous, but he could dance? This was all entirely too much. Rune leaned in and his breath coated my ear as he spoke, “Don’t get used to all the slow dancing, my family likes to cut loose.”
I leaned away from him so he could see my face as I grinned. “I can’t wait to see this.”
And cut loose they did.The music quickly picked up to a wild beat, and before I knew it, there were tons of people all over the dance floor. It wasn’t just a few couples here and there. It waseveryone.I’d never seen so many bodies mashed together, laughing and having a good time. It was a magic in and ofitself. There was twerking and ass shaking all over the room, and everyone was laughing. There wasn’t the background dread of what was to come. All that mattered was what was happening tonight. All that mattered wasliving.
When Adelle and her twin sisters took to the dance floor, anticipation zinged through me. I knew it was about to get even wilder, until Adelle’s eyes found mine. I shook my head from where I stood off to the side with Rune, thinking it would be enough to deter her.
Oh boy, was I wrong.
“Oh no,” I muttered under my breath.
Rune chuckled beside me. “You’re in trouble now.”
“I’m not dancing?—”
“You absolutely are,” Adelle announced, grabbing my wrist with glitter-covered fingers. “It’s a sin to let a dress like that sit still.”
Before I could argue, she was pulling me into the fray. Music pulsed up through my heels and into my spine. The beat was filthy, fast, and impossible to resist. As the crowd swallowed us, I stopped trying to fight it so hard.
Adelle spun me around and then slapped my ass for good measure. I pretended to be scandalized and let out a loud gasp, but she just barked out a laugh.
But then I saw him… Rune was standing off to the side, watching me with a predator's gaze, and I couldn’t tear my eyes away.
Adelle leaned in and practically shouted in my ear. “He looks like he wants to drag you out of here.”
