She nudged me playfully, and I rested my head on her shoulder, watching Clay take some beautiful, tall woman for her third dance of the evening. She was a Dragon. I wasn’t sure how I knew, but I could tell. Perhaps it was how fitting they looked together. Both were tall and lean, with striking eyes and lush hair. They’d make perfect little babies. Perfect little heirs to Zion that I could never provide.

I wondered if his future wife would be a Dragon or a lightning wielder, the other form of Descendant that originated from Zion. Did it matter? Or was the only qualification for breeding that they simply needed to be descended from Zion one way or another? If you really stopped to think about all these rules about marriages and children, it all started to seem a bit incestuous.

“I don’t want to go,” I confirmed.

“What happened with you two?” Lorelai asked, nudging her head towards Clay. “He’s been extra moody lately.”

He didn’t look extra moody. He seemed quite happy with that girl wrapped around him. I watched his hand as it slid slowly down her back until it rested on her waist–a little too low on her waist. Magic rushed to my fingertips and so help me if he grabbed her ass right in front of me… I wasn’t sure I could contain it from lashing out at the pair of them.

But that was ridiculous.

This had beenmychoice. I was the one who rejected him. I had no right to be jealous. We were never even in a relationship in the first place.

Sighing, I allowed Lorelai to wrap her arm around mine as she guided me to sit at a table by the window overlooking the gardens.

“Nothing really,” I explained. “I think for a moment, we forgot that nothing could ever happen between us. We don’t have the luxury of making those choices for ourselves. And then, all at once, we both realized our responsibilities. And I think we realized that neither of us wants something to happen in the first place.”

She snorted in an entirely un-ladylike way, and I gasped. I had never heard Lorelai make a noise like that before. Lorelai was always so prim, so put together, but here she was looking at me like a child who had just been caught stealing deserts before dinner.

“Sorry.” She laughed. “But like I said, I’m a Truthseeker. I know when I’m being lied to and that my friend was a very big lie.”

I could only sigh and shrug, partially becauseIdidn’t even know which part of that was a lie. I suppose I could have asked her what the lie had been. And while that might help to clarify my thoughts, it certainly would have left me embarrassed for the next century. So, I kept quiet.

Clay was right; I didn’t know a damn thing.

Well, actually, I knewonething. And that was that I’d had enough of this party.

And I’d certainly had enough of watching that woman lean on Clay and dip her mouth close to the lobe of his ear while she spoke. Her feet stumbled slightly on the corner of a rug that seemed to have moved two feet from where it had been positioned earlier in the day. Clay’s eyes found mine suddenly, a glare darkening his features. I turned away from him and clenched my fists, pulling that magical power back into me.

“You’re a good friend, Lorelai,” I told her. “But I think it’s time for me to say goodnight.”

She squeezed my hand as I stood and offered a supportive smile. “It’ll all work out, Thea. We’ll figure out who your attacker is, you’ll ascend to the Council, and you and Clay will figure out a way to be around each other. Just give it time. Trust me, it all works out in time.”

I smiled my thanks at her and grabbed my shawl from where I had left it on a table by the door, waving my goodbyes to Iris and the others. They barely noticed me in the merriment, and I didn’t mind. They all deserved some fun, even the Crown Prince himself, I supposed.

Clay wasfinallyfinishing his dance. He swooped her low and pressed his lips to the hollow in her neck before they both stood and laughed. I ignored the ping in my stomach as he grabbed onto her hand and they left the dance floor together in search of refreshment.

That’s it!I thought to myself.I have got to get out of here right now.

Every glance in Clay’s direction had my stomach lurching and my power swirling. I’d already used it spitefully once. If I spent another second in this room, I’d either say something I would regret, or this magic would burst out of me entirely and the night would end in a catastrophe.

“Oh,” I cried, barely catching myself before barreling directly into a servant as he closed the doors to the ballroom. “Excuse me; I was just leaving.”

“Sorry, Miss,” he sputtered, his high-pitched voice betraying how young he was and the lack of a title betraying that he didn’t recognize me. “M’afraid you can’t be going quite yet.”

Chapter Thirty

The boy stood about four feet tall. His uniform was as polished as all the others, but obviously too big for him. Undoubtedly, he had been sent to guard the door and prevent guests from leaving before an extravagant surprise for Clay’s birthday. Perhaps the Dragon had gotten him a new crown or jewel-inlaid sword. I didn’t need to stay for whatever was planned to close the evening.

“Oh, that’s fine. No one here will miss me. If you’ll just excuse me?”

He steeled himself against the door, planting his feet and folding his arms. It was silly to see this boy, barely twelve years old, trying so hard to stand tall and defiant.

“M’afraid you can’t be going quite yet,” he repeated.

I laughed softly. “Listen, I hate to play the future Council member card, but I’m Theadora Moore of House Hyrax, and I would like to return to my suite now. So if you’ll just step aside?”

The boy stood frozen. He didn’t move; he didn’t blink, he barely even seemed to breathe. There was something strange about him. It wasn’t just that he seemed too young to work as palace staff.