Page 61 of A Dusk Of Stars

“Go on,” I urge them, forcing myself to smile, “it’ll cheer me up, seeing you have fun.”

“Dance we shall then,” Alaric says. Raven gives him her hand and they walk away, blending in with the other dancers.

I grab a shot glass off a waiter’s tray and I come a little closer, ignoring the movement of the people around me.

This is nothing you haven’t suffered through before, I tell myself.

Still, all my muscles tense up, when I see Serra and Lorcan standing in a small group of professors just outside the dancing floor, staring at me. They both look tense, Serra even sicklier than usual, an entire strand of gray hair now swept off her face.

As soon as our eyes meet, they look away, but it’s so obvious it wasmethey were talking about.

Suddenly feeling too exposed for my tastes, I toss the shot back and get moving, not knowing exactly where I’m going, just eager to get out of their line of sight.

My phone vibrates and I check my messages, only to see it’s one of those automated emails from the main Academy account, which I’m still receiving simply because no one remembered to remove me from the list.

It makes me frown, when I see which type of email it is. Someone’s been granted the permission to use the Pull. Tonight at 2AM.

That’s unusual. These emails we get only when it’s neither the faculty nor one of the students asking for permission. And everyone outside the Academy who’s supposed to be here, they’ll be leaving way before 2AM.

It snaps me out of my ruminations, when I hear a voice that instantly makes my heart start racing.Hisvoice. I see I’m headed straight for a large group of people all gathered around him. I slow down. It’s not just students and professors this time. He seems to be attracting all the political and social elite that’s been invited, looking hot as hell in a dark suit without a tie.

“Isn’t that—” I hear some woman on the margins of the group say just as I lock eyes with her.

She instantly zips it, only confirming the hunch that she reallywaspointing atme.

I don’t care, but what actually does sting a little is that I see some people Idoknow in that group. None of them even acknowledge me.

I turn around and start in the opposite direction. I’m loathing the attention, but there’s one upside to this at least — no elbowing through crowds.

Gods, why is everything in my life so complicated that — for whatever reasons — I need to avoid literally everyone I know?

Sadness floods me again, only punctuated by the yearning to forget everything that’s happened to me these past months. Oblivion, I’m in dire need of oblivion, I think as I grab another shot off a passing waiter’s tray. But when you don’t have it in you to have fun, drinking only makes the sadness worse.

Just as I start contemplating going back to my room, I feel a need to look over my shoulder and my eyes land on Bane’s as he makes his way through the dancers.

Straight towards the empty circle around me.

Goddamnit.

I fix my eyes back ahead and pick up my pace, looking around for someplace to hide.

The fact that he’s looking for me right now — it can only meanonething. He’ll want to have some super intense discussion about the incident at the exam, demanding explanations that I just cannot give. Even if I could, I just don’t have it in me to give them.

“Oh come on,” I hear him tease even before he comes to block my way, “literally running away from me?”

Great.

“Desperate times,” I say with a cordial smile.

“You don’t look like you couldn’t spare a minute,” he replies as he points at the shot in my hand.

I glance around nervously, catching a couple of stares from the group he’s just left. Ugh. I really can’t do this today. “Maybe later.”

He squints at me, craning his neck to follow my gaze. Then there’s that already familiar spark in his eyes. A smile tugs at his lips. “You know,” he starts, raising his voice quite a bit and already turning even more heads, “you shouldn’t beat yourself up about it so much, Miss Novak.”

It’s like he’s in my damn head.

“Look,” I reply amicably, determined to cut this as short as possible, “I really don’t know what happened today, so...”

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