Page 68 of Snake

Nim

I’m not sure I’m all that surprised about how good a dancer Mason is. It’s mesmerizing, even oddly satisfying, watching him spin around the dance floor with Mariella. Knox’s younger sister is a plank of a girl with a body shape that reminds me too much of Eliza, but when she’s in Mason’s arms, she bends like the supple branch of a willow tree.

“She used to do ballet,” Knox says.

I start, throwing him a quick frown before my eyes return to the dance floor. “Used to? She’s so good. Why’d she stop?”

“Guess she grew out of it.”

I glance at Knox, my heart sinking a little when I see the shadows in his eyes. He’s watching his sister dance, too, but there isn’t an ounce of happiness on his face. I’d almost say he’s pissed off, but he was the one egging on his friends to go dance.

Except if it was just to get me alone. And now he’s regretting seeing his sister in Mason’s arms.

“I’m going to find Romi,” I tell him, although fuck knows why I think he needs a heads up. I made it clear I’m not their prisoner anywhere. I don’t have to let them know every time I make a move.

Knox says nothing. He doesn’t even try to stop me. But I still don’t get very far, because Cecelia comes up the stairs to our balcony, blocking me in. She stops, lifting her head just enough to see who’s in her way, and that’s when I see the mascara streaks running down her face.

I should stand aside and let her do her thing. She obviously came up here to fetch her purse and fix her makeup. But I saw her down there with Silas, and I immediately know he was a fucking asshole to her. Knox would be livid if he saw his sister like this. I shouldn’t care about preventing a nuclear war between the Serpents, but maybe it’s some form of self-protection. After all, they could easily spread around their misery. And I’m the first person who’d be affected.

“Hey, are you okay?” I whisper, grabbing her arm before she can slip past me.

Sissa shrugs, tugging on her arm before going limp. “Yeah, I guess.”

“You want your purse?”

She nods, her bottom lip trembling despite how fiercely she bites down on it.

“You wait right here. I’ll fetch it, then we’ll go to the bathroom.”

Knox is studying the dance floor—if he notices me leaving, he doesn’t mention it. I grab Cecelia’s purse and usher her down the stairs, letting her take the lead when I realize I don’t know where the restroom is.

When we arrive, I guide her into the corner, away from prying eyes, so I can clean her face in private. She watches me with glittering blue eyes, face splotchy from crying.

“So what did he do?” I ask stiffly when I can’t hold back my anger anymore.

“Who, Silas?” Cecelia sniffs, her gaze dropping to her hands. “Nothing.”

“He must have done something or you wouldn’t have mascara all over your face.” I can’t help the fierceness in my voice. These guys can take their issues out on me as much as they want, but to make a young girl like Cecelia cry? And she looks so fucking pretty.

“No, it’s not him.”

“Oh.” I’m not sure if it’s disappointment or relief I hear in my voice. “Then what?”

“I just...I’m being silly.”

“Never. You’re a smart girl. Smart girls aren’t silly.”

Cecelia smiles sadly. “He’s right. You are okay.”

“Who’s this?” But then I answer my question with a sarcastic huff of a laugh. “Oh my God, Silas? What a jerk.”

Cecelia frowns at me, pulling back when I lean in with the mascara brush to touch up her eyes. “Don’t call him that.”

I puff at a strand of hair hanging in my face and study Cecelia for a moment before capping her mascara wand and slipping it back inside her purse. I should diffuse the situation, but the Serpents have been getting away with being assholes for long enough. It’s time people took off their rose-colored glasses and saw who they truly were.

“I hate to break it to you, but they’re all a-grade assholes.”

“All boys are.” Cecelia sounds way too cynical for her years.

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