Page 67 of Ruling Destiny

Before he can finish, I lift my heels and kiss him into silence.

Kiss him until his arms tighten around me, drawing me closer.

Kiss him until he’s forgotten his words and I can no longer recall why I ever doubted this wonderful, sexy, magical boy.

And it’s during this kiss that I make a silent promise to us both.

As soon as we’re in Italy, away from Arthur’s watch, I will tell him everything, and he’ll do the same, until we are cleansed, free of our lies, with no more secrets between us.

Maybe then I’ll let him finish that thought.

Maybe then I’ll be ready to say it right back.

38

Not long after the song ends, everyone starts spilling through the door. And with a quick wave of his hand, the hologram disappears, and Braxton presses a kiss to my cheek. “To be continued.” He winks. “Elodie’s put me on bar duty.”

He slips behind the green marble-topped bar and starts popping champagne corks and filling drink orders, as I move through the crowd, checking out the variety of costumes everyone’s chosen to wear.

Keane has gone with a 1970s roller-disco theme, wearing a pair of surprisingly short track shorts, a tight T-shirt, striped knee socks, and a pair of glittery sky-blue roller skates that, going by the way he glides through the space, he really knows how to work.

Hawke looks like he’s arrived straight off a three-day bender at Woodstock. His beat-up suede jacket hangs open to reveal a pile of beaded necklaces that fall halfway down his bare chest. The hems of his faded denim bell-bottoms are crusted with mud, which strikes me as a nicely authentic touch. Beside him stands Roxanne, and with her early 1960s Jackie Kennedy pastel suit and pillbox hat, they’re like a visual nod to opposite ends of a turbulent decade.

Finn and Oliver are wearing togas, with gold headbands and gladiator sandals that wrap around their legs, all the way to their knees.

Jago and Elodie also match, going with a couple’s theme of Antony and Cleopatra.

But Mason’s costume outshines them all. With his long curly wig, lacy cravat, and elaborate purple tailcoat and matching breeches, he’s clearly channeling Louis XIV’s brother, Philippe I, the Duke of Orléans, who was known for his colorful, outlandish attire. And as he saunters into the room with his head held imperiously high, it’s obvious he’s enjoying this part that he plays.

I’m just about to approach him when Elodie pulls me aside. “I decided to switch things up. Do something different from my usual room parties,” she says, her voice forced to compete with the sudden burst of applause when Keane takes to the dance floor and shows off some serious roller-disco moves.

I glance around the crowded space. “Looks like it’s working.” I motion toward Keane, who’s convinced Roxanne to join him, and the sight of her dancing to a seventies disco song is so funny that Elodie and I can’t help but laugh.

“You know me.” She grins. “I can never resist a chance to play dress-up.” She holds my gaze. “Also, I thought you and Braxton deserved a proper send-off.”

Something about that gives me pause. “You do know we’re coming right back? It’s not like we’removingto Renaissance Italy,” I say. Then, as an afterthought, I add, “Unless you know something I don’t?”

“Don’t be ridiculous.” She waves it away. “It’s just that it’s been a while since a Blue set out on a Trip that lasted more than a few hours.”

Except for the Blues who never returned.

“Anyway.” Elodie gestures toward my dress. “I like the look.”

“And I like yours.” I take in her filmy blue dress with gold trim that rolls over her body like oil on water. “It suits you,” I say. “You definitely have a certain Cleopatra quality.”

“So I’m a legendary seductress?” She quirks a brow.

“Definitely.” I laugh. “But, more importantly, you’re resourceful, astute, and one step ahead of everyone else.”

Elodie pats her black wig, looking equally surprised and pleased by my words. “It was Jago’s idea. I think he wanted to go as Mark Antony just so he could show off his legs.” She rolls her eyes, but in a playful way.

I watch as her fingers creep toward the gold snake medallion she’s taken to wearing. And I’m reminded of how Song warned me about Elodie, that I should treat her like any venomous snake—try not to agitate her and do what you can to stay out of her way.

Is there a connection between Elodie’s pendant, Song’s warning, and the serpent perfume bottle I found in my room?

In the Tarot Garden, both the one in Tuscany and the one at Gray Wolf, the steps leading fromThe Wheel of FortunetoThe High Priestessare flanked by a snake.Is there hidden meaning there, too?

I shake the thought away and return my focus to Elodie.

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