Page 35 of Monster's Delight

Ms. Carlisle squinted at me and then gasped. “Ms. Doyle? When you came to see me in September, you had your hair down. I would recognize that jawline anywhere. I hadn’t realized just how much you looked like Declan.”

“Everyone says that until they see me next to my mom,” I replied lightly. “Somehow, I got the best of both. Excuse me, I see my friend.”

Taking my drink, I headed over to the corner where Rhiannon looked like she was doing her best to vanish into the decor without using magic.

“Are you okay?” I asked her.

She crossed her arms and then let them dangle at her sides, fidgeting awkwardly. “I’m not sure I want to be here.”

I sipped my punch slowly. “Is that because you’re feeling left out, or because you actually don’t want to be here?”

The music faded out and the next song started with a loud crash that made Rhiannon jump.

“I don’t want to be here,” she blurted out. “It’s too loud, there are too many people, and I’m uncomfortable.”

I nodded in understanding. “Did you promise Una that you’d stay?”

She shook her head. “No. I just promised I’d try.”

“Nobody will think less of you if you leave. Do you want me to walk you back to your dorm?”

“You’d do that for me?” Rhiannon asked, eyes wide.

“Of course. My ears could use a break and I’m not going to miss much in the fifteen or so minutes it’ll take to do the round trip.” I held out my arm to her, finishing my punch with the other. “There. Come on.”

There were a few stragglers on the way up to our dorms and even less on the way down. Overall, the oppressive silence in the hallways made me glad I was returning to the thumping beat of the ballroom.

Immediately after entering, a man in a wolf mask asked me to dance. He was wearing an old-fashioned woman’s nightgown, which made me giggle. “The wolf fromLittle Red Riding Hood?” I asked. “What big eyes you have!”

“All the better to see you, my dear,” he replied, playing along as he twirled me out into the center of the dance floor.

“What big ears you have, grandmother,” I said, leaning as close as I could with my hoop skirt.

He grinned wolfishly. “All the better to hear you, my dear.” He spun me out and brought me in, my back to his front.

“My, what big teeth you have!” I gasped playfully.

“All the better to eat you with,” he said, biting my exposed collarbone gently.

My knees wobbled and he chuckled darkly.

A sudden hush fell over the crowd, despite the music still blaring. I looked up to meet the flashing red eyes of a demon. He had sharp looking red horns above a black mask, giant black wings veined with red, and had painted the lower half of his face and torso to match. He wore simple black pants, but I barely noticed that.

It felt like he towered over my dance partner, but it must have been a trick of the lighting.

“Mine,” he growled, and my dance partner released me.

“As you wish,” the wolf said sullenly.

“Don’t I get a say in this?” I asked, my hands on my waist.

The demon inclined his head toward me. “My lady, may I cut in? My greatest desire is to dance with you.”

My heart fluttered. I swear, it honest-to-God flapped in my chest.

Who was this man?

I swept into a deep curtsy, glad I’d practiced alone in my room when I didn’t wobble in the slightest. “My lord,” I murmured, and his eyes flashed an even brighter red.

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