Page 52 of The Scarlet Star

Ryn turned. Warmness bled across the injury in her side when she locked gazes with a pair of dark eyes she only knew from an encounter that left her slashed by a sword.Damon. The young Intelligentsia’s hood was off now, but he still wore his sage cloak.

“I… Isn’t it a rule that no one is supposed to dance until the King has started dancing?” she asked from a dry throat.

Damon smiled, if what he did could be called a smile. His purple mouth curled, but no warmth reached his eyes. There wasn’t a single freckle on his glitter-dusted face, and his black hair was as neat and shiny as Calliope’s.

“The King has already started dancing,” he said.

Ryn glanced past the Intelligentsia and sure enough, there was Xerxes in a special navy jacket with gold details and a dark cape. He even wore a gilded crown inlaid with onyx and diamonds. He held Calliope close, guiding her aroundthe dancefloor while she smiled beautifully with her bright, glistening lips. At the sight of them, Ryn doubted Xerxes had really sent Calliope away the other night like Calliope claimed.

Ryn’s glass slipped from her hand—Damoncaught it. He flashed a smile and lifted it to his own mouth, taking a long drink. Ryn blinked in surprise at herself. “Sorry,” she murmured.

Damon chuckled and placed it back on the table. “The King is surprising, isn’t he? I didn’t think he’d want to come tonight, but it looks like he’s enjoying himself,” he said, then he extended a hand. “Allow me?”

Ryn looked around, wondering who in the whole ballroom she would talk to if she didn’t follow Damon. But of course, there was no one.

She took Damon’s hand.

“Hmm.” Damon tugged her to the dance floor. “It’s strange. At first, I thought the King would only smile atyou. But it seems he’s gotten past that.”

Ryn’s gaze swept back over to Xerxes. He flashed Calliope a dazzling closed-mouth smile, and Calliope released a soft, feminine laugh in return. Onlookers clapped and nodded, and Ryn was sure she was witnessing the blossoming romance children read about in fairytales. Two glittering young nobles who couldn’t take their eyes off each other.

If she wasn’t seeing it in person, Ryn might not have believed it. Up until this moment Ryn didn’t think Xerxes evenwantedto get married at the end of all this. He must have changed his mind.

Ryn bumped into Damon’s chest. She lifted a hand to her forehead and tried coughing out an apology. “Sorry, I’m just…” Nothing else came after that. She had no explanation for her strange behavior. She closed her mouth.

What, by the Divinities, was she so worried about? Why did she care if Xerxes danced with Calliope first? Or if Xerxes danced with anyone at all? Why did it matter if he smiled at other maidens? It was better this way. Ryn had briefly become the centre of his attention, so if Xerxes liked Calliope, things would only get easier for Ryn. Especially Xerxes being assassinated—

Ryn nearly choked at the thought. She forgot how to keep moving forward, and the lights played tricks on her eyes as the dancefloor went in and out of focus.

She shrieked when Damon pulled her snugly against him, all assassination thoughts vanishing. “What are you doing?” she demanded. She nudged Damon, but he held tight to her waist and studied her with a crooked smile.

“Haven’t you been to a dance before, Lady Electus?” he asked. “Don’t you know how these things work?”

Ryn took in the room, making a fast study of how the noble women danced. There weren’t many other couples dancing though, and she wondered how long it would be before everyone in sight questioned whether she’d ever attended a nobles’ dance.

“I wanted a moment with you so I could apologize.” Damon guided her a step backward and twirled her beneath his hand. He pulled her close again when she was around. “For attacking you that day. I was only doing my duty to protect the King. You understand.”

Ryn met his dark eyes against her better judgement. His irises swam with rich, deep brown. It was difficult to tell if his apology was sincere. His handsome features told an unusual story; one that made her sure that even though she could access the power of the Adriel God, she was dancing with a devil.

“I accept your apology,” she said. She stole a look at the refreshment tables, wondering if this conversation was over.

A dimple appeared in Damon’s cheek when he smiled. “I hope we can be friends then.”

Ryn made a face.

Friends?

His laugh rang across the dancefloor, and a few heads turned. “You don’t need to be so repulsed by the idea, Maiden,” Damon said, and Ryn closed her mouth. He added, “Oh look. The King is dancing with another maiden. I wonder if he’s forgotten about you?”

Xerxes was with Ulita. Ryn watched him give Ulita the same smile he’d granted Calliope as he twirled her, Ulita’s curls bouncing.

When Damon placed a finger beneath Ryn’s chin and tilted her face up, she thought her stomach had fallen out. Damon gazed at her, his face serious. Too serious, and too intense. Their mouths weren’t that far apart anymore, but Ryn didn’t think he’d dare try something so forbidden. She became aware of people watching, of what they might conclude of a maiden being this close to another man. She impulsively smacked Damon’s hand away and tore back.

“Don’t touch me,” she whispered.

Damon smiled wider, his lips slicing across his pale face. Laughing at her.

Ryn pushed a strand of hair behind her ear as the stares of everyone in the ballroom burned across her neck, her back, and Marcan’s beautiful, eye-grabbing gown. She glanced toward the open ballroom doors that led to an empty hall.

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