Page 65 of A Fate Everlasting

“He would have killed you,”the Thread whispered. I shoved against the voice twining through my mind.No.The pressure pushed back, silk-soft and unyielding, wrapping tighter, trying to root itself deeper. I gritted my teeth, unwilling. “Go away, Dante,” I thought.

The Thread coiled.“You don’t mean that.”

“I do. Leave me alone,”I willed. A pulse of something electric seared through my mind, and for a fraction of a second, the voice wavered. The whole world felt off-kilter, like the universe itself had flinched. “Just one night of peace.Please,”I said, this time aloud.

The responding silence was thick. The weight lifted. The Thread retreated, folding into itself, withdrawing from my mind like a tide pulling back from the shore.

I was alone in my thoughts again, and somehow I was beginning to feel that might be worse.

The Astralis Ballroom looked ripped from a celestial dream—or a nightmare. Ether burned in the chandeliers, casting soft beams of light across the room. It felt stiflingly hot, my breaths strained by all the incense.

The vaulted ceiling had been enchanted, transformed into an endless night sky stitched with constellations I couldn’t recognize. Between the swirling figures on the dance floor, the marble beneath my feet reflected it all, a seamless mirage of darkness and light, as though we stood upon the edge of something vast and infinite.

I tugged at my dress, the fabric itchy against my skin. A tune I now recognized as a nocturne played, low and mournful. I casta look to the piano, grateful when I didn’t see Dante tucked into the bench behind it.

Everywhere I turned, students swayed in their silks and embroidered brocades, their gloved hands clutching goblets of golden wine. The air smelled of roses, though the bite of burning ether curled at the edges. I was drowning in it.

I found myself looking for him, Hugo, stupidly, expecting him to be near the bar flashing that dazzling smile. My insides curled, and not just from the saccharine wine lingering on my tongue. His absence was gaping. No one had dared to speak it, but it was loud, a hollow space carved into the evening. I suppose for everyone vanishing was the final lesson Evermore had to teach—how to become eternally forgotten. It was the one thing Hugo feared most.

Across the ballroom, Ruby twirled in Marcus’s arms, her laughter ringing too bright for the weight pressing down on us. The silk of her gown fanned out as she moved. We were all going straight to Elsewhere, but I supposed she deserved one last night to pretend it wasn’t true.

Next to me, Dorian’s hand skimmed the rim of his glass, like none of this touched him. His cravat hung undone, the open collar of his shirt exposing the line of his throat and his mark, hair careless disarray as if he had been dragging his fingers through it.

Raw hatred burned through me. He’dmurderedHugo in cold blood. He caught me staring and his attention dragged over my figure, like he was taking me apart piece by piece.

He didn’t move, but neither did I. The music shifted, and the couples on the floor swept into movement, gowns gliding over marble. I turned, meaning to disappear into the crowd. But before I could take another step, he was there.

“Dance with me, Davenant.” Dorian’s tone told me thiswasn’t a request. His fingers brushed against my waist, pulling me into him. I felt warmth curling through me.

“Absolutely not,” I turned, cheeks heating. I felt disgust even beingnearhim.

“Please, let me explain,” he said, sweeping into step. Dorian had always felt cold, and being with him had always felt like resting on the precipice of a bottomless void. But heat settled low in my stomach, spreading through me like wildfire. “What happened earlier wasn’t what it looked like.”

I should have pulled away. I should have told him no, told him I wouldn’t let him lead me in anything, let alone a waltz. But the restless part of my mind demanded an explanation. The music swelled, and my feet betrayed me as we spiralled onto the dance floor.

“What is there to explain,” I hissed. “You’re a killer. A Daemon. I should have known you’d do something like this.”

“Hugo died long before I snapped his neck.” Dorian’s grip stayed firm, guiding. So gentle for hands that had ended someone’s life only moments before. “His soul never made it back from Elsewhere. Something else inhabited him. Itoldyou, I’ve only ever seen my mother resurrect one person at a time.It went wrong, Arabella.”

“Is that true?” I forced my voice to remain steady despite the way my stomach sunk. “I blamed myself. I thought it was the tether that broke or something.”Something I did.

“I promise.” Dorian nodded. “It’s not your fault. He was spelled to follow you into Elsewhere.” I could smell that familiar scent of peppermint on him as he spoke. “So drop the guilt, Davenant.”

I clenched my jaw. “I’m trying.”

“For what it’s worth, I’m glad you made it back in one piece.” Dorian’s eyes were trained on mine again. So vast, a shade between darkest blue and purple, a color I’m not sureanyone had thought to name. “Not sure I’d have adjusted well to a reality where you weren’t around to annoy me.”

“Flattered.” I let a wry smile curve my mouth, but his hand at my waist tightened like it wasn’t a joke. “You’re charming Dorian Cavendish, you know that?”

“Charming.”Dorian’s grin was all sharp teeth. He raised my arm, and I spun into his chest. “No, that might be the first time I’ve heard that.”

“Liar.”

His gaze dropped, lingering on my lips for half a second too long before flicking back to my eyes. I felt my stomach drop.Dangerous. That’s what Dorian Cavendish was. Not a waking nightmare, like Dante, a colder threat. He slipped beneath your skin before you realized it, and by the time you noticed you were already unraveling.

“Everyone hates me,” I said after a moment, my voice lilting. “They all think I’m responsible for their scores dropping.”

Dorian’s expression didn’t change, but something about him tensed, his grip tightening at my waist just enough for me to notice. “Don’t be ridiculous.”

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