CHAPTER 99: SEEING HIM IN DIFFERENT LIGHT

"You were that man," I breathed. "The man in the masquerade ball at Finn’s manor more than a month ago."

He didn’t even have the grace to look surprised. The corner of his mouth quirked.

"You only just realized? I thought you had figured it out." His tone held a bit of disappointment.

Thinking of it now, I was stupid not to have seen it. Something came up that ruined the ball that night, and Stella mentioned that some intruders from Undercity came. I guessed it was because Rion looked different then. He had black hair, sea-green eyes, and his scent was faint, smelling completely something else.

"You’re smart," he murmured, drawing me in through the turn, "but slow sometimes."

"It was nighttime," I said, narrowing my eyes. "Why were your eyes sea-green back then? And your hair black."

He shrugged, casual as sin. "A little trick. I didn’t want to be recognized, you see."

Of course. Maybe one of his subordinates have an ability to alter someone’s appearance? A magic concoction? I knew there were a few ways to do that, if one found someone skilled.

"What were you doing there?" I asked.

"Spying," he said simply. His breath brushed my temple as he leaned in, as if imparting a lover’s secret. "I needed to confirm an assumption—that one of the keys had fallen into Levian hands."

His gaze skimmed my face. His eyes held a proud look. "I wasn’t wrong."

My heart lurched and it was a struggle to steady it again. Such a traitor little thing.

"If you confirmed I’m one of the keys, why didn’t you tell me then?" Why let me drown in questions, then accuse me of luring you into shadows? "You could have saved yourself the hassle and brought me with you."

His fingers moved then—lazy, sensual—drawing a line down the center of my back. The fabric of my gown was no shield; the touch rippled through me like a struck chord, sharp at first, then spilling outward, warm and treacherous as poured wine.

My body betrayed me, shivering even as my mind screamed not to.

"You’re suggesting I should have kidnapped you?" One dark brow lifted, amused. "I don’t abduct people at random, Vivien. You wound me. You always think poorly of me, it breaks my heart."

I bit back the smile that wanted to rise. I rolled my eyes. He could be dramatic sometimes. "You have a heart?"

"On odd days." He nodded, his voice warm. "Besides, you had no intention of leaving Finn at the time. If I’d taken you, you would have hated me for it. And I prefer you don’t." His mouth dipped closer, not touching, but for me it felt the same. "If I wanted you to work with me, you needed to stay with me willingly. It saves me trouble."

Of course it did. Everything with Rion was a straight line to efficiency, even his cruelty in restraint.

It made a ruthless kind of sense, and some small, irritated part of me hated that it made sense in my bones too. It was easier to call him reckless. Easier to make him a villain and be done with it.

Because seeing him in a different light... was far too dangerous.

The music slowed for a beat, strings like a held breath, and the crowd shifted.

I caught a glimpse of polished stone pillars and bursts of crimson pennants, of boys in Undercity greens attempting a formal turn and ending in laughter when they stepped on each other’s boots.

The Undercity was all edges and rough grace, they didn’t pretend not to be sharp.

"You still haven’t apologized," I said, turning with him as the strings shivered back into rhythm.

"For what?"

"For accusing me." Heat pricked my face again. "Of luring you that night. Of—of games I wasn’t playing."

He smirked. "Just wanted to tease you, that’s all. You looked like a ghost trying to run away, and I was bored."

"You scared me."

Rion’s smile was small and initimate and, infuriatingly, tender. "How about now, then? Still scared?"

My lips parted, but a word didn’t come out.

I was nervous, yes, and maybe a little too intimidated... but scared?

"You can’t hurt me." At least, with the blood bargain.

"But you’re scared, yes?" His tone turned a little more serious now, his eyes darkening.

"Maybe... not."

He chuckled darkly. "Oh? Your heart is beating so loud, though."

Goddess.

Thankfully, final chord of the song trembled, then fell away. For a heartbeat, the street party held still, the dancers suspended in a shared breath.

Then the drums struck their sticks together, brisk and bright, promising another song to follow.

I stepped back. Space opened between us—just one step, but it felt like a chasm I needed.

"Thanks for the dance," I said, wanting to run away from his hold.

I was turning, already cataloging the exits, already planning to find Raye or the nearest table of food and drinks, when a pair of voices cut through the chatter.

"ALPHA!"

Heads turned. I pivoted with them.

The women I saw earlier, named Jesmine and Mira pushed through the crowd. They wore bright smiles, their beautiful gowns swaying as they walked. Most people’s attention were on us now.

Uh-oh. They were arguing earlier because of Rion. If they were to know that I was that girl living in his castle, it wouldn’t look good for me, would it?

They stopped beside us, bright-eyed. I had already slipped from Rion’s hold because the song had ended and we were no longer bound by the dance’s rules. One pace of air lived between us, and I intended to grow it into a mile.

Rion’s expression smoothed into something almost blank—polite, distant.

He gave them an empty smile. "Hello, Jesmine. Mira."

"Alpha," Jesmine said, slightly breathless.

Perfect. A distraction. While they oriented around him, I began to angle my body away.

A step, then another—soft, careful. I needed to breathe after that draining dance.

"Where are you going?"