“Advice taken.”
Lucian drifted out of the throng of pures and grasped my free hand. His eyes drifted over me in a mixture of shock and appraisal. “Laadan, you have outdone yourself. She looks just like Rachelle did when she attended this very ball.”
It was official. I felt creeped out on a whole new level.
“And you can’t even see her scars,” Lucian continued. There was a weird sheen to his eyes, and I wondered if he was drunk. “Utterly amazing job, Laadan.”
Straining back, I tried to maintain a polite smile. “Uh… thanks.”
Laadan looked as put off as I felt. Smoothly, she engaged Lucian’s interest. I scanned the room for friendly faces as my fingers clutched the fragile stem of the glass.
Everyone—all the pures—looked magnificent in their finery. Most of the females wore the kind of risqué dresses I’d love to, showing off expanses of perfectly smooth skin and long, graceful necks.
I didn’t belong here. No matter what Laadan said, I didn’t belong here.
Taking a deep breath, my gaze skittered over the crowd. Out of them, I recognized Minister Diana Elders. She wore a white diaphanous gown that reminded me of something a goddess would wear. Beside her, my uncle looked extremely interested in whatever she was saying. In awe, I watched as he actually smiled and when they turned toward us, those emerald eyes shone like jewels.
That is, until he saw me.
Marcus stepped back, blinking. Shock splashed across his face. He reacted like he’d seen a ghost. Recovering slowly, he and Minister Elders approached us. He nodded at Lucian and Laadan. “Alexandria, you decided to join us after all.”
Uncomfortable, I nodded and sipped my champagne.
Diana smiled warmly enough, but she looked nervous when she addressed me. “Miss Andros, it is a pleasure to meet you.”
“Same here,” I murmured dumbly. I was never good at exchanging pleasantries, but the good thing was that the pures surrounding me gravitated toward each other and I was able to drift off to the side. I continued searching the crowd… well, for Aiden if I was being honest with myself. I knew he wouldn’t speak to me, but I wanted him… to see me. Lame, yes, but I wanted that.
Go figure it was Seth I saw first.
Or he saw me first. I’m not sure. Either way, I was surprised to find both Aiden and Seth standing with another pure-blood male I didn’t recognize. Several pretty pures had crowded them, possibly fascinated by the fact that an Apollyon half-blood was in the mix—or they’d just been drawn to the general hotness of the group.
Dawn Samos was one of those pretty pures. Her dress was a white sheath that ended above her knees. She stood the closest to Aiden, her slender tan arm brushing his as she spoke. I hadn’t seen her since the first day of sessions and I’d forgotten about her, but there she was.
Seth stood facing Aiden and the entrance. He wore a tux like the rest of the pures,
except he’d managed to find an all-white one and still look good in it. A grin pulled at my lips.
Like Seth needed any extra help sticking out.
His gaze moved around the edge of the ballroom and landed on me. The expression on his face was almost comical. His brows inched up his forehead, eyes widened with surprise. Apparently, I looked like a doofus most of the time. Me being in a dress must be a sight to behold. A smug quirk to his lips was quick to replace the startled expression. He nodded at me approvingly.
I tipped my glass at Seth.
He must’ve said something, because Aiden’s muscles stiffened under his black tux. Then slowly, almost reluctantly, Aiden looked over his shoulder. The moment our eyes met, I felt like Cinderella.
Aiden’s lips parted as his gaze drifted over me in a way that made the glass tremble between my fingers. When his eyes made their slow journey back to mine, all the air fled my lungs. The silver burned so fiercely, so hot, that a warm blush swept over my skin. My hand fell to the side, the barely touched glass of champagne forgotten as it hung from my fingertips.
Aiden turned around fully, his chest rising and falling sharply. He didn’t smile. He seemed only capable of staring. Just like me, because he looked truly magnificent in the sharp cut of the black tux, the wild waves of hair tumbling over his forehead, and those soft lips still parted in surprise, eyes still full of hunger.
As if in a daze, Aiden crossed the ballroom floor, his piercing eyes fastened on me. I knew I looked good, but not that good. Not so good that everyone else seemed to fade and disappear to Aiden. I thought of what he’d said outside the sitting room, how he’d been wrong about a lot of things.
I think I knew one of those things he’d been wrong about.
So caught up in Aiden, I hadn’t realized Seth had moved, but I felt him before he placed his hand on me, his fingers curving over my bare shoulder. Anger flashed over Aiden’s face. He stalled, silver eyes dropping to my shoulder. I could almost feel it in the air—the primal jealousy, his raw urge to physically remove Seth’s hand.
Seth leaned close, his warm breath stirring the hair at the nape of my neck. “People are starting to stare.”
Were they? I couldn’t say I really cared, which was wrong, but Aiden was staring at me—staring at me with so much passion, so much want—it was the only thing I could think about.
And then Aiden pulled it together. Halting mid-step, he clamped his jaw shut. Those eyes were still like quicksilver, smoldering in the soft light. His gaze drifted over me once more. Shivering under its intensity, I imagined that he was filing the image of me away.
Seth’s hand slid down my arm, fingers tightening around mine. “You know he’s not for you.”
“I know,” I whispered. And I did know that, and maybe that was why I felt so hollow inside.
Aiden turned away then, smiling at something Dawn said. But it was a fake smile. I knew Aiden’s smiles. After all, I lived for them.
“Do you want to dance?” Seth suggested.
Coming to the ball had been a bad idea. The emptiness I felt spread, leaving a gaping hole. I didn’t belong here, but Aiden did. Aiden belonged here with pures like Dawn. Not with me, not a half-blood.
I tore my gaze from Aiden and looked up at Seth. “I don’t want to dance.”
Seth’s amber gaze drifted over me. “Do you want to stay here?”