“Just follow my lead,” he whispered.
Somewhere, hidden in the depths of the room, a band started playing. Music floated in the air, wistful notes intertwined with more joyful ones, blending together into something utterly poignant. Something that made the room and the crowd fade, replaced by great open spaces where sky and land never seemed to meet, a haunting vastness that her mind could barely comprehend.
His touch was warm on her bare back, electrifying her skin. They started to move, and she was suddenly dancing with grace and elegance that were not her own. The steps seemed effortless, seamlessly matching the lilting magic of the music, guided by Jason’s body molded to her own. A small voice in the back of her mind warned that the spell would be broken as soon as the music stopped.
The truth was, she never wanted it to end. Here, in this moment, with Jason’s arms wrapped around her, the world made sense, and however briefly, she could forget the anxiety her mind was consumed with and the uncertainty of what was yet to come.
When the music came to its inevitable end, she didn’t have time to say anything, but she wasn’t sure that it was within her ability to put what she felt into words. Jason seemed just as reluctant to be parted from her, but he was pulled away into the arms of an older woman whose eyes were filled with predatory desire.
Allyra in turn was twisted away from Jason. She started to protest but relaxed when she found herself face to face with Jamie. He was smiling, but there was something forced about it. His words seemed genuine enough when he said, “Sam would be so proud of you. We’re all so proud of you.”
It seemed that the party was made for dancing as the music lifted into something less complicated and more joyful. The dance floor was filled with couples, all moving easily in tune with the music. Jamie led her across it, but the magic she’d experienced with Jason was lost, and her movements felt stilted and forced. More than once, she stepped on Jamie’s feet and had to whisper out a hurried apology.
There was an endless stream of people all desperate to have a dance with the newest Five Finals champions, and after Jamie, there was Rob and then Pete. They were followed by High Master Zhuang, and even Master Ackerman insisted on a dance though he was perhaps even more uncoordinated than she was.
Next, she was tugged and pushed into place by a whole line of men she’d competed against either in the Elemental Trials or The Five Finals. Every one of them had tried to best her or even kill her in the past, but now, they were desperate to forge some kind of bond with her and the power her win would afford her. It felt fake and forced and served only to add to her discomfort. Their names and faces all started to merge into one.
Allyra started to protest her exhaustion after her tenth partner and more strongly after the fifteenth. But her words fell on deaf ears. After the twentieth, she decided that enough was enough.
“I’m sorry,” she said, the words tumbling from her lips even before she had fully registered who her new partner was. “I really must insist on sitting this one out.”
“Are you sure about that?” Jason whispered against her ear.
Allyra’s eyes widened as Jason maneuvered them with practiced ease to the edge of the dance floor. Then with a quick glance over his shoulder, her led her out a side door.
Without letting go of her hand, Jason grabbed a bottle of champagne and two crystal flutes. A delighted laugh escaped from her lips as he broke into a run, pulling her along behind him.
He grinned and said, “I think we deserve to escape the frivolities after all we’ve been through.”
He led her through the kitchens, filled with waiters and staff, every one of them ignoring the two well-dressed partygoers with the practiced deference of people used to serving the privileged and wealthy.
A gentle rain was falling over the gardens as they emerged from the kitchens, but Jason’s Gift turned raindrops into a warm mist of steam, keeping them dry. Allyra let out a delighted gasp and turned in a slow circle, her arms outstretched and her face turned to the sky, allowing the steam to drift against her skin. Jason laughed and took her hand again, and together, they ran down a pebbled path lined with roses in bloom. But she barely saw them, her attention fully occupied by the adrenaline pounding through her veins and the feel of Jason’s hand around her own.
They paused in front of a door, which opened with a quick and barely perceptible flare of Jason’s Gift. She took a moment to glance around the room as Jason dropped the champagne and glasses carelessly onto the couch. The rooms were put together much like the ones of Master Marais, the History Master. But Jason’s rooms were neat and tidy where Master Marais’s had been cluttered and messy. The room they were standing in was a mix of a study and sitting room with a desk and bookshelves at the back and couches in the front. The main room then gave way to a smaller bedroom and bathroom.
At the sight of the bed, Allyra’s heart quickened even further, until one heartbeat could no longer be separated from another. Coming together in one furious and continuous stream. She was no innocent virgin, and she knew where this was headed. She wanted it. She wanted him to help her forget, to lift
