“Yet you’re far from human.” His expression is impossible to read. “I can feel your power. It has a remarkable scent.”
Well, you smell like freshly fallen snow. Thankfully, I hold that comment back. Whatever he is doing to me reeks of magic, and I’m not about to embarrass myself by sprouting thirst poetry.
“Yeah, I’m a Witch, but I have very little power.” My voice is shaky, my knees starting to weaken. I’m also unbearably cold. Salvador mentioned to my mother yesterday that the Fae haven’t been at an MA event in years. Why? That’s what I should be asking him about, not debating my self-worth.
“I believe you have more power than you think.”
I shrug, which looks totally awkward whilst waltzing.
“I can tell the truth from lies.”
“That’s useless to the Fae. We do not lie.”
True. I haven’t heard a single ping the entire dance. So why is he so obsessed with my powers? Is he just trying to compliment me so he can get into my pants?
“I’m talking of a different power,” he explains.
I’m about to tell him that he’s probably just sensing my raw sex appeal when we sidestep two more dancing couples, and with a jolt, I realize something. The waltzing pairs are stalling for a millisecond as we pass them, literally frozen for just enough time to let us pass freely. The prince is actually rooting them to the spot. Damn. I make a mental note to never give him sass again. The man in my arms is probably the most powerful Para I’ve ever encountered, and therefore the most dangerous. The last thing I want is to piss off Jack Frost’s hotter brother.
The music slows, our dance is coming to an end. Crap! I need to ask him more questions before he makes his excuses and goes.
“Why have the Fae delegation not visited the MA in years?” I blurt out.
The prince looks taken aback by my change of subject but recovers quickly. “We had a strenuous relationship with Maribel the First.”
“Strenuous how?”
“She did not wish to honor our treaties.”
I’m not aware of any Fae-Witch agreements, but I make a mental note to quiz my mom about it.
“So, did you come to Barcelona because Maribel disappeared? To make new treaties?”
Or did you make her disappear? I don’t voice my last question, but the Winter Court Prince has definitely shot up to the top of my suspect list.
“I’m happy to answer your questions,” he says. “But in return, you will owe me a favor.”
My mother told me the Fae like to collect favors. OK, fine. Whatever. How bad can that be?
“A favor, like picking up your dry cleaning?” I venture.
The prince nods. “Perhaps.”
I’m about to agree, but I’m interrupted.
“May I?” A delicate voice cuts through the frost. I blink. Luisa is standing by the prince, her palm tilted open to the ceiling in invitation. The cold fist around my heart eases, and I feel the prince’s hold on me retreat.
Annoyance flashes across his perfect features.
“Your Highness?” Luisa nudges.
People are watching us. He has no choice but to relent, though I don’t doubt he’d love to freeze more of me into submission. He lets go, and with a dazzling pearly smile, allows Luisa to take his place.
Before I have a chance to say anything, her hand is on my waist, and she’s leading me to the edge of the dancefloor. It’s strange to be led by her, as although she’s undoubtedly tougher than me, she’s also a lot smaller.
“You know you were being enchanted, right?” she says. Her words are clipped, her tone as cold as my body still is.
I look down at our heels flying across the parquet floor. “Thank you.”
My skin slowly starts to thaw, and I finally relax. But my limbs feel weak suddenly, drained, and my legs threaten to buckle beneath me. Luisa holds me up, her grip deceptively strong. The prince’s influence had been chipping away at me more than I realized.
“Steady now,” Luisa whispers. “This crowd loves to see weakness. They eat it up, second only to the canapés.”
I give her a weak smile. She doesn’t return it.
“Thanks for saving me from him,” I manage.
“I had to. The prince was about to seal the deal.”
“I wouldn’t go that far.”
“‘Seal the deal’ is what they call tricking non-Fae into a bargain. Once you agree, then there’s no way back. Humans have adopted the saying; they just don’t know it comes from the Fae.”
So that’s what he was trying to do! Luisa has saved my ass twice in twenty-four hours.
“Why would he want a favor from me?”
“Maybe he thinks a favor from a de la Cruz could be worth a lot.”
Right. My gaze snags on where my mom is standing.
“I’m sorry about what I said last night.”
“It was bitchy and horrible and prejudiced.”
Wow, Luisa doesn’t spare any punches.
“OK, true,” I nod. “But you literally made that Vamp scream in agony.”
I mask our discord with a polite smile, aware people are watching us. Rafi, Beatriz, the prince, my mother…
I was rude to her last night, yes, but I still think I had a point.
“That Vamp was going to kill us, Saskia.”
I think back to my childhood with my mother, unable to stop my voice from breaking. “Don’t you think it terrifies people that you can make them feel whatever you want?”
“I would never do that,” she hisses.
We keep dancing, and I keep counting my steps. The warmth has fully returned to my body, and I’m acutely aware of her hand on my back as we twirl.
“Yes, I’m a Touchmage, and I can make you feel a world of pain,” she says.
“Is that supposed to make me feel better?”
She shrugs. “It’s the truth. I’m powerful too. I can flood your body with sadness, I can summon up water to your tear ducts and make you cry harder than you’ve ever cried in your life.”
I shudder in her arms.
“Or…” She spins me and leans forward as if she’s about to
