Chapter 36
Lita
Vanessa recovered first, straightening and flipping her hair over one shoulder like we were just old friends caught mid–conversation.
“Lord Asher,” she cooed, lips curling into what I’m sure the thought was meant to be inviting. “You’re just in time. We were admiring Elena’s… fashion statement.”
His eyes didn’t even flick to her. “Is that what you call attempted murder–by–merlot?”
The girls behind her tittered, but it was uncertain now. Because Asher wasn’t smiling. Not at all.
He moved past them, the crowd parting for him like water. “You alright, Lucky?” he asked, voice pitched low as he stepped into my space.
I forced a breath. “Peachy.”
His eyes dropped to the ruined bodice of my dress. “If this is what these ladies call haute couture, I’m glad to be out of fashion.”
A weak laugh clawed its way up my throat, but I didn’t let it out.
Asher shrugged out of his formal jacket in one smooth motion. The inside was lined with dark silk, the shoulders dusted with faint gold thread. He draped it over my shoulders with exaggerated care, and for a moment, the warmth of it – of him – broke through the shell of anger cocooning me.
“Can’t have you catching cold,” he said, just loud enough for others to hear. “Or giving the vultures more to gawk at.”
He held the lapels a second longer than necessary, fingers brushing mine in a way that felt both accidental and deliberate.
My breath caught. And when I looked up at Asher, I realized he wasn’t just performing for the crowd anymore. He was looking at me, really looking. His jaw clenched as if he were being protective.
A ripple went through the nearby crowd. I didn’t have to look to know eyes were tracking the scene. Jackson. Ronan. Probably Damon too.
Vanessa’s face soured like cream left in the sun.
“You’re not going to thank me?” Asher asked, voice a little too smooth.
I blinked. “Thank you for what?”
“For reminding them you’re not someone they get to humiliate,” I swallowed, his words catching somewhere between pride and panic.
“You didn’t have to-”
He cut me off gently. “Didn’t I?” His eyes softened. “Besides, I always bet on the underdog.”
Asher gave a small bow and turned to leave, but not before pausing long enough to shoot a pointed glance toward the ballroom. “You’re not the only one who noticed,” he said, quieter now. “He did too.”
I didn’t ask who he meant. I didn’t need to.
But Asher’s hand brushed my back as he walked past Emma. “Be a love, and escort her somewhere with fewer snakes?”
Emma nodded quickly. “Come on, we’ll clean this up.”
I let her guide me from the wall, my head high, but my stomach churned. I really, really wanted to make Vanessas eat her words. With a side of claws.
I didn’t say anything until we reached the side hall where the kitchen staff sometimes passed through. The air was cooler here, the flicker of torches dancing over the stone walls.
1/3
Chapter 36
I sank onto a bench and buried my face in my hands.
Emma stood over me, wringing her hands. “I could kill her.”
“Id help.” I said without looking up.
“She’s vile. Vile and.. calculated and… probably knows ten ways to ruin your life before breakfast.”
“She already tried.”
Emma huffed and dropped beside me. “Why don’t you fight back? Like really fight. Not just hold your head up and walk away. I saw you against the King, you’re… really good.”
Because I can’t afford to draw more attention. Because if I make too much noise, someone’s going to start asking the wrong questions. Because one wrong word and this whole identity falls apart.
“She’s not worth it,” I said instead. “And she’s not why I’m here.”
Emma fell quiet.
I pulled the jacket tighter around me, trying not to think about how it still smelled like Asher. Dangerous and delicious.
“What now?” Emma asked eventually.
“I don’t know,” I said. But that wasn’t quite true. I knew what I had go back to the banquet, I just didn’t know if I wanted to.
But a short while and an attempt to pat wash the wine from my dress later we returned to the ballroom; avoiding it would have been another invitation for Vanessa to gloat. And the night wasn’t over yet.
Asher was nowhere in sight, but I caught Damon only once. He stood near the dais with two council members, his face carved in stone. He didn’t look my
way.
I couldn’t decide if I was disappointed or not.
Emma and I slipped back toward the far end of the room, blending near the fountains where others gathered to cool off and rest their feet.
I heard whispers from the doorway, barely audible in the chatter. “…has taken ill,” someone was saying, a woman with a voice like satin stretched too tight. “We’ll need music. Something tasteful. Maybe a performance to close out the evening?”
“Oh, Lady Selena plays beautifully,” someone else offered. “And Lady Corrine is decent with the harp.”
“I heard Lady Elena singing,” a third voice said, casual and sharp. My blood went cold.
“Really?” Vanessa’s voice again, too sweet. “How quaint.”
My stomach twisted.
“I say we let her prove it,” she continued. “Wouldn’t want anyone skipping the arts round entirely, would we?”
My jaw clenched.
“Everyone’s already seen her with a blade,” another girl giggled. “Let’s see what she does with an audience,”
Emma grabbed my arm before I could launch myself at Vanessa. “Don’t.” she whispered.
But I was already walking toward them.
“Oh, Elena,” Vanessa said brightly as I approached, her eyes wide and false with innocence. “We were just talking about the evening’s entertainment. We thought you might like to sing something.”
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Chapter 36
Several faces turned toward me, smiling. Expectant.
I tilted my head. “How generous of you.”
Vanessa beamed. “We thought you might like the chance to… redeem yourself.”
Emma muttered under her breath. I didn’t catch the words, but I felt her tense next to me.
“I’m flattered,” I said with a smile. “But I don’t need your concern.”
“Oh no,” Vanessa smirked, “Isn’t that a requirement for a proper Luna? Music and manners and all that?”
I held her gaze while my mind raced with options until I landed on an absolutely bonkers idea. “You’re absolutely right.”
Vanessa’s surprise was hidden behind a cough, and that was all the victory I needed for tonight before I grabbed Emma’s hand and fled towards the
musicians.
“They want a performance,” I spat, “Let’s give them one.”
Emma blinked. “You don’t play piano.”
“I don’t,” I said. “But you do.”
Her lips parted. “Wait. You want to sing?”
I nodded, the idea forming more solidly giving me a boost of confidence. I hadn’t sang in years – at least not for anyone else – but I still remembered the songs my mother and I would sing together.
Emma stared at me for a long moment. Then she grinned, slow and wicked. “You’re insane.”
“Probably.”
“Alright,” she said, straightening. “Let’s do it.”
AD
