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“Ah,” Isaac said.

“Are you embarrassed for the dance, or at being caught?” Samuel said, disengaging from Isaac and stalking away, following after Shan.

“Wait—” Isaac began, but Samuel shrugged him off.

He needed to find Shan, he needed to talk to her. To say what, he didn’t know, but he just had to reach her somehow.

He followed her to the doors at the end of the ballroom, and Samuel saw the flutter of her red dress disappearing through them. He hurried after her, emerging in a garden filled with alcoves and hidden pockets of space. He came to a stop as he realized what it was—unlike Shan’s carefully cultivated garden, this was a labyrinth, the hedgerows tall and twisting around each other in a circuitous maze. It was for lovers and allies and enemies, for secret meetings under the guise of a party.

He had the feeling that Shan had fled there not out of business but out of a need to hide.

He ran right into the maze, searching through open spaces and alcoves, turning down twisting paths and doubling back. He passed couples and groups as he went, all in various states of intimacy. Samuel didn’t care. He passed by all of them without a second glance, looking only for Shan.

Except she had found him first.

A hand grabbed him around the wrist, dragging him into an empty alcove and shoving him against a hedge. Her other hand clamped over his mouth, muffling his cry of surprise, until they met eyes and she was sure that he wouldn’t fight her.

“Shan,” he whispered, and she lowered her hand to rest on his chest. “It wasn’t what it looked like.”

She smiled, and he realized suddenly that she didn’t look mad. “You shouldn’t lie. I think it was exactly what it looked like.”

Samuel blinked at her, confused by her easy manner and her gentle smile. “You’re right.”

“Of course I am,” she replied. “You’re a terrible liar.” She looked up at him, not demurely through her eyelashes like many of the nobles did at this party. She met him head on, unashamed and unafraid.

“You’re not mad?”

“No,” she said, simply. The familiar flush rose to her cheeks, and Samuel suddenly recognized the heat for what it was. “I just… ah. I needed some air. You two made quite the image.”

He couldn’t help the smile that split across his face. “Oh, we did?”

“Yes,” she replied, primly. She took a step back, and Samuel wanted nothing more than to follow. She was like gravity, and he was already caught in her orbit. “So. Isaac. Tell me what’s going on there.”

He laughed at her directness. “And here I thought you excelled at secrets and insinuations.”

There it was—a hint of relaxation. A promise of something more. “Perhaps, Samuel, I find it refreshing not to have to constantly play the game.”

“Well, in that case…” He flexed his hand against his side, wanting to reach for hers—but he could still feel the warmth of Isaac’s hand against his skin.

How was he supposed to react when both of them felt different, but still right?

“I don’t know, Shan.”

Though she was still flushed, Shan otherwise showed no reaction. She had mastered that cool and impassive expression—forever in control—but there was a hunger in her eyes that Samuel prayed wasn’t faked. “Something I never fully understood, Samuel, is why one does not simply go after what they want.”

Samuel licked his suddenly dry lips. “I don’t understand.”

“Well, when I was young,” Shan said, very softly, “I had no power, no respect, just a tainted name and the blood in my veins. But I didn’t settle for that. I created my own power, carved out my own respect, and I will bring Aeravin to its knees. Why? Because I want it so.”

Samuel stepped in front of her, forcing her to tilt her head back to look in his eyes. “And what of me? Of Isaac?”

“I’ll have you both,” Shan said. “If you’ll allow it.”

Samuel gaped at her, the possibilities unravelling through him, leaving him breathless and aching. “Are you—”

“Quite.” She stroked his cheek. “Isaac and I have already discussed it, but we know that you will not be comfortable until you have this handled.” She laid one hand over his chest, and he knew she meant the power that lurked within him. “But once that is settled, then the three of us will talk. But for now, we’ll keep on as we are, if that is all right with you.”

“Yes,” he gasped. “I mean, it’s all right.”