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“Mr. Calvernon,” I whispered to him, not wanting anyone to hear our conversation, “IamRaúl’s daughter, I can assure you.”

Charles shifted my arm, took my hand, and then twirled me around until I was in front of him. One hand held mine while the other swept onto my lower back, pressing me up against him as his lips came to my ear. “Let’s hope you can prove that, girl.” He moved, making me spin with him to the melodic music that didn’t match the fear gripping my soul. “Because if I discover that you or Sasha are trying to cheat the North, you can say goodbye to any chance of saving that man you claim to be your brother. And therewillbe consequences.” His threat caused my breath to quicken. “Until this business is resolved, until I know exactlywhoyou are, consider any deal between the North and the Dissenters off.”

No!“But Mr. Calvernon—”

“Hush, girl,” he chided as he smiled and spun me out, my dress twirling about me, before drawing me close to him again. “I’ll have no more talk of this tonight. Just know that I’m watching, and I’ll be investigating this matter thoroughly before any son of mine marries a disfigured Telvian wretch,” he spat out. His words hit me like Calista’s jump kick to my solar plexus, making me gasp.

And I felt it. I felt the tears threatening to slip past my lids. I turned my face away from him, refusing to let him see how much his words cut me. I closed my eyes, taking in slow deep breaths to calm my racing heart, until I regained control, shoving my hurt and shame down deep, locking it away.

“I think I can take it from here.”

My eyes flew open as I turned to see Wes, relief crashing through my system. And he took my breath away…

Clean-shaven, angular features, hair neatly pulled back into a low ponytail, and eyes that simmered hot and bright—he would have made any girl swoon. But coupled with his dashing black tux that complemented the strength of his body, accentuating his long legs, torso, and broad shoulders, he was the most breathtaking sight I had ever seen. He was light and dark, safe and dangerous, the enchantment of an angel and the temptation of a devil—a living paradox that made me weak in the knees.

I felt as Charles tightened his grip around me, strangely possessive and alarming. Both Calvernon men locked eyes, faces going cold as glaciers, until Charles’s face lit up with a forced smile.

“Wes, my dear boy, of course.” Slowly Charles let go of my waist, but he held on to my right hand a bit too tightly, threatening to snap the delicate bones in my fingers as he stepped to one side. I held my breath, clenching my jaw to keep from crying out as he bowed and lifted my hand to his mouth once again. One simple kiss. A grazing of his lips on my flesh that felt more like acid rain as his green eyes stared me down until he finally released me.

I immediately stepped towards Wes, whose left hand wrapped around my waist and pulled me closer to him. My curves flushed against his, and I felt the strength of his build as his whole body rippled and shifted against me. Just like his father, his hold was tight around me, but it was different. It wasn’t possessive, like I was a thing to be claimed, to be owned. It was protective, shielding.

Charles took a step toward us, and I felt as Wes’s grip tightened further. In one heartbeat, he moved, shifting his body so that it was angled between Charles and me. The President’s fake smile faltered, but only for a second. And then he leaned in,face-to-face with Wes. Charles whispered, tone menacing with its quiet threat. “Enjoy your party, boy. Dance the night away. But youwillfollow orders. And until I know exactlywhatshe is, you do nothing.” Charles pulled back, smile slipping in place as he turned away from us, arms out as he started waving to people in the crowd. And then he was gone, engulfed in a sea of faces, glittering gowns, and handsome nobility.

Awhat. I wasn’t a person anymore, no one of value. Just athing. Abody, but not a person. And all because my stepmother stripped me of my dignity with the crack of her whip. I was less than. I didn’t matter.

I wasnothing.

“Hey,” Wes whispered tenderly, standing in front of me. His fingers touched my chin, gently lifting my face to look into his hazel eyes. So much emotion. It was a sea of pain, embarrassment, hurt, anguish. “I’m sorry,” he uttered. Gentle…so gentle, so genuine. “Don’t listen to him.” I started to turn my face, feeling my cheeks flush with heat, but he held my chin. “Look at me, Mara.” The way he said my name, it made me want to collapse into him. I lifted my gaze once more, forever ensnared by his hazel eyes. “You’re so much more than—”

I shook my head, closing my eyes again as I placed my hand on his wrist. “Please,” I whispered, “please leave it alone.” I sniffed, trying to choke back the pain that threatened to make me cry. “I won’t make it through the night…please.” Wes held my chin for another second, and then he let me go. I drew my chin down to my chest. “Thank you,” the pained whisper escaped me.

Silence stretched, and I wanted to do nothing more than disappear into the night, run away and never return. Then Wes’s tender voice was in my ear. “Dance with me?” His hot breath cascaded down my neck, sending a wave of gooseflesh across my skin. My eyes flew open, looking up once more at his handsome face as he asked again. “Dance with me, Mara?”

My lips parted, but no sound escaped. All I could do was nod.

He smiled—the most beautiful smile—as he scooped my right hand in his, placing gentle pressure on the small of my back with the other, and led. He glided me across the dance floor, expertly guiding me until he drew me closer and rested his cheek against mine. His breath fluttered the delicate hairs around my ear.

“I know I said it already, but you look beautiful.”

Despite the pain nestled deep within me, I smiled at his words. Tipping my head back so that my lips came to his ear, I replied, “You look handsome.” He shuddered, and the effect caused a giggle to escape me. I brought my lips to his ear once more. “Thank you for saving me.” I hoped he understood what I meant. I didn’t know how long Charles would have kept me trapped on the dance floor with him, but Wes’s intervention saved me from having to endure another second of it.

His body trembled once again, and knowing that I caused this reaction from him filled me with an odd joy that eased the hurt of his father’s words. I felt as Wes shifted under my hands. And this time, when he whispered in my ear, I felt his lips graze my delicate flesh. “Always.”

The word ricocheted within me, reverberating like an endless echo that made my heart soar. It was my turn to shudder, to tremble against him. He held me closer, pressing me against him, and I was lost. Over the moon, beyond the stars…floating in emotions so vast, in sensations so deep, I thought I was going to be lost forever in the galaxy of it all. And I loved how I fit in his embrace, my curves matching the rise and falls of him.

Then, we danced. He twirled me, swept me from one space to the next, dipped, and glided me here and there. But he always brought me back to the center, back to him. His face always remained close to mine, lips so near that the yearning to touch them—to taste them—was intoxicating. And suddenly, itfinallyhit me—Wes had always been my center, my savior. It always came back to him.

My breath escaped me as memories flooded my consciousness. Wes defending me against a mountain lion. Wes coming to my rescue at the Presidential Palace after being captured and tortured. Wes ensuring I survived the attack at the rebel base, even though I fought him every step of the way. Wes volunteering to help me with the Admin Job when no one else would. Wes willing to lead off hellhounds to ensure my escape. Wes going against his family’s wishes to save my brother. And now, Wes doing everything he could to shield me from his father who threatened to tear my soul apart.

Wes, Wes, Wes, Wes, Wes.

His name spun around in my mind like a carousel. It was alwaysWes.

If I was a princess in a fairytale, I had found my prince, and that realization struck me like a ton of breaks just as Edith’s words reverberated through my consciousness.

How can you not see what’s right in front of you?

How could I have been so blind? So blind not to see that Wes had always been there for me. Always there, even when I lied to him, pushed him away, or was wrapped in the arms of someone else. Wes was always there—angry, stubborn, hurtful, and sometimes an ass—but always there.