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Her future couldn’t begin if the ghost of her past lived on. If the what-ifs, the should-haves, and the could-have-if-onlys continued to haunt her mind, Kallie would never move forward if she didn’t put it all behind her.

Dagger in hand, she stormed forward.

Chapter36

GRAESON

Graeson slammedhis fist against the wall.

He was stupid, so incredibly stupid. He should have made Emmett dance with Kalisandre. He should have known it would have been too much. But when one of the king’s advisors told their table they needed to send a representative for that idiotic dance, Graeson jumped at the opportunity to get close to Kalisandre.

If Dani had been here instead of at the guesthouse, she would have stopped Graeson. There was no doubt about it.

But Dani wasn’t here, and now Graeson had nearly ruined their entire plan.

However, what was he supposed to do when fear flashed across her features? Kalisandre didn’t want to dance with her fiancé’s brother. Graeson could see that as clearly as the Red Sea. He didn’t know what had happened between them, but the look in her eyes had stirred Graeson into action.

When his hand had touched hers, when he smelled the mint and lavender in her hair, he saw nothing but her. Heard nothing but the song that sang between their gifts.

Then the prince pounced, and Graeson had almost ruined everything in order to keep her out of his grasp.

When the song ended, Kalisandre had disappeared right after. As the guests rushed toward the dance floor, Graeson had lost her in the swarm. Without a word to the others, he had chased after her even though he knew they would yell at him later.

But fuck the plan. Graeson needed to find her, to make sure she was okay.

However, when he had entered the hall, she was nowhere to be found.

Until she appeared behind him, a blade pressed against his throat. He couldn’t see her, but he didn’t need to. Even if he hadn’t seen the dagger’s hilt, he would know who it was. Because when she was near, his entire being came to life. Graeson’s lips twitched.

He raised his hands in surrender as the cold metal kissed his skin. “I think you may have misplaced your blade, Princess.”

“What are you doing here?” Kalisandre asked through clenched teeth.

“Just catching my breath.”

“No,” Kalisandre said, the hilt of the dagger pushing against his throat. “What. Are.You. Doing.Here.”

Graeson tipped his chin up. “I was just dancing—”

“Graeson,” she hissed.

“Excuse me?”

She shouldn’t . . . how did she . . .

“Cut the act, Graeson.”

His stomach dropped, for Graeson could no longer feel the oily presence of Emmett’s gift on his skin. There must have been some sort of limitation on Emmett’s reach that he wasn’t aware of. He tried to turn around, but Kalisandre shook the blade.

“Don’t. Move,” she bit out.

Graeson frozen. “All right. Just take it easy.”

She shook him, growling. “Shut up and answer my question.”

He couldn’t help it. A chuckle escaped. “Well, what is it? Do you want me to shut up, or do you want me to answer? Because I cannot do both, little mouse.”

The music was only a soft hum this far away.