Page 43 of Death’s Kiss (The Order of the Tide Raiders #1)

He looks like some sort of king out of a children's fable, someone aiming to be worthy of Kleio’s obvious grandeur. After several minutes of chatting and heckling over Skelm's gaudy display, I take another shot of the blue liquid and wave Kleio off as Vash pulls her towards the growing dance floor.

The twins have already disappeared into the throng of spinning raiders with Javin and Eiran from Vash’s crew. As expected, I have no idea where Davina has run off to, but I spot Nimra chatting to a level seven near some hors d'oeuvres.

My eyes flicker back to the glass platform, where the three TideLords still sit.

“Wine?”

Greer pushes a silver goblet into Herse’s hand before extending an identical one to me. I take the drink, deciding that if by some small chance one of them does actually happen to speak to me tonight, it wouldn't hurt to loosen up a little.

I clink glasses with my third and fourth before taking a rather ambitious gulp.

“ Ugh , am I about to watch Bealu and that skeezy little Regent from the South make out right now?” Greer asks with disgust.

Her comment is so unexpected that I choke on my wine.

Glancing up through my coughing fit, I burst into laughter upon seeing her meaning.

Bealu and the southern Regent are standing in a shadowy corner to the side of the heathen dancers.

The way they're chatting closely with heads tilted, it really does look as if they might begin to kiss.

The thought of Bealu with absolutely anyone in that regard is vomit-inducing.

"Personally, I’m more interested in how Ersatz managed to fit her cloven hooves into those heels,” Herse drawls, making me laugh again while searching the opposite end of the crowded floor.

Ersatz, the she-demon herself, is cloaked in a seductive gown of darkest coal.

Its plunging neckline appears to be doing very little in enticing Preceptor Oplon but the five-inch heels she wears are impressive.

I continue downing my liquid courage and chatting with Herse and Greer for the next half hour, all the while keeping my eyes peeled for the presence of other TideLords in the room.

I’ve had two full goblets along with another shot, for good measure.

I’m just about to slip away to strategically meander near the sterling TideLord table when someone grabs my arm.

I turn to discover Raider Dornon’s unexpected boyish blue eyes and blush-filled face, likely the result of too much wine, as the culprit.

“Captain Boreas, there you are! We’re almost ready to begin.

Come on now—quickly!” He drops his grip and ushers me to follow him through the now entirely packed tent.

I trail along, squeezing through tightly clustered bodies as ethereal-sounding music emulates from hidden musicians. “What—exactly—is starting?” I shout up at Dornon as he moves effectively through groups of people towards the front of the massive glowing floor.

He looks over his shoulder to bark back, “The opening dance.”

I blink in surprise. No one said anything about a dance. I don’t even have a partner.

“But the revel has already opened!” I counter dubiously.

My eyes automatically scan those raiders currently out dancing on the large floor to the musician's strumming tune. The halos adoring everyone’s heads makes it look like we’re a bunch of spirits here for a night of trickery from Nawai .

He gives me a look and says between a group of level-sixes, “It’s ceremonial in name. Obviously .”

I frown before continuing on in his wake and we eventually make it to the general area that I was aiming to end up by in the first place.

Vash stands alongside the dance floor edge with an open spot next to him so I beeline for it.

He might not be my favorite person in the North Order, but he sure as hell is better than ending up with someone like Olsson Agni for a dance partner.

"Hey," I shout, nodding up to Vash.

"Hey,” he shouts back in acknowledgment, seemingly unfazed by this last-minute tradition.

The noise level from music and rowdy laughter is at its peak right where we stand so it’s hard to get more than a few words across to him. “Where’s Kleio?” I holler in question, and he points over the crowd to the table I’ve just left, where my crew is now gathering, drinking, and laughing.

I'm immediately envious of their fun and wish to skip this stupid ceremonial event entirely.

As this song comes to a close, everyone is shooed off the dance floor. Those present are made to grab refreshments and watch as us cardinal captains are ushered onto the now barren space. I follow after Vash and take the hand he offers me, my pulse fluttering nervously.

Dancing is not what makes me anxious. We’ve been schooled heavily in dancing since level-three and I’m quite apt. As many of us hope to end up as hired eyes or swords for our TideLords, it is imperative that we have all the weapons needed in our arsenals.

That includes dancing, apparently.

What makes me nervous are the seven TideLords who are now seated at the grand sterling table. They peer down at us with varying expressions of amusement and mild interest. It also doesn't help that the bawdy tune selected for this dance is one I know to be a partner exchange.

The music hits its starting key, and we’re off .

I try my best not to search the glass platform for sea-green eyes or the shine of a leviathan hilt.

My focus is solidly on following in Vash’s swift lead yet I can’t ignore how oddly silent he is while spinning me around the floor. He doesn’t say one single word to me. We go through the motions of the dance but his steely reserve has me feeling off-footed and only adds to my growing nerves.

I’m actually a bit relieved at the first partner exchange when Captain Namak intervenes.

Reed has dressed himself in a fine suit the color of sand.

Like me, he has also chosen to wear a cape this evening.

However, his is fur-lined and of much thicker material than mine.

I chance a glance up at his face while we turn to find his topaz eyes are far above my head.

Reed is just as silent as Vash. The eastern captain's hand doesn’t even place itself upon my back nor fully in my palm.

Impossibly, I begin feeling even more off-footed than when dancing with Captain Larceon.

Mercifully, Captain Tetsuo’s turn follows suit. There's already a faint flush on my cheeks and an excited flutter in my stomach as he spins me away from Reed and into his charcoal-clad arms.

That excitement is quickly stomped on.

Even though Captain Tetsuo does give me a slight smile with a brief teasing, “ You clean up nice, ” he too is noticeably mute and quite physically distant as we twirl and dip. Those pale gray eyes, typically full of flirtatious humor, now reflect an invisible yet firm wall.

After another spin, I study the other mixed cardinal captain pairs and discover that none of them are as silent as my partners are with me. They all appear to hold their partners in the typical fashion, too. There’s a sharp stinging sensation beginning to form along my face. Like I’ve been slapped.

The way Captain Tetsuo gazes pointedly above my head as we move around each other, as well as the fact that he does not fully touch any part of me when we come back together, further confirms what is happening here.

A traitorously tight lump builds in my throat as I come to fully understand my dancing partner's peculiar behavior.

With the TideLords watching us intently from their dais above, and my boldness in the way I’ve chosen to expose the white branding of my affinity mark, their strange behavior checks out.

None of them, not even Captain Tetsuo, would dare to be seen enjoying the company of a bastard-born castaway, a squid .

Not tonight. Certainly not in front of the TideLords.

Lest they risk their future chances of earning a captaincy under the royal raider colors.

I should laugh. It's painfully obvious now.

But I’m not in the laughing mood anymore.

As we continue our dance, I ignore Captain Tetsuo's shifting glances and instead choose a spot beyond him to focus on. I bite the inside of my cheek until tasting copper—a technique to keep the pricking behind my eyes at bay. Ansil’s portion drags on for far too long.

It's an agonizingly slow torture. Skelm should really be taking notes.

Finally, a voice like scorched gravel commands, “My turn.”

I’m shaken from my grim resolve only to discover it’s the worst person I could possibly be forced to deal with right now. Olsson fucking Agni.

Captain Tetsuo obliges without so much as a parting word. Even though I’m prepared for it, it still manages to feel like a physical blow. The cups of liquor have started catching up to me, making my usually reserved emotions concerningly potent.

I feel like an idiot, a complete and utter fool.

To have worn this gown—to have actually believed I looked beautiful—it’s all a joke.

No matter how high I climb, I am and will always be less-than in their eyes.

The disheartening awareness is so distracting that I almost don’t hear Agni mutter something foreign beneath his breath.

“ Futuere mihi. Vos vultus sicut peccatum. ” His words come out oddly strained, like a swear. Given his very clear hatred towards me, it more than likely was .

My wintry gaze snaps up to his face. Anger is a familiar emotion and right now a very welcome distraction. Agni's eyes burn with those lifelike embers as he glances down at me, and his jaw tightens before we turn.

“Whatever insults you have for me tonight, you can say them to my face you fucking coward,” I hiss, feeling the flush of liquor-laced ire rise up inside. Ignoring him this past month and a half has proven to be nearly impossible. He’s made damn well sure of it.

Agni’s hand presses itself so fixedly against my exposed back that I can feel each and every one of his many hard-earned calluses through that thin second fabric. I look away from his gaze in an effort to shake any lingering traitorous images of the tide pools illusion out of my head.

That damn box just can’t seem to keep itself closed.

“Where did you get this dress?” Agni asks abruptly, disregarding my seething words entirely.

My eyes leave the point on his chest I’d been staring at instead of his face to raise a dark brow in disbelief. “Why? You want one?” I return snappily. My hand is nearly swallowed whole inside Agni’s and his grip is surprisingly quite firm.

Possessive, almost.

If I didn’t know better.

The southern captain scoffs out a laugh with an errant flicker of his gaze down the slight of his nose.

It causes me to take in his chosen attire for the evening at last. He wears a classic suit, not so different from the captain's regalia, fashioned of midnight velvet and set with a hooded cape of embroidered gold.

Aurelian chains gilt across his chest and dangle opulently from his broad shoulders. They manage to bring out the shine of his scar even more than usual. He’s topped off the lavish trappings by wearing his Luminalia halo at a ridiculously insouciant angle in his always carelessly tousled hair.

I understand his question now. Our outfits this evening are perfectly opposing and yet direct parallels. We look like some sort of sacrilegious union between the depths and stars .

I scowl down in annoyance, and a wave of warmth rolls over me from his continued closeness. He holds me so solidly in his arms that I realize he could probably burn the living shit out of my person if he so wished. But that fact does not hold my tongue and I'm now even more irked than before.

“What? All out of nasty remarks for me tonight?” I goad, meeting his blazing eyes once more.

Agni’s brows raise at my ire before his mouth curves wickedly. “When will you learn, little bastard ? I'll not ever take commands from the likes of you.”

I feel our tether of mutual loathing go taut and in this one singular moment, I’m extremely grateful for it. I’m beyond relieved to feel anything other than like I’ve been playing as the night’s grand fool.

"Is that really the best you can come up with?" I croon. "You're not losing your edge now, are you, Agni? I’m honestly disappointed, I expected more."

His mere presence stirs my inner need for conflict. The urge for a fight pulses through me, craving the chaos of a real challenge. The haze in my mind lifts, clearing any remaining stinging sensation from both my eyes and thoughts. Glorious searing hatred burns everything else away.

Agni smirks before his hand, currently pressed unyieldingly against my back, slips beneath the thin layer of my cape and slides down low .

His fingers halt in between the two dimples located at the base of my affinity mark.

I swallow the spike in my pulse as said fingers begin lightly grazing back and forth over my exposed skin from one dimple to the other.

My eyes narrow down into slits and I shoot him a venomous warning glare.

“I’d suggest you remove that wandering paw of yours before I freeze it off.” The words escape me through newly bared teeth. “Unless, maybe you would prefer a blackened hand? You know, to match with your girlfriend?”

Agni blinks down at me with a frown. “Who?”

I roll my eyes at his never-ending supply of arrogance and equally never-ending supply of females falling at his feet. “ Corvina , you moron.”

Dark brows rise in surprise before he lets slip a dark chuckle. “You really are quite a merciless little thing, aren’t you?” Something in his tone makes it sound as though he’s deeply pleased by the realization.

I’m poised to retaliate but Agni’s eyes flit away from my face to a point behind me and his amusement fades away entirely. He lets go of his hold on me before inclining his head low in the mockery of a gentleman, stating, “ Donec deinde tempore, mea divinus cruciatus .”

Only then do I realize that the song has ended.

The other captains have already left the floor. Raiders are now pouring in and the musicians start back up with a new tune. I find myself unable to stop watching Captain Agni’s formidable form as the crowd appears to cut open a path just for him to rejoin his crew.

I’m at a complete loss for how to interpret this most recent interaction. But before I can begin ruminating over it for too long, there’s a tap on my shoulder.

I spin backwards and a pair of electric blue eyes meet mine.