Page 116 of The Book of Blood and Roses

“I love waltzing,” she says, stepping onme.

“My favourite dance,” I reply, stumbling out of the way of a couple who clearly know what they’re doing.

Stephan and Ife soon glide past us, too, and Ife calls out, “You’re doing great, sweetie!”

“Thanks, Mum!” Julia shouts back. When she looks down at me, she’s still smiling. And as I look at her, I decide that it won’t be so bad. If Aliz sires me, at least I’ll have vampire friends. And I’ll be able to tell Julia everything. She’ll understand, won’t she?

The waltz comes to an end, and I feel a hand on my shoulder.

“Can I have this dance?”

Aliz’s hair is combed away from her face, and at first, I have no idea what her all-black costume is supposed to be. For once, it’s not a suit. Rather, it’s an amalgamation of old leather and some other sturdy fabric, with a heavy cape falling past her waist.

“Sure,” I say, and I send Julia an apologetic glance.

“Save me another one for later,” Julia says before disappearing behind the other dancing couples.

“I don’t know how to dance,” I say, far more self-conscious of how I’m moving now that Aliz is in front ofme.

Aliz raises a brow, giving me ayou don’t saylook. Considering she’s the heir to the Astra family, I shouldn’t be surprised that Aliz is able to lead me so easily. We turn, and I feel something hard press to my thigh. I glance down and see a scabbard. I swallow and look up at her again.

“What exactly are you dressed as?”

“It’s a little hard for me to text like this, Cassie,” she says.

“Just tell me.”

She twirls me, and when I’m facing her again, she says: “This is Catherine Lovelace’s old uniform. So, I suppose you could say I’m dressed as a vampire hunter.”

Aliz doesn’t smile or laugh after saying this. For a horrible second, I think she’s going to say it.I know what you are.But she doesn’t. Her expression is somber for an entirely different reason.

“I’ve found someone,” she whispers. “Well, Elia found him.” Aliz’s grip is tight on my waist. She glances towards the stage and then back down at me. “Gustavsson.”

I struggle to keep my expression straight. If we kill Gustavsson before I get a chance to talk to him, I’ll never know why he was at my prom. But there’s too much at stake to worry about keeping him alive. I swallow hard and look over at our target. He’s fixated on a few girls in the crowd, occasionally smiling at them. Is that what he did during my prom?

“Are you sure you want to do this, Aliz?” I ask.

Her expression softens, but the sadness remains there.

“Yes. I can’t make you give up your mortality because of me. Because thisismy fault. If I’d stopped to think for one fucking second before giving you my blood, I would have realised it was a bad idea. But I was so worried about you.” The quick waltz is nearing its end, and Aliz’s voice tightens. “I hadn’t been able to think of anything but you, and suddenly”—she lets out a shaky breath—“you were dying. And I couldn’t let that happen.”

She presses her forehead to mine, and I breathe in carefully. The next dance starts. “How will we do it?” I ask in a low voice. I already have a plan bubbling in my head.

“Uh…” She glances over at him. “I could tell him I need to talk,” she says.

“No,” I whisper. I grit my teeth, feeling sick before I say it. “I’ll lure him upstairs. He won’t turn down my blood.” Before Aliz can interrupt me, I add, “I won’t let him drink. We just need to get him out of the crowd. You wait in your sister’s room. I’ll get him there.”

Her hands shake as it becomes real. “It’s dangerous.”

“Of course it is,” I say, and I reach up to cup her cheek. “But if you really want to do it, this is our best plan.”

Despite being in a crowd, despite all the loose lips around us, Aliz ducks down and kisses me. A short and chaste kiss, but just as sweet. “Are you sure?” she asks.

“Yes,” I say. “Do you know how to use that thing?” I ask, glancing down at the sword.

Aliz gives a brief nod. “I was a bit of a fencing prodigy as a child,” she says. She takes a deep breath. “I just have to imagine I’m my father. Or sister. Or literally any other Astra to have walked the earth.”

“I’ll meet you up there at the end of the next dance,” I say.